Nikon D90 vs. Nikon D600

Comparison

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D90 image
vs
D600 image
Nikon D90 Nikon D600
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Megapixels
12.30
24.30
Max. image resolution
4288 x 2848
6016 x 4016

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
23.6 x 15.8 mm
35.9 x 24 mm
Sensor resolution
4281 x 2873
6038 x 4025
Diagonal
28.40 mm
43.18 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 : 2.31
(ratio)
Nikon D90 Nikon D600
Surface area:
372.88 mm² vs 861.60 mm²
Difference: 488.72 mm² (131%)
D600 sensor is approx. 2.31x bigger than D90 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Nikon D90 (2008) and Nikon D600 (2012). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
5.51 µm
5.95 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: 0.44 µm (8%)
Pixel pitch of D600 is approx. 8% higher than pixel pitch of D90.
Pixel area
30.36 µm²
35.4 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: 5.04 µm² (17%)
A pixel on Nikon D600 sensor is approx. 17% bigger than a pixel on Nikon D90.
Pixel density
3.29 MP/cm²
2.83 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: 0.46 µm (16%)
Nikon D90 has approx. 16% higher pixel density than Nikon D600.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon D90
Nikon D600
Crop factor
1.52
1
Total megapixels
12.90
24.70
Effective megapixels
12.30
24.30
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 200 - 3200 (plus 6400 with boost)
100 - 6400 in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps (50 - 25600 with boost)
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, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Average, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 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 (pentaprism)
Optical
White balance presets
12
12
Screen size
3"
3.2"
Screen resolution
920,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (24)
1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC
SD,SDHC,SDXC x 2 slots
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion EN-EL15 rechargeable battery
Weight
703 g
760 g
Dimensions
132 x 103 x 77 mm
141 x 113 x 82 mm
Year
2008
2012




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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 D90 diagonal

w = 23.60 mm
h = 15.80 mm
Diagonal =  23.60² + 15.80²   = 28.40 mm

Nikon D600 diagonal

w = 35.90 mm
h = 24.00 mm
Diagonal =  35.90² + 24.00²   = 43.18 mm


Surface area

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

D90 sensor area

Width = 23.60 mm
Height = 15.80 mm

Surface area = 23.60 × 15.80 = 372.88 mm²

D600 sensor area

Width = 35.90 mm
Height = 24.00 mm

Surface area = 35.90 × 24.00 = 861.60 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

D90 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.60  × 1000  = 5.51 µm
4281

D600 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6038 pixels
Pixel pitch =   35.90  × 1000  = 5.95 µm
6038


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

D90 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.51 µm

Pixel area = 5.51² = 30.36 µm²

D600 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.95 µm

Pixel area = 5.95² = 35.4 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

D90 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
Sensor width = 2.36 cm

Pixel density = (4281 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 3.29 MP/cm²

D600 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 6038 pixels
Sensor width = 3.59 cm

Pixel density = (6038 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 2.83 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

D90 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor height = 15.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.30
r = 23.60/15.80 = 1.49
X =  12.30 × 1000000  = 2873
1.49
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2873 × 1.49 = 4281
Resolution vertical: X = 2873

Sensor resolution = 4281 x 2873

D600 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.30
r = 35.90/24.00 = 1.5
X =  24.30 × 1000000  = 4025
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4025 × 1.5 = 6038
Resolution vertical: X = 4025

Sensor resolution = 6038 x 4025


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


D90 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.40 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.52
28.40

D600 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.18 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.18

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).

D90 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 D90, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D90 is 1.52

D600 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 D600, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Since crop factor for Nikon D600 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.

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