Nikon Coolpix L620 vs. Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS

Comparison

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Nikon Coolpix L620

Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS

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Megapixels

18.10

16.00

Max. image resolution

4896 x 3672

4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type

CMOS

CCD

Sensor size

1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)

Sensor resolution

4906 x 3689

4612 x 3468

Diagonal

7.70 mm

Sensor size comparison

Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »

	vs
1	:	1
(ratio)

Nikon Coolpix L620		Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS

Surface area:

28.46 mm²

Difference: 0 mm² (0%)

L620 and ELPH 130 IS sensors are the same size.

Pixel pitch

1.26 µm

1.34 µm

Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.

Difference: 0.08 µm (6%)

Pixel pitch of ELPH 130 IS is approx. 6% higher than pixel pitch of L620.

Pixel area

1.59 µm²

1.8 µm²

Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.

Relative pixel sizes:

Pixel area difference: 0.21 µm² (13%)

A pixel on Canon ELPH 130 IS sensor is approx. 13% bigger than a pixel on Nikon L620.

Pixel density

63.43 MP/cm²

56.06 MP/cm²

Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.

Difference: 7.37 µm (13%)

Nikon L620 has approx. 13% higher pixel density than Canon ELPH 130 IS.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Nikon L620

Canon ELPH 130 IS

Crop factor

5.62

Total megapixels

18.91

16.60

Effective megapixels

18.10

16.00

Optical zoom

14x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

125-3200

Auto 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

Macro focus range

1 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

25 - 350 mm

28 - 224 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f3.3 - f5.9

f3.2 - f6.9

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f18.5 - f33.2

f18 - f38.8

Metering

Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

4 sec

15 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/4000 sec

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

None

White balance presets

Screen size

Screen resolution

460,000 dots

461,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

SD/SDHC/SDXC

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

2xAA alkaline/lithium/Ni-MH batteries

Lithium-Ion NB-11L rechargeable battery

Weight

237 g

133 g

Dimensions

108.3 x 68.7 x 34.1 mm

95.4 x 56 x 20.6 mm

Year

2013

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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:

Diagonal = √

w² + h²

where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Nikon L620 diagonal

The diagonal of L620 sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm

Diagonal = √

6.16² + 4.62²

= 7.70 mm

Canon ELPH 130 IS diagonal

The diagonal of ELPH 130 IS sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm

Diagonal = √

6.16² + 4.62²

= 7.70 mm

Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

L620 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

ELPH 130 IS sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:

Pixel pitch =	sensor width in mm	× 1000
	sensor resolution width in pixels

L620 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.26 µm
	4906

ELPH 130 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.34 µm
	4612

Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:

Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:

Pixel area =	sensor surface area in mm²
	effective megapixels

L620 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.26 µm

Pixel area = 1.26² = 1.59 µm²

ELPH 130 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.34 µm

Pixel area = 1.34² = 1.8 µm²

Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:

Pixel density = (	sensor resolution width in pixels	)² / 1000000
	sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:

Pixel density =	effective megapixels × 1000000	/ 10000
	sensor surface area in mm²

L620 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4906 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.43 MP/cm²

ELPH 130 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4612 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 56.06 MP/cm²

Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:

(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000 →

X = √	effective megapixels × 1000000
	r

3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

L620 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.10

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	18.10 × 1000000	= 3689
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3689 × 1.33 = 4906
Resolution vertical: X = 3689

Sensor resolution = 4906 x 3689

ELPH 130 IS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.00

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	16.00 × 1000000	= 3468
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3468 × 1.33 = 4612
Resolution vertical: X = 3468

Sensor resolution = 4612 x 3468

Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.

Crop factor =	43.27 mm
	sensor diagonal in mm

L620 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.62
	7.70

ELPH 130 IS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.62
	7.70

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

L620 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f18.5 - f33.2

ELPH 130 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.2 - f6.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f6.9) × 5.62 = f18 - f38.8

More comparisons of Nikon L620:

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