Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550 vs. Nikon Coolpix 3100

Comparison

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550

Nikon Coolpix 3100

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Megapixels

12.10

3.10

Max. image resolution

4000 x 3000

2048 x 1536

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)

1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)

Sensor resolution

4011 x 3016

2031 x 1527

Diagonal

7.60 mm

6.66 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
1.3	:	1
(ratio)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550		Nikon Coolpix 3100

Surface area:

27.72 mm²

21.32 mm²

Difference: 6.4 mm² (30%)

FX550 sensor is approx. 1.3x bigger than 3100 sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Panasonic FX550 (2009) and Nikon 3100 (2003). Six 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

2.62 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: 1.1 µm (72%)

Pixel pitch of 3100 is approx. 72% higher than pixel pitch of FX550.

Pixel area

2.31 µm²

6.86 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:

Pixel area difference: 4.55 µm² (197%)

A pixel on Nikon 3100 sensor is approx. 197% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FX550.

Pixel density

43.52 MP/cm²

14.52 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: 29 µm (200%)

Panasonic FX550 has approx. 200% higher pixel density than Nikon 3100.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Panasonic FX550

Nikon 3100

Crop factor

5.69

6.5

Total megapixels

12.70

3.30

Effective megapixels

12.10

3.10

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400

Auto, (50-800)

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

30 cm

Macro focus range

5 cm

4 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

25 - 125 mm

38 - 115 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f5.0

f2.6 - f4.7

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f15.9 - f28.5

f16.9 - f30.6

Metering

Intelligent Multiple

256-segment Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot, Spot-AF

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

60 sec

4 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2000 sec

1/3000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

None

Optical (tunnel)

White balance presets

Screen size

1.5"

Screen resolution

230,000 dots

110,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

MultiMedia, SDHC, Secure Digital

CompactFlash type I

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Lithium-Ion rechargeable

AA NiMH (2) batteries included

Weight

167 g

200 g

Dimensions

94.9 x 57.1 x 21.9 mm

87 x 65 x 38 mm

Year

2009

2003

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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 3100 diagonal

The diagonal of 3100 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

Diagonal = √

5.33² + 4.00²

= 6.66 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

3100 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
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

FX550 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.08	× 1000	= 1.52 µm
	4011

3100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels

Pixel pitch =	5.33	× 1000	= 2.62 µm
	2031

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

3100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.62 µm

Pixel area = 2.62² = 6.86 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

3100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (2031 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 14.52 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

3100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.10

r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33

X = √	3.10 × 1000000	= 1527
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1527 × 1.33 = 2031
Resolution vertical: X = 1527

Sensor resolution = 2031 x 1527

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

3100 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).

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

3100 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.6 - f4.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f4.7) × 6.5 = f16.9 - f30.6

More comparisons of Panasonic FX550:

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