Nikon D850 vs. Fujifilm X-T20

Comparison

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D850 image
vs
X-T20 image
Nikon D850 Fujifilm X-T20
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Megapixels
45.70
24.30
Max. image resolution
8256 x 5504
6000 x 4000

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
35.9 x 23.9 mm
23.6 x 15.6 mm
Sensor resolution
8280 x 5520
6058 x 4012
Diagonal
43.13 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
2.33 : 1
(ratio)
Nikon D850 Fujifilm X-T20
Surface area:
858.01 mm² vs 368.16 mm²
Difference: 489.85 mm² (133%)
D850 sensor is approx. 2.33x bigger than X-T20 sensor.
Pixel pitch
4.34 µm
3.9 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: 0.44 µm (11%)
Pixel pitch of D850 is approx. 11% higher than pixel pitch of X-T20.
Pixel area
18.84 µm²
15.21 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: 3.63 µm² (24%)
A pixel on Nikon D850 sensor is approx. 24% bigger than a pixel on Fujifilm X-T20.
Pixel density
5.32 MP/cm²
6.59 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: 1.27 µm (24%)
Fujifilm X-T20 has approx. 24% higher pixel density than Nikon D850.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon D850
Fujifilm X-T20
Crop factor
1
1.53
Total megapixels
46.89
Effective megapixels
45.70
24.30
Optical zoom
 
Digital zoom
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 64-25600 (extends to 32-102400)
Auto, 200-12800 (extends to 100-51200)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Highlight-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Average, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/32000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Electronic
White balance presets
14
7
Screen size
3.2"
3"
Screen resolution
2,359,000 dots
1,040,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
3840x2160 (30p/25p/24p)
3840x2160 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC/XQD
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
EN-EL15a lithium-ion battery
NP-W126S lithium-ion battery
Weight
915 g
383 g
Dimensions
146 x 124 x 78.5 mm
118.4 x 82.8 x 41.4 mm
Year
2017
2017




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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 D850 diagonal

w = 35.90 mm
h = 23.90 mm
Diagonal =  35.90² + 23.90²   = 43.13 mm

Fujifilm X-T20 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.

D850 sensor area

Width = 35.90 mm
Height = 23.90 mm

Surface area = 35.90 × 23.90 = 858.01 mm²

X-T20 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

D850 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 8280 pixels
Pixel pitch =   35.90  × 1000  = 4.34 µm
8280

X-T20 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6058 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.60  × 1000  = 3.9 µm
6058


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

D850 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.34 µm

Pixel area = 4.34² = 18.84 µm²

X-T20 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.9 µm

Pixel area = 3.9² = 15.21 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

D850 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 8280 pixels
Sensor width = 3.59 cm

Pixel density = (8280 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 5.32 MP/cm²

X-T20 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 6058 pixels
Sensor width = 2.36 cm

Pixel density = (6058 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 6.59 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

D850 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 45.70
r = 35.90/23.90 = 1.5
X =  45.70 × 1000000  = 5520
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 5520 × 1.5 = 8280
Resolution vertical: X = 5520

Sensor resolution = 8280 x 5520

X-T20 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.30
r = 23.60/15.60 = 1.51
X =  24.30 × 1000000  = 4012
1.51
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4012 × 1.51 = 6058
Resolution vertical: X = 4012

Sensor resolution = 6058 x 4012


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


D850 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.13 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.13

X-T20 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).

D850 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 D850, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Since crop factor for Nikon D850 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.

X-T20 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 Fujifilm X-T20, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Fujifilm X-T20 is 1.53

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