Olympus FE-140 vs. Nikon Coolpix P520

Comparison

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FE-140 image
vs
Coolpix P520 image
Olympus FE-140 Nikon Coolpix P520
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Megapixels
6.00
18.10
Max. image resolution
2816 x 2112
4896 x 3672

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
2825 x 2124
4906 x 3689
Diagonal
7.19 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
1 : 1.15
(ratio)
Olympus FE-140 Nikon Coolpix P520
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
P520 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than FE-140 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Olympus FE-140 (2006) and Nikon P520 (2013). 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
2.04 µm
1.26 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: 0.78 µm (62%)
Pixel pitch of FE-140 is approx. 62% higher than pixel pitch of P520.
Pixel area
4.16 µm²
1.59 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: 2.57 µm² (162%)
A pixel on Olympus FE-140 sensor is approx. 162% bigger than a pixel on Nikon P520.
Pixel density
24.14 MP/cm²
63.43 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: 39.29 µm (163%)
Nikon P520 has approx. 163% higher pixel density than Olympus FE-140.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Olympus FE-140
Nikon P520
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
6.20
18.91
Effective megapixels
6.00
18.10
Optical zoom
3x
42x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80 - 320
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 2000, 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
10 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 114 mm
24 - 1000 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.1 - f5.9
f3 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.7 - f35.5
f16.9 - f33.2
Metering
ESP Digital
Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Electronic
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
2.5"
3.2"
Screen resolution
110,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60i/50i/30p/25p)
Storage types
xD Picture card
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5
Weight
130 g
550 g
Dimensions
96 x 63 x 25 mm
125.2 x 84.1 x 101.6 mm
Year
2006
2013




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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 FE-140 diagonal

The diagonal of FE-140 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal =  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm

Nikon P520 diagonal

The diagonal of P520 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.

FE-140 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

P520 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

FE-140 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.04 µm
2825

P520 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.26 µm
4906


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

FE-140 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.04 µm

Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 µm²

P520 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.26 µm

Pixel area = 1.26² = 1.59 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

FE-140 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2825 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 24.14 MP/cm²

P520 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4906 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.43 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

FE-140 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  6.00 × 1000000  = 2124
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2124 × 1.33 = 2825
Resolution vertical: X = 2124

Sensor resolution = 2825 x 2124

P520 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  18.10 × 1000000  = 3689
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3689 × 1.33 = 4906
Resolution vertical: X = 3689

Sensor resolution = 4906 x 3689


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


FE-140 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

P520 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).

FE-140 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f3.1 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f5.9) × 6.02 = f18.7 - f35.5

P520 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f16.9 - f33.2

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