Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX40 vs. Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-FX40 image
vs
PowerShot G9 X Mark II image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX40 Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II
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Megapixels
12.10
20.20
Max. image resolution
4000 x 3000
5472 x 3648

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
13.2 x 8.8 mm
Sensor resolution
4011 x 3016
5505 x 3670
Diagonal
7.60 mm
15.86 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 : 4.19
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX40 Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II
Surface area:
27.72 mm² vs 116.16 mm²
Difference: 88.44 mm² (319%)
G9 X Mark II sensor is approx. 4.19x bigger than FX40 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 8 years between Panasonic FX40 (2009) and Canon G9 X Mark II (2017). Eight years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
1.52 µm
2.4 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: 0.88 µm (58%)
Pixel pitch of G9 X Mark II is approx. 58% higher than pixel pitch of FX40.
Pixel area
2.31 µm²
5.76 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: 3.45 µm² (149%)
A pixel on Canon G9 X Mark II sensor is approx. 149% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FX40.
Pixel density
43.52 MP/cm²
17.39 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: 26.13 µm (150%)
Panasonic FX40 has approx. 150% higher pixel density than Canon G9 X Mark II.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic FX40
Canon G9 X Mark II
Crop factor
5.69
2.73
Total megapixels
12.70
20.90
Effective megapixels
12.10
20.20
Optical zoom
5x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400
Auto, 125-12800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
5 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
25 - 125 mm
28 - 84 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.9
f2 - 4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f15.9 - f33.6
f5.5 - f13.4
Metering
Intelligent Multiple
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
1,040,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60p/30p/24p)
Storage types
MultiMedia, SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
NB-13L lithium-ion battery
Weight
150 g
206 g
Dimensions
95.3 x 52.9 x 21.5 mm
98 x 57.9 x 31.3 mm
Year
2009
2017




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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 FX40 diagonal

The diagonal of FX40 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

Canon G9 X Mark II diagonal

w = 13.20 mm
h = 8.80 mm
Diagonal =  13.20² + 8.80²   = 15.86 mm


Surface area

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

FX40 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

G9 X Mark II sensor area

Width = 13.20 mm
Height = 8.80 mm

Surface area = 13.20 × 8.80 = 116.16 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

FX40 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.52 µm
4011

G9 X Mark II pixel pitch

Sensor width = 13.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5505 pixels
Pixel pitch =   13.20  × 1000  = 2.4 µm
5505


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

FX40 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.52 µm

Pixel area = 1.52² = 2.31 µm²

G9 X Mark II pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.4 µm

Pixel area = 2.4² = 5.76 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

FX40 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 43.52 MP/cm²

G9 X Mark II pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5505 pixels
Sensor width = 1.32 cm

Pixel density = (5505 / 1.32)² / 1000000 = 17.39 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

FX40 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33
X =  12.10 × 1000000  = 3016
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3016 × 1.33 = 4011
Resolution vertical: X = 3016

Sensor resolution = 4011 x 3016

G9 X Mark II sensor resolution

Sensor width = 13.20 mm
Sensor height = 8.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.20
r = 13.20/8.80 = 1.5
X =  20.20 × 1000000  = 3670
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3670 × 1.5 = 5505
Resolution vertical: X = 3670

Sensor resolution = 5505 x 3670


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


FX40 crop factor

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

G9 X Mark II crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 15.86 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2.73
15.86

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).

FX40 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f15.9 - f33.6

G9 X Mark II equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 2.73
Aperture = f2 - 4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2 - 4.9) × 2.73 = f5.5 - f13.4

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