Nikon Coolpix P520 vs. Nikon D5100

Comparison

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Coolpix P520 image
vs
D5100 image
Nikon Coolpix P520 Nikon D5100
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Megapixels
18.10
16.20
Max. image resolution
4896 x 3672
4928 x 3264

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
23.6 x 15.6 mm
Sensor resolution
4906 x 3689
4945 x 3275
Diagonal
7.70 mm
28.29 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 : 12.94
(ratio)
Nikon Coolpix P520 Nikon D5100
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 368.16 mm²
Difference: 339.7 mm² (1194%)
D5100 sensor is approx. 12.94x bigger than P520 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Nikon P520 (2013) and Nikon D5100 (2011). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.26 µm
4.77 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: 3.51 µm (279%)
Pixel pitch of D5100 is approx. 279% higher than pixel pitch of P520.
Pixel area
1.59 µm²
22.75 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: 21.16 µm² (1331%)
A pixel on Nikon D5100 sensor is approx. 1331% bigger than a pixel on Nikon P520.
Pixel density
63.43 MP/cm²
4.39 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: 59.04 µm (1345%)
Nikon P520 has approx. 1345% higher pixel density than Nikon D5100.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon P520
Nikon D5100
Crop factor
5.62
1.53
Total megapixels
18.91
16.90
Effective megapixels
18.10
16.20
Optical zoom
42x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 2000, 3200
Auto, 100- 6400 (plus 12800, 25600 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
24 - 1000 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f3 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f33.2
n/a
Metering
Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Optical (pentamirror)
White balance presets
6
12
Screen size
3.2"
3"
Screen resolution
921,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60i/50i/30p/25p)
1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5
Lithium-Ion EN-EL14 rechargeable battery
Weight
550 g
560 g
Dimensions
125.2 x 84.1 x 101.6 mm
128 x 97 x 79 mm
Year
2013
2011




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vs

Diagonal

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

Nikon P520 diagonal

The diagonal of P520 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

Nikon D5100 diagonal

w = 23.60 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.60² + 15.60²   = 28.29 mm


Surface area

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

P520 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

D5100 sensor area

Width = 23.60 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.60 × 15.60 = 368.16 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

P520 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.26 µm
4906

D5100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4945 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.60  × 1000  = 4.77 µm
4945


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

P520 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.26 µm

Pixel area = 1.26² = 1.59 µm²

D5100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.77 µm

Pixel area = 4.77² = 22.75 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

P520 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

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

D5100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4945 pixels
Sensor width = 2.36 cm

Pixel density = (4945 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 4.39 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

P520 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

D5100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.20
r = 23.60/15.60 = 1.51
X =  16.20 × 1000000  = 3275
1.51
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3275 × 1.51 = 4945
Resolution vertical: X = 3275

Sensor resolution = 4945 x 3275


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


P520 crop factor

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

D5100 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.29 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.29

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).

P520 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f16.9 - f33.2

D5100 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Nikon D5100, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D5100 is 1.53

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