Nikon Coolpix P100 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Comparison

change cameras »
Coolpix P100 image
vs
Lumix DMC-FZ50 image
Nikon Coolpix P100 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
check price » check price »
Megapixels
10.30
10.00
Max. image resolution
3648 x 2736
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Sensor resolution
3701 x 2783
3647 x 2742
Diagonal
7.70 mm
8.89 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 : 1.33
(ratio)
Nikon Coolpix P100 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 37.90 mm²
Difference: 9.44 mm² (33%)
FZ50 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than P100 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Nikon P100 (2010) and Panasonic FZ50 (2006). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.66 µm
1.95 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: 0.29 µm (17%)
Pixel pitch of FZ50 is approx. 17% higher than pixel pitch of P100.
Pixel area
2.76 µm²
3.8 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:
vs
Pixel area difference: 1.04 µm² (38%)
A pixel on Panasonic FZ50 sensor is approx. 38% bigger than a pixel on Nikon P100.
Pixel density
36.1 MP/cm²
26.31 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: 9.79 µm (37%)
Nikon P100 has approx. 37% higher pixel density than Panasonic FZ50.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon P100
Panasonic FZ50
Crop factor
5.62
4.87
Total megapixels
10.60
10.40
Effective megapixels
10.30
10.00
Optical zoom
26.1x
12x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, (3200 boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
60 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
26 - 678 mm
35 - 420 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.0
f2.8 - f3.7
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f15.7 - f28.1
f13.6 - f18
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Electronic
White balance presets
7
4
Screen size
3"
2"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
207,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/MMC/SDHC card
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-ion EN-EL5 battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Weight
481 g
734 g
Dimensions
114 x 83 x 99 mm
141 x 86 x 142 mm
Year
2010
2006




Choose cameras to compare

vs

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Nikon P100 diagonal

The diagonal of P100 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

Panasonic FZ50 diagonal

The diagonal of FZ50 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm
Diagonal =  7.11² + 5.33²   = 8.89 mm


Surface area

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

P100 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

FZ50 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 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

P100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3701 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.66 µm
3701

FZ50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 1.95 µm
3647


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

P100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.66 µm

Pixel area = 1.66² = 2.76 µm²

FZ50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.95 µm

Pixel area = 1.95² = 3.8 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

P100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3701 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3701 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 36.1 MP/cm²

FZ50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (3647 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 26.31 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

P100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.30
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  10.30 × 1000000  = 2783
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2783 × 1.33 = 3701
Resolution vertical: X = 2783

Sensor resolution = 3701 x 2783

FZ50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  10.00 × 1000000  = 2742
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2742 × 1.33 = 3647
Resolution vertical: X = 2742

Sensor resolution = 3647 x 2742


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


P100 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

FZ50 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

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).

P100 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.0

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.0) × 5.62 = f15.7 - f28.1

FZ50 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f3.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f3.7) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f18

Enter your screen size (diagonal)

My screen size is  inches



Actual size is currently adjusted to screen.

If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.