Olympus C-990 Zoom vs. Pentax Optio RZ10

Comparison

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C-990 Zoom image
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Optio RZ10 image
Olympus C-990 Zoom Pentax Optio RZ10
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Megapixels
2.10
14.10
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
4288 x 3216

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor resolution
1672 x 1257
4330 x 3256
Diagonal
6.66 mm
7.60 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 : 1.3
(ratio)
Olympus C-990 Zoom Pentax Optio RZ10
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 27.72 mm²
Difference: 6.4 mm² (30%)
RZ10 sensor is approx. 1.3x bigger than C-990 Zoom sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 10 years between Olympus C-990 Zoom (2000) and Pentax RZ10 (2010). Ten years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
3.19 µm
1.4 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: 1.79 µm (128%)
Pixel pitch of C-990 Zoom is approx. 128% higher than pixel pitch of RZ10.
Pixel area
10.18 µm²
1.96 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: 8.22 µm² (419%)
A pixel on Olympus C-990 Zoom sensor is approx. 419% bigger than a pixel on Pentax RZ10.
Pixel density
9.84 MP/cm²
50.72 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: 40.88 µm (415%)
Pentax RZ10 has approx. 415% higher pixel density than Olympus C-990 Zoom.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Olympus C-990 Zoom
Pentax RZ10
Crop factor
6.5
5.69
Total megapixels
Effective megapixels
14.10
Optical zoom
Yes
10x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400
Auto, 80 - 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
80 cm
40 cm
Macro focus range
20 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 105 mm
28 - 280 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.4
f3.2 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2 - f28.6
f18.2 - f33.6
Metering
Centre weighted
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1/2 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
None
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
1.8"
2.7"
Screen resolution
61,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SmartMedia
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
2x CR-V3, 4x AA
Lithium-Ion D-LI92 rechargeable battery
Weight
380 g
178 g
Dimensions
127 x 67 x 53 mm
97 x 61 x 33 mm
Year
2000
2010




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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

Olympus C-990 Zoom diagonal

The diagonal of C-990 Zoom sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal =  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm

Pentax RZ10 diagonal

The diagonal of RZ10 sensor is not 1/2.33 or 0.43" (10.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.08 mm
h = 4.56 mm
Diagonal =  6.08² + 4.56²   = 7.60 mm


Surface area

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

C-990 Zoom sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

RZ10 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 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

C-990 Zoom pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1672 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.19 µm
1672

RZ10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.4 µm
4330


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

C-990 Zoom pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.19 µm

Pixel area = 3.19² = 10.18 µm²

RZ10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.4 µm

Pixel area = 1.4² = 1.96 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

C-990 Zoom pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1672 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1672 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.84 MP/cm²

RZ10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4330 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 50.72 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

C-990 Zoom sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.10
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X =  2.10 × 1000000  = 1257
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1257 × 1.33 = 1672
Resolution vertical: X = 1257

Sensor resolution = 1672 x 1257

RZ10 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.10
r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33
X =  14.10 × 1000000  = 3256
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3256 × 1.33 = 4330
Resolution vertical: X = 3256

Sensor resolution = 4330 x 3256


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


C-990 Zoom crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

RZ10 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.60 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.69
7.60

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).

C-990 Zoom equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.4) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f28.6

RZ10 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.2 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f18.2 - f33.6

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