Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS40

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-FH20 image
vs
Lumix DMC-FS40 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS40
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Megapixels
14.00
14.10
Max. image resolution
4320 x 3240
4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor resolution
4315 x 3244
4330 x 3256
Diagonal
7.60 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
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS40
Surface area:
27.72 mm² vs 27.72 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
FH20 and FS40 sensors are the same size.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Panasonic FH20 (2010) and Panasonic FS40 (2012). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.41 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: 0.01 µm (0.7%)
Pixel pitch of FH20 is approx. 0.7% higher than pixel pitch of FS40.
Pixel area
1.99 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: 0.03 µm² (2%)
A pixel on Panasonic FH20 sensor is approx. 2% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FS40.
Pixel density
50.37 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: 0.35 µm (0.7%)
Panasonic FS40 has approx. 0.7% higher pixel density than Panasonic FH20.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic FH20
Panasonic FS40
Crop factor
5.69
5.69
Total megapixels
14.50
Effective megapixels
14.00
Optical zoom
8x
Yes
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 224 mm
24 - 120 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3.3 - f5.9
f2.5 - f6.4
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.8 - f33.6
f14.2 - f36.4
Metering
Multi-pattern
Matrix, Multi-segment
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
7
Screen size
2.7"
2.7"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Li-Ion
Weight
178 g
119 g
Dimensions
100.0 x 56.5 x 27.8 mm
96 x 56 x 20 mm
Year
2010
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

Panasonic FH20 diagonal

The diagonal of FH20 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

Panasonic FS40 diagonal

The diagonal of FS40 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.

FH20 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

FS40 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

FH20 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.41 µm
4315

FS40 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

FH20 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.41 µm

Pixel area = 1.41² = 1.99 µm²

FS40 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

FH20 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4315 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 50.37 MP/cm²

FS40 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

FH20 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.00
r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33
X =  14.00 × 1000000  = 3244
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3244 × 1.33 = 4315
Resolution vertical: X = 3244

Sensor resolution = 4315 x 3244

FS40 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


FH20 crop factor

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

FS40 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).

FH20 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f18.8 - f33.6

FS40 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f2.5 - f6.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.5 - f6.4) × 5.69 = f14.2 - f36.4

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