Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-TZ4 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-HX5 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5
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Megapixels
8.10
10.60
Max. image resolution
3264 x 2448
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.4" (~ 5.90 x 4.43 mm)
Sensor resolution
3282 x 2468
3755 x 2823
Diagonal
7.19 mm
7.38 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 : 1.05
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 26.14 mm²
Difference: 1.3 mm² (5%)
HX5 sensor is slightly bigger than TZ4 sensor (only 5% difference).
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Panasonic TZ4 (2008) and Sony HX5 (2010). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.75 µm
1.57 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: 0.18 µm (11%)
Pixel pitch of TZ4 is approx. 11% higher than pixel pitch of HX5.
Pixel area
3.06 µm²
2.46 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: 0.6 µm² (24%)
A pixel on Panasonic TZ4 sensor is approx. 24% bigger than a pixel on Sony HX5.
Pixel density
32.58 MP/cm²
40.51 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: 7.93 µm (24%)
Sony HX5 has approx. 24% higher pixel density than Panasonic TZ4.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic TZ4
Sony HX5
Crop factor
6.02
5.86
Total megapixels
8.30
Effective megapixels
8.10
Optical zoom
10x
10x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 6400
Auto, 80, 125, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
5 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 280 mm
25 - 250 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3.3 - f4.9
f3.5 - f5.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.9 - f29.5
f20.5 - f32.2
Metering
Centre weighted, Intelligent Multiple, Spot
Centre weighted, Multi-pattern, 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
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
7
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
230,400 dots
230,400 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Lithium-Ion NP-BG1 battery
Weight
208 g
170 g
Dimensions
103.3 x 59.3 x 36.2 mm
102.9 x 57.7 x 24.6 mm
Year
2008
2010




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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 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
Diagonal =  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm

Sony HX5 diagonal

The diagonal of HX5 sensor is not 1/2.4 or 0.42" (10.6 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.38 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.90 mm
h = 4.43 mm
Diagonal =  5.90² + 4.43²   = 7.38 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

HX5 sensor area

Width = 5.90 mm
Height = 4.43 mm

Surface area = 5.90 × 4.43 = 26.14 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
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.75 µm
3282

HX5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3755 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.90  × 1000  = 1.57 µm
3755


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

TZ4 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.75 µm

Pixel area = 1.75² = 3.06 µm²

HX5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.57 µm

Pixel area = 1.57² = 2.46 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

TZ4 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3282 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 32.58 MP/cm²

HX5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3755 pixels
Sensor width = 0.59 cm

Pixel density = (3755 / 0.59)² / 1000000 = 40.51 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

TZ4 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.10
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  8.10 × 1000000  = 2468
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2468 × 1.33 = 3282
Resolution vertical: X = 2468

Sensor resolution = 3282 x 2468

HX5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.90 mm
Sensor height = 4.43 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.60
r = 5.90/4.43 = 1.33
X =  10.60 × 1000000  = 2823
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2823 × 1.33 = 3755
Resolution vertical: X = 2823

Sensor resolution = 3755 x 2823


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

HX5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.38 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.86
7.38

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

HX5 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.86
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.5) × 5.86 = f20.5 - f32.2

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