Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 vs. Canon EOS Rebel T3

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-FZ20 image
vs
EOS Rebel T3 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 Canon EOS Rebel T3
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Megapixels
5.00
12.20
Max. image resolution
2560 x 1920
4272 x 2848

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
22.2 x 14.8 mm
Sensor resolution
2579 x 1939
4278 x 2852
Diagonal
7.19 mm
26.68 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 : 13.23
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 Canon EOS Rebel T3
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 328.56 mm²
Difference: 303.72 mm² (1223%)
Rebel T3 sensor is approx. 13.23x bigger than FZ20 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Panasonic FZ20 (2004) and Canon Rebel T3 (2011). 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
2.23 µm
5.19 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: 2.96 µm (133%)
Pixel pitch of Rebel T3 is approx. 133% higher than pixel pitch of FZ20.
Pixel area
4.97 µm²
26.94 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: 21.97 µm² (442%)
A pixel on Canon Rebel T3 sensor is approx. 442% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FZ20.
Pixel density
20.12 MP/cm²
3.71 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: 16.41 µm (442%)
Panasonic FZ20 has approx. 442% higher pixel density than Canon Rebel T3.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic FZ20
Canon Rebel T3
Crop factor
6.02
1.62
Total megapixels
5.30
12.60
Effective megapixels
5.00
12.20
Optical zoom
12x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
30 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
36 - 432 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f2.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f16.9
n/a
Metering
Centre weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Partial
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Optical
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
2"
2.7"
Screen resolution
130,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (30p/25p)
Storage types
Secure Digital
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Lithium-Ion LP-E10 rechargeable battery
Weight
520 g
495 g
Dimensions
135 x 87 x 106 mm
129.9 x 99.7 x 77.9 mm
Year
2004
2011




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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 FZ20 diagonal

The diagonal of FZ20 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal =  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm

Canon Rebel T3 diagonal

w = 22.20 mm
h = 14.80 mm
Diagonal =  22.20² + 14.80²   = 26.68 mm


Surface area

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

FZ20 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

Rebel T3 sensor area

Width = 22.20 mm
Height = 14.80 mm

Surface area = 22.20 × 14.80 = 328.56 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

FZ20 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.23 µm
2579

Rebel T3 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4278 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.20  × 1000  = 5.19 µm
4278


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

FZ20 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.23 µm

Pixel area = 2.23² = 4.97 µm²

Rebel T3 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.19 µm

Pixel area = 5.19² = 26.94 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

FZ20 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 20.12 MP/cm²

Rebel T3 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4278 pixels
Sensor width = 2.22 cm

Pixel density = (4278 / 2.22)² / 1000000 = 3.71 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

FZ20 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  5.00 × 1000000  = 1939
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939

Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939

Rebel T3 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor height = 14.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.20
r = 22.20/14.80 = 1.5
X =  12.20 × 1000000  = 2852
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2852 × 1.5 = 4278
Resolution vertical: X = 2852

Sensor resolution = 4278 x 2852


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


FZ20 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

Rebel T3 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.68 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.62
26.68

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).

FZ20 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f2.8) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f16.9

Rebel T3 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon Rebel T3, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon Rebel T3 is 1.62

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