Nikon Coolpix S3500 vs. Canon PowerShot SX160 IS

Comparison

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Coolpix S3500 image
vs
PowerShot SX160 IS image
Nikon Coolpix S3500 Canon PowerShot SX160 IS
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Megapixels
20.10
16.00
Max. image resolution
5152 x 3864
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
5171 x 3888
4612 x 3468
Diagonal
7.70 mm
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 S3500 Canon PowerShot SX160 IS
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
S3500 and SX160 IS sensors are the same size.
Pixel pitch
1.19 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: 0.15 µm (13%)
Pixel pitch of SX160 IS is approx. 13% higher than pixel pitch of S3500.
Pixel area
1.42 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:
vs
Pixel area difference: 0.38 µm² (27%)
A pixel on Canon SX160 IS sensor is approx. 27% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S3500.
Pixel density
70.47 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: 14.41 µm (26%)
Nikon S3500 has approx. 26% higher pixel density than Canon SX160 IS.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon S3500
Canon SX160 IS
Crop factor
5.62
5.62
Total megapixels
20.48
16.60
Effective megapixels
20.10
16.00
Optical zoom
7x
16x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
80-1600
Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
26 - 182 mm
28 - 448 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.4 - f6.4
f3.5 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.1 - f36
f19.7 - f33.2
Metering
Matrix, 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
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/3200 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
5
Screen size
2.7"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL19
2 x AA batteries
Weight
129 g
291 g
Dimensions
96.8 x 57.8 x 20.5 mm
111 x 73 x 44 mm
Year
2013
2012




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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 S3500 diagonal

The diagonal of S3500 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 SX160 IS diagonal

The diagonal of SX160 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.

S3500 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

SX160 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

S3500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.19 µm
5171

SX160 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

S3500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.19 µm

Pixel area = 1.19² = 1.42 µm²

SX160 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

S3500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5171 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.47 MP/cm²

SX160 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

S3500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  20.10 × 1000000  = 3888
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3888 × 1.33 = 5171
Resolution vertical: X = 3888

Sensor resolution = 5171 x 3888

SX160 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


S3500 crop factor

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

SX160 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).

S3500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f6.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f6.4) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f36

SX160 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f33.2

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