Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550 vs. Nikon Coolpix 100

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-FX550 image
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Coolpix 100 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550 Nikon Coolpix 100
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Megapixels
12.10
0.30
Max. image resolution
4000 x 3000
512 x 480

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm)
Sensor resolution
4011 x 3016
632 x 475
Diagonal
7.60 mm
6.00 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

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vs
1.6 : 1
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550 Nikon Coolpix 100
Surface area:
27.72 mm² vs 17.28 mm²
Difference: 10.44 mm² (60%)
FX550 sensor is approx. 1.6x bigger than 100 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 12 years between Panasonic FX550 (2009) and Nikon 100 (1997). Twelve years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
1.52 µm
7.59 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: 6.07 µm (399%)
Pixel pitch of 100 is approx. 399% higher than pixel pitch of FX550.
Pixel area
2.31 µm²
57.61 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: 55.3 µm² (2394%)
A pixel on Nikon 100 sensor is approx. 2394% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FX550.
Pixel density
43.52 MP/cm²
1.73 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: 41.79 µm (2416%)
Panasonic FX550 has approx. 2416% higher pixel density than Nikon 100.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic FX550
Nikon 100
Crop factor
5.69
7.21
Total megapixels
12.70
0.30
Effective megapixels
12.10
0.30
Optical zoom
5x
1x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400
100
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
23 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
14 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
25 - 125 mm
52 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.0
f2.4 - f3.6
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f15.9 - f28.5
f17.3 - f26
Metering
Intelligent Multiple
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
1/45 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/10000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
3"
2"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
130,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
MultiMedia, SDHC, Secure Digital
Internal
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight
167 g
200 g
Dimensions
94.9 x 57.1 x 21.9 mm
60 x 155 x 35 mm
Year
2009
1997




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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 FX550 diagonal

The diagonal of FX550 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

Nikon 100 diagonal

The diagonal of 100 sensor is not 1/3 or 0.33" (8.5 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.80 mm
h = 3.60 mm
Diagonal = √  4.80² + 3.60²   = 6.00 mm


Surface area

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

FX550 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

100 sensor area

Width = 4.80 mm
Height = 3.60 mm

Surface area = 4.80 × 3.60 = 17.28 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

FX550 pixel pitch

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

100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels
Pixel pitch =   4.80  × 1000  = 7.59 µm
632


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

FX550 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.52 µm

Pixel area = 1.52² = 2.31 µm²

100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.59 µm

Pixel area = 7.59² = 57.61 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

FX550 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

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

100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels
Sensor width = 0.48 cm

Pixel density = (632 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 1.73 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

FX550 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

100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 0.30
r = 4.80/3.60 = 1.33
X = √  0.30 × 1000000  = 475
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 475 × 1.33 = 632
Resolution vertical: X = 475

Sensor resolution = 632 x 475


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


FX550 crop factor

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

100 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 7.21
6.00

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).

FX550 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.0

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.0) × 5.69 = f15.9 - f28.5

100 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.21
Aperture = f2.4 - f3.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.4 - f3.6) × 7.21 = f17.3 - f26

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