Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 vs. Nikon Coolpix L310

Comparison

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E-500 / EVOLT E-500 image
vs
Coolpix L310 image
Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 Nikon Coolpix L310
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Megapixels
8.00
14.10
Max. image resolution
3264 x 2448
4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
3262 x 2453
4330 x 3256
Diagonal
21.64 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
7.9 : 1
(ratio)
Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 Nikon Coolpix L310
Surface area:
224.90 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 196.44 mm² (690%)
E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor is approx. 7.9x bigger than L310 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 (2005) and Nikon L310 (2012). Seven years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
5.3 µm
1.42 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: 3.88 µm (273%)
Pixel pitch of E-500 / EVOLT E-500 is approx. 273% higher than pixel pitch of L310.
Pixel area
28.09 µm²
2.02 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: 26.07 µm² (1291%)
A pixel on Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor is approx. 1291% bigger than a pixel on Nikon L310.
Pixel density
3.56 MP/cm²
49.41 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: 45.85 µm (1288%)
Nikon L310 has approx. 1288% higher pixel density than Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500
Nikon L310
Crop factor
2
5.62
Total megapixels
8.90
Effective megapixels
8.00
Optical zoom
Yes
Digital zoom
No
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 50, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200, 4000, 5000, 6400, 8000, 10000, 12800
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
25 - 525 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f3.1 - f5.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
f17.4 - f32.6
Metering
Centre weighted, ESP Digital, Spot
256-segment Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
B+60 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
None
White balance presets
3
6
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
215,250 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (30p)
Storage types
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive, xD Picture
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
4x AA
Weight
479 g
435 g
Dimensions
129.5 x 94.5 x 66 mm
109.9 x 76.5 x 78.4 mm
Year
2005
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

Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 diagonal

w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
Diagonal =  17.30² + 13.00²   = 21.64 mm

Nikon L310 diagonal

The diagonal of L310 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.

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor area

Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm

Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 mm²

L310 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

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3262 pixels
Pixel pitch =   17.30  × 1000  = 5.3 µm
3262

L310 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.42 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

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.3 µm

Pixel area = 5.3² = 28.09 µm²

L310 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.42 µm

Pixel area = 1.42² = 2.02 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

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3262 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm

Pixel density = (3262 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 3.56 MP/cm²

L310 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4330 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.41 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

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.00
r = 17.30/13.00 = 1.33
X =  8.00 × 1000000  = 2453
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2453 × 1.33 = 3262
Resolution vertical: X = 2453

Sensor resolution = 3262 x 2453

L310 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 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


E-500 / EVOLT E-500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2
21.64

L310 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).

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 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 Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 is 2

L310 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.1 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f5.8) × 5.62 = f17.4 - f32.6

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