Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 vs. Nikon Coolpix S9500
Comparison
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 | Nikon Coolpix S9500 | ||||
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Megapixels
8.10
18.10
Max. image resolution
3264 x 2448
4896 x 3672
Sensor
Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 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 »
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 »
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(ratio) | ||
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 | Nikon Coolpix S9500 |
Surface area:
24.84 mm² | vs | 28.46 mm² |
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
S9500 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than TZ4 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations.
There is a 5 year gap between Panasonic TZ4 (2008) and Nikon S9500 (2013).
All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
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.
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.
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.
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: 1.47 µm² (92%)
A pixel on Panasonic TZ4 sensor is approx. 92% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S9500.
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.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Specs
Panasonic TZ4
Nikon S9500
Total megapixels
8.30
18.91
Effective megapixels
8.10
18.10
Optical zoom
10x
22x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 6400
ISO 125-3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 280 mm
25 - 550 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3.3 - f4.9
f3.4 - f6.3
Metering
Centre weighted, Intelligent Multiple, Spot
Matrix, Center-weighted, 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
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1500 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
5
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
230,400 dots
614,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p)
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12
Weight
208 g
205 g
Dimensions
103.3 x 59.3 x 36.2 mm
110.1 x 60.3 x 30.7 mm
Year
2008
2013
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Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Panasonic TZ4 diagonal
The diagonal of TZ4 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
w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal = √ | 5.75² + 4.32² | = 7.19 mm |
Nikon S9500 diagonal
The diagonal of S9500 sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of
that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see
sensor sizes.
w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
Diagonal = √ | 6.16² + 4.62² | = 7.70 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
TZ4 sensor area
Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm
Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²
Height = 4.32 mm
Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²
S9500 sensor area
Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm
Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²
Height = 4.62 mm
Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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 |
TZ4 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels
Pixel pitch = | 5.75 | × 1000 | = 1.75 µm |
3282 |
S9500 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Pixel pitch = | 6.16 | × 1000 | = 1.26 µm |
4906 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
effective megapixels |
TZ4 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 1.75 µm
Pixel area = 1.75² = 3.06 µm²
Pixel area = 1.75² = 3.06 µm²
S9500 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 1.26 µm
Pixel area = 1.26² = 1.59 µm²
Pixel area = 1.26² = 1.59 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
One could also use this 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 |
TZ4 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm
Pixel density = (3282 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 32.58 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 0.575 cm
Pixel density = (3282 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 32.58 MP/cm²
S9500 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm
Pixel density = (4906 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.43 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 0.616 cm
Pixel density = (4906 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.43 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:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
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 → |
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Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
TZ4 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.10
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2468 × 1.33 = 3282
Resolution vertical: X = 2468
Sensor resolution = 3282 x 2468
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.10
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33 |
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Resolution vertical: X = 2468
Sensor resolution = 3282 x 2468
S9500 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.10
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3689 × 1.33 = 4906
Resolution vertical: X = 3689
Sensor resolution = 4906 x 3689
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 3689
Sensor resolution = 4906 x 3689
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 |
TZ4 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 6.02 |
7.19 |
S9500 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 5.62 |
7.70 |
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).
TZ4 equivalent aperture
Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f3.3 - f4.9
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f4.9) × 6.02 = f19.9 - f29.5
Aperture = f3.3 - f4.9
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f4.9) × 6.02 = f19.9 - f29.5
S9500 equivalent aperture
Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f6.3
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f6.3) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f35.4
Aperture = f3.4 - f6.3
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f6.3) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f35.4
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