Olympus VG-120 vs. Canon PowerShot A30
Comparison
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| Olympus VG-120 | Canon PowerShot A30 | ||||
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Megapixels
14.00
1.20
Max. image resolution
4288 x 3216
1280 x 960
Sensor
Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 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 »
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 »
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| Olympus VG-120 | Canon PowerShot A30 | |
Surface area:
| 28.46 mm² | vs | 21.32 mm² |
Difference: 7.14 mm² (33%)
VG-120 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than A30 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations.
There is a gap of 9 years between Olympus VG-120 (2011) and Canon A30 (2002).
Nine years is a lot of time in terms
of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more
efficient than the older ones.
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.
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.
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.
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: 15.77 µm² (773%)
A pixel on Canon A30 sensor is approx. 773% bigger than a pixel on Olympus VG-120.
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.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Specs
Olympus VG-120
Canon A30
Total megapixels
1.30
Effective megapixels
14.00
1.20
Optical zoom
5x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
60 cm
76 cm
Macro focus range
7 cm
16 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
26 - 130 mm
35 - 105 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f6.5
f2.8 - f4.8
Metering
ESP Digital
Evaluative
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1500 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
3"
1.5"
Screen resolution
230,400 dots
118,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
CompactFlash type I
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-ion rechargeable LI-70B battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight
120 g
350 g
Dimensions
96 x 57 x 19 mm
110 x 71 x 38 mm
Year
2011
2002
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Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Olympus VG-120 diagonal
The diagonal of VG-120 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
w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 6.16² + 4.62² | = 7.70 mm |
Canon A30 diagonal
The diagonal of A30 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
w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 5.33² + 4.00² | = 6.66 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
VG-120 sensor area
Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm
Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²
Height = 4.62 mm
Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²
A30 sensor area
Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm
Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²
Height = 4.00 mm
Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 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 |
VG-120 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 6.16 | × 1000 | = 1.43 µm |
| 4315 |
A30 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 5.33 | × 1000 | = 4.22 µm |
| 1264 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
| Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
| effective megapixels |
VG-120 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 1.43 µm
Pixel area = 1.43² = 2.04 µm²
Pixel area = 1.43² = 2.04 µm²
A30 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 4.22 µm
Pixel area = 4.22² = 17.81 µm²
Pixel area = 4.22² = 17.81 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
One could also use this 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 |
VG-120 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm
Pixel density = (4315 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.07 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 0.616 cm
Pixel density = (4315 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.07 MP/cm²
A30 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm
Pixel density = (1264 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 5.62 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 0.533 cm
Pixel density = (1264 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 5.62 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:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
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 → |
|
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
VG-120 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.00
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3244 × 1.33 = 4315
Resolution vertical: X = 3244
Sensor resolution = 4315 x 3244
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.00
| r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 3244
Sensor resolution = 4315 x 3244
A30 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.20
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 950 × 1.33 = 1264
Resolution vertical: X = 950
Sensor resolution = 1264 x 950
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.20
| r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 950
Sensor resolution = 1264 x 950
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 |
VG-120 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 5.62 |
| 7.70 |
A30 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 6.5 |
| 6.66 |
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).
VG-120 equivalent aperture
Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8 - f6.5
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f15.7 - f36.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f6.5
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f15.7 - f36.5
A30 equivalent aperture
Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.8
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.8) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f31.2
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.8
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.8) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f31.2
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If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.