Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-TZ40 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V
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Megapixels
18.10
16.80
Max. image resolution
4896 x 3672
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
4906 x 3689
4727 x 3554
Diagonal
7.70 mm
7.70 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
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
TZ40 and HX9V sensors are the same size.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Panasonic TZ40 (2013) and Sony HX9V (2011). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.26 µm
1.3 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: 0.04 µm (3%)
Pixel pitch of HX9V is approx. 3% higher than pixel pitch of TZ40.
Pixel area
1.59 µm²
1.69 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: 0.1 µm² (6%)
A pixel on Sony HX9V sensor is approx. 6% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic TZ40.
Pixel density
63.43 MP/cm²
58.89 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: 4.54 µm (8%)
Panasonic TZ40 has approx. 8% higher pixel density than Sony HX9V.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic TZ40
Sony HX9V
Crop factor
5.62
5.62
Total megapixels
18.90
Effective megapixels
18.10
Optical zoom
20x
16x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600. 3200, 6400
Auto, 100 - 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
24 - 480 mm
24 - 384 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.3 - f6.4
f3.3 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.5 - f36
f18.5 - f33.2
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
4
7
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
920,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion NP-BG1 battery
Weight
198 g
215 g
Dimensions
108.3 x 58.9 x 27.7 mm
105 x 59 x 34 mm
Year
2013
2011




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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 TZ40 diagonal

The diagonal of TZ40 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
Diagonal = √  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 mm

Sony HX9V diagonal

The diagonal of HX9V 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
Diagonal = √  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 mm


Surface area

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

TZ40 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

HX9V sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
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

TZ40 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.26 µm
4906

HX9V pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4727 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.3 µm
4727


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

TZ40 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.26 µm

Pixel area = 1.26² = 1.59 µm²

HX9V pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.3 µm

Pixel area = 1.3² = 1.69 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

TZ40 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4906 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4906 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.43 MP/cm²

HX9V pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4727 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4727 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 58.89 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

TZ40 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  18.10 × 1000000  = 3689
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3689 × 1.33 = 4906
Resolution vertical: X = 3689

Sensor resolution = 4906 x 3689

HX9V sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.80
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  16.80 × 1000000  = 3554
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3554 × 1.33 = 4727
Resolution vertical: X = 3554

Sensor resolution = 4727 x 3554


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


TZ40 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

HX9V 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).

TZ40 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.3 - f6.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f6.4) × 5.62 = f18.5 - f36

HX9V equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f18.5 - f33.2

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