Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS10 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U50

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-TS10 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-U50 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS10 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U50
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Megapixels
14.10
2.10
Max. image resolution
4320 x 3240
1632 x 1224

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
Sensor resolution
4330 x 3256
1672 x 1257
Diagonal
7.60 mm
6.66 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
1.3 : 1
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS10 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U50
Surface area:
27.72 mm² vs 21.32 mm²
Difference: 6.4 mm² (30%)
TS10 sensor is approx. 1.3x bigger than U50 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Panasonic TS10 (2010) and Sony U50 (2003). 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
1.4 µm
3.19 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: 1.79 µm (128%)
Pixel pitch of U50 is approx. 128% higher than pixel pitch of TS10.
Pixel area
1.96 µm²
10.18 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: 8.22 µm² (419%)
A pixel on Sony U50 sensor is approx. 419% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic TS10.
Pixel density
50.72 MP/cm²
9.84 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: 40.88 µm (415%)
Panasonic TS10 has approx. 415% higher pixel density than Sony U50.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic TS10
Sony U50
Crop factor
5.69
6.5
Total megapixels
14.50
Effective megapixels
14.10
Optical zoom
4x
1x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400
Auto
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
10 cm
Macro focus range
10 cm
10 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 140 mm
33 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3.5 - f5.9
f2.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.9 - f33.6
f18.2
Metering
Intelligent Multiple
Centre weighted
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
1/8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
2.7"
1"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
64,460 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
Memory Stick Duo
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
AAA (2) batteries NiMH supplied
Weight
188 g
132 g
Dimensions
100.3 x 63.5 x 21.6 mm
99.9 x 40.5 x 24.9 mm
Year
2010
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 TS10 diagonal

The diagonal of TS10 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

Sony U50 diagonal

The diagonal of U50 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal =  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm


Surface area

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

TS10 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

U50 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 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

TS10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.4 µm
4330

U50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1672 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.19 µm
1672


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

TS10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.4 µm

Pixel area = 1.4² = 1.96 µm²

U50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.19 µm

Pixel area = 3.19² = 10.18 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

TS10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

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

U50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1672 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1672 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.84 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

TS10 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

U50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.10
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X =  2.10 × 1000000  = 1257
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1257 × 1.33 = 1672
Resolution vertical: X = 1257

Sensor resolution = 1672 x 1257


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


TS10 crop factor

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

U50 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

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).

TS10 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f19.9 - f33.6

U50 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 6.5 = f18.2

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