Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX580 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZH1

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-FX580 image
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Lumix DMC-FZH1 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX580 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZH1
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Megapixels
12.10
20.10
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
5492 x 3661
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-FX580 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZH1
Surface area:
27.72 mm² vs 116.16 mm²
Difference: 88.44 mm² (319%)
FZH1 sensor is approx. 4.19x bigger than FX580 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Panasonic FX580 (2009) and Panasonic FZH1 (2016). Seven 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 FZH1 is approx. 58% higher than pixel pitch of FX580.
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 Panasonic FZH1 sensor is approx. 149% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FX580.
Pixel density
43.52 MP/cm²
17.31 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: 26.21 µm (151%)
Panasonic FX580 has approx. 151% higher pixel density than Panasonic FZH1.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic FX580
Panasonic FZH1
Crop factor
5.69
2.73
Total megapixels
12.70
20.90
Effective megapixels
12.10
20.10
Optical zoom
5x
20x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400
Auto, 125-12800 (extends to 80-25600)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
3 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
25 - 125 mm
24 - 480 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.0
f2.8 - f4.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f15.9 - f28.5
f7.6 - f12.3
Metering
Intelligent Multiple
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Electronic
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
1,040,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
4096x2160 (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
Lithium-ion battery
Weight
167 g
966 g
Dimensions
94.9 x 57.1 x 21.9 mm
137.6 x 101.9 x 134.7 mm
Year
2009
2016




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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 FX580 diagonal

The diagonal of FX580 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 FZH1 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.

FX580 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

FZH1 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

FX580 pixel pitch

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

FZH1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 13.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5492 pixels
Pixel pitch =   13.20  × 1000  = 2.4 µm
5492


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

FX580 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.52 µm

Pixel area = 1.52² = 2.31 µm²

FZH1 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

FX580 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

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

FZH1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5492 pixels
Sensor width = 1.32 cm

Pixel density = (5492 / 1.32)² / 1000000 = 17.31 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

FX580 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

FZH1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 13.20 mm
Sensor height = 8.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.10
r = 13.20/8.80 = 1.5
X =  20.10 × 1000000  = 3661
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3661 × 1.5 = 5492
Resolution vertical: X = 3661

Sensor resolution = 5492 x 3661


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


FX580 crop factor

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

FZH1 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).

FX580 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

FZH1 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 2.73
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.5) × 2.73 = f7.6 - f12.3

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