Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5 vs. Nikon Coolpix 4500

Comparison

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5

Nikon Coolpix 4500

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Megapixels

14.10

3.90

Max. image resolution

4320 x 3240

2272 x 1704

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

Sensor resolution

4330 x 3256

2277 x 1712

Diagonal

7.60 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	:	1.37
(ratio)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5		Nikon Coolpix 4500

Surface area:

27.72 mm²

37.90 mm²

Difference: 10.18 mm² (37%)

4500 sensor is approx. 1.37x bigger than SZ5 sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 10 years between Panasonic SZ5 (2012) and Nikon 4500 (2002). Ten years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.

Pixel pitch

1.4 µm

3.12 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: 1.72 µm (123%)

Pixel pitch of 4500 is approx. 123% higher than pixel pitch of SZ5.

Pixel area

1.96 µm²

9.73 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: 7.77 µm² (396%)

A pixel on Nikon 4500 sensor is approx. 396% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic SZ5.

Pixel density

50.72 MP/cm²

10.26 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: 40.46 µm (394%)

Panasonic SZ5 has approx. 394% higher pixel density than Nikon 4500.

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

Specs

Panasonic SZ5

Nikon 4500

Crop factor

5.69

4.87

Total megapixels

14.50

4.10

Effective megapixels

14.10

3.90

Optical zoom

10x

4.1x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 (3200 - 6400 with boost)

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

30 cm

Macro focus range

2 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

38 - 155 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f3.1 - f5.9

f2.6 - f5.1

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f17.6 - f33.6

f12.7 - f24.8

Metering

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

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

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

8 sec

Bulb+8 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/1600 sec

1/2300 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

SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal

CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery

Nikon EN-EL1 Lithium-Ion included

Weight

136 g

420 g

Dimensions

104 x 58 x 21 mm

130 x 73 x 50 mm

Year

2012

2002

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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 SZ5 diagonal

The diagonal of SZ5 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 4500 diagonal

The diagonal of 4500 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.

SZ5 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

4500 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

SZ5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.08	× 1000	= 1.4 µm
	4330

4500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2277 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 3.12 µm
	2277

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

SZ5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.4 µm

Pixel area = 1.4² = 1.96 µm²

4500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.12 µm

Pixel area = 3.12² = 9.73 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

SZ5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4330 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 50.72 MP/cm²

4500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2277 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2277 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 10.26 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

SZ5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.10

r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33

X = √	14.10 × 1000000	= 3256
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3256 × 1.33 = 4330
Resolution vertical: X = 3256

Sensor resolution = 4330 x 3256

4500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.90

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	3.90 × 1000000	= 1712
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1712 × 1.33 = 2277
Resolution vertical: X = 1712

Sensor resolution = 2277 x 1712

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

SZ5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.60 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.69
	7.60

4500 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).

SZ5 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.1 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f17.6 - f33.6

4500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.6 - f5.1

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f5.1) × 4.87 = f12.7 - f24.8

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