Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 vs. Leica D-LUX

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-LX100 image
vs
D-LUX image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 Leica D-LUX
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Megapixels
12.80
3.20
Max. image resolution
4112 x 3088
2048 x 1536

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
Sensor resolution
4126 x 3102
2063 x 1551
Diagonal
21.64 mm
7.19 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
9.05 : 1
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 Leica D-LUX
Surface area:
224.90 mm² vs 24.84 mm²
Difference: 200.06 mm² (805%)
LX100 sensor is approx. 9.05x bigger than D-LUX sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 11 years between Panasonic LX100 (2014) and Leica D-LUX (2003). Eleven years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
4.19 µm
2.79 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: 1.4 µm (50%)
Pixel pitch of LX100 is approx. 50% higher than pixel pitch of D-LUX.
Pixel area
17.56 µm²
7.78 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: 9.78 µm² (126%)
A pixel on Panasonic LX100 sensor is approx. 126% bigger than a pixel on Leica D-LUX.
Pixel density
5.69 MP/cm²
12.87 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: 7.18 µm (126%)
Leica D-LUX has approx. 126% higher pixel density than Panasonic LX100.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic LX100
Leica D-LUX
Crop factor
2
6.02
Total megapixels
16.84
Effective megapixels
12.80
Optical zoom
3.1x
Yes
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100 (extended), 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600
50, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
10 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
24 - 75 mm
35 - 105 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f1.7 - f2.8
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f3.4 - f5.6
f16.9 - f29.5
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/16000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Optical
White balance presets
5
7
Screen size
3"
1.5"
Screen resolution
921,600 dots
114,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
3840x2160 (30p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
MultiMedia, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-ion Battery Pack
Li-Ion
Weight
393 g
204 g
Dimensions
114.8 x 66.2 x 55 mm
121 x 52 x 34 mm
Year
2014
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 LX100 diagonal

w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
Diagonal =  17.30² + 13.00²   = 21.64 mm

Leica D-LUX diagonal

The diagonal of D-LUX 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


Surface area

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

LX100 sensor area

Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm

Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 mm²

D-LUX sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 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

LX100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4126 pixels
Pixel pitch =   17.30  × 1000  = 4.19 µm
4126

D-LUX pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2063 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.79 µm
2063


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

LX100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.19 µm

Pixel area = 4.19² = 17.56 µm²

D-LUX pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.79 µm

Pixel area = 2.79² = 7.78 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

LX100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4126 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm

Pixel density = (4126 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 5.69 MP/cm²

D-LUX pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2063 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2063 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 12.87 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

LX100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.80
r = 17.30/13.00 = 1.33
X =  12.80 × 1000000  = 3102
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3102 × 1.33 = 4126
Resolution vertical: X = 3102

Sensor resolution = 4126 x 3102

D-LUX sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.20
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  3.20 × 1000000  = 1551
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1551 × 1.33 = 2063
Resolution vertical: X = 1551

Sensor resolution = 2063 x 1551


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


LX100 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2
21.64

D-LUX crop factor

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

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).

LX100 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 2
Aperture = f1.7 - f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f1.7 - f2.8) × 2 = f3.4 - f5.6

D-LUX equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f29.5

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