Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ6 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W12

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-LZ6 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-W12 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ6 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W12
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Megapixels
7.10
5.22
Max. image resolution
3072 x 2304
2592 x 1944

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Sensor resolution
3072 x 2310
2635 x 1981
Diagonal
7.19 mm
8.89 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 : 1.53
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ6 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W12
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 37.90 mm²
Difference: 13.06 mm² (53%)
W12 sensor is approx. 1.53x bigger than LZ6 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Panasonic LZ6 (2007) and Sony W12 (2004). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.87 µm
2.7 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: 0.83 µm (44%)
Pixel pitch of W12 is approx. 44% higher than pixel pitch of LZ6.
Pixel area
3.5 µm²
7.29 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: 3.79 µm² (108%)
A pixel on Sony W12 sensor is approx. 108% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic LZ6.
Pixel density
28.54 MP/cm²
13.73 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: 14.81 µm (108%)
Panasonic LZ6 has approx. 108% higher pixel density than Sony W12.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic LZ6
Sony W12
Crop factor
6.02
4.87
Total megapixels
7.40
Effective megapixels
7.10
Optical zoom
6x
Yes
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250, 3200
Auto, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
6 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
37 - 222 mm
38 - 114 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.5
f2.8 - f5.6
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f27.1
f13.6 - f27.3
Metering
Multi-segment
Multi Spot, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Optical
White balance presets
7
5
Screen size
2"
2.5"
Screen resolution
86,000 dots
123,200 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Secure Digital
Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
2x AA
Weight
180 g
189 g
Dimensions
98.5 x 62.3 x 33.1 mm
91 x 60 x 33 mm
Year
2007
2004




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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 LZ6 diagonal

The diagonal of LZ6 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

Sony W12 diagonal

The diagonal of W12 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm
Diagonal =  7.11² + 5.33²   = 8.89 mm


Surface area

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

LZ6 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

W12 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 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

LZ6 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.87 µm
3072

W12 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2635 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 2.7 µm
2635


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

LZ6 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.87 µm

Pixel area = 1.87² = 3.5 µm²

W12 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.7 µm

Pixel area = 2.7² = 7.29 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

LZ6 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3072 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 28.54 MP/cm²

W12 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2635 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2635 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 13.73 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

LZ6 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.10
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  7.10 × 1000000  = 2310
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2310 × 1.33 = 3072
Resolution vertical: X = 2310

Sensor resolution = 3072 x 2310

W12 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.22
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  5.22 × 1000000  = 1981
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1981 × 1.33 = 2635
Resolution vertical: X = 1981

Sensor resolution = 2635 x 1981


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


LZ6 crop factor

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

W12 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

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).

LZ6 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.5) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f27.1

W12 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.6) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f27.3

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