Nikon D5000 vs. Sony Alpha SLT-A33
Comparison
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| Nikon D5000 | Sony Alpha SLT-A33 | ||||
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Megapixels
12.30
14.20
Max. image resolution
4288 x 2848
4592 x 3056
Sensor
Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
23.6 x 15.8 mm
23.5 x 15.6 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 »
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 »
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| Nikon D5000 | Sony Alpha SLT-A33 | |
Surface area:
| 372.88 mm² | vs | 366.60 mm² |
Difference: 6.28 mm² (2%)
D5000 sensor is slightly bigger than Alpha SLT-A33 sensor (only 2% difference).
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.
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.
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.
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: 4.66 µm² (18%)
A pixel on Nikon D5000 sensor is approx. 18% bigger than a pixel on Sony Alpha SLT-A33.
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.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Specs
Nikon D5000
Sony Alpha SLT-A33
Total megapixels
12.90
14.60
Effective megapixels
12.30
14.20
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 200 - 3200 (plus 6400 with boost)
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Metering
3D Matrix metering II, Centre weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentamirror)
Electronic
White balance presets
12
6
Screen size
2.7"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Nikon EN-EL9a Lithium-Ion battery
Rechargeable NP-FW50 battery
Weight
590 g
500 g
Dimensions
127 x 104 x 80 mm
124 x 92 x 85 mm
Year
2009
2010
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Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Nikon D5000 diagonal
w = 23.60 mm
h = 15.80 mm
h = 15.80 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 23.60² + 15.80² | = 28.40 mm |
Sony Alpha SLT-A33 diagonal
w = 23.50 mm
h = 15.60 mm
h = 15.60 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 23.50² + 15.60² | = 28.21 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
D5000 sensor area
Width = 23.60 mm
Height = 15.80 mm
Surface area = 23.60 × 15.80 = 372.88 mm²
Height = 15.80 mm
Surface area = 23.60 × 15.80 = 372.88 mm²
Alpha SLT-A33 sensor area
Width = 23.50 mm
Height = 15.60 mm
Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 mm²
Height = 15.60 mm
Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 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 |
D5000 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 23.60 | × 1000 | = 5.51 µm |
| 4281 |
Alpha SLT-A33 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4631 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 4631 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 23.50 | × 1000 | = 5.07 µm |
| 4631 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
| Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
| effective megapixels |
D5000 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 5.51 µm
Pixel area = 5.51² = 30.36 µm²
Pixel area = 5.51² = 30.36 µm²
Alpha SLT-A33 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 5.07 µm
Pixel area = 5.07² = 25.7 µm²
Pixel area = 5.07² = 25.7 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
One could also use this 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 |
D5000 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
Sensor width = 2.36 cm
Pixel density = (4281 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 3.29 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 2.36 cm
Pixel density = (4281 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 3.29 MP/cm²
Alpha SLT-A33 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 4631 pixels
Sensor width = 2.35 cm
Pixel density = (4631 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 3.88 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 2.35 cm
Pixel density = (4631 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 3.88 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:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
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 → |
|
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
D5000 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor height = 15.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.30
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2873 × 1.49 = 4281
Resolution vertical: X = 2873
Sensor resolution = 4281 x 2873
Sensor height = 15.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.30
| r = 23.60/15.80 = 1.49 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 2873
Sensor resolution = 4281 x 2873
Alpha SLT-A33 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.20
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3067 × 1.51 = 4631
Resolution vertical: X = 3067
Sensor resolution = 4631 x 3067
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.20
| r = 23.50/15.60 = 1.51 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 3067
Sensor resolution = 4631 x 3067
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 |
D5000 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.40 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1.52 |
| 28.40 |
Alpha SLT-A33 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.21 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1.53 |
| 28.21 |
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).
D5000 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 D5000, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Crop factor for Nikon D5000 is 1.52
Crop factor for Nikon D5000 is 1.52
Alpha SLT-A33 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
Sony Alpha SLT-A33, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Crop factor for Sony Alpha SLT-A33 is 1.53
Crop factor for Sony Alpha SLT-A33 is 1.53
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