Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 vs. Nikon Coolpix S6500

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-ZS10 image
vs
Coolpix S6500 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 Nikon Coolpix S6500
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Megapixels
14.10
16.00
Max. image resolution
4320 x 3240
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
4330 x 3256
4612 x 3468
Diagonal
7.60 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 : 1.03
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 Nikon Coolpix S6500
Surface area:
27.72 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0.74 mm² (3%)
S6500 sensor is slightly bigger than ZS10 sensor (only 3% difference).
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Panasonic ZS10 (2011) and Nikon S6500 (2013). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.4 µm
1.34 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: 0.06 µm (4%)
Pixel pitch of ZS10 is approx. 4% higher than pixel pitch of S6500.
Pixel area
1.96 µm²
1.8 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: 0.16 µm² (9%)
A pixel on Panasonic ZS10 sensor is approx. 9% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S6500.
Pixel density
50.72 MP/cm²
56.06 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: 5.34 µm (11%)
Nikon S6500 has approx. 11% higher pixel density than Panasonic ZS10.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic ZS10
Nikon S6500
Crop factor
5.69
5.62
Total megapixels
15.10
16.79
Effective megapixels
14.10
16.00
Optical zoom
16x
12x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400
125-1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
8 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
24 - 384 mm
25 - 300 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f3.3 - f5.9
f3.1 - f6.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.8 - f33.6
f17.4 - f36.5
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
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
460,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, 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 battery
EN-EL19 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
Weight
219 g
153 g
Dimensions
105 x 58 x 33 mm
95.4 x 58.3 x 26.3 mm
Year
2011
2013




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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 ZS10 diagonal

The diagonal of ZS10 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 S6500 diagonal

The diagonal of S6500 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.

ZS10 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

S6500 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

ZS10 pixel pitch

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

S6500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.34 µm
4612


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

ZS10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.4 µm

Pixel area = 1.4² = 1.96 µm²

S6500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.34 µm

Pixel area = 1.34² = 1.8 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

ZS10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

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

S6500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4612 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 56.06 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

ZS10 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

S6500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  16.00 × 1000000  = 3468
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3468 × 1.33 = 4612
Resolution vertical: X = 3468

Sensor resolution = 4612 x 3468


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


ZS10 crop factor

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

S6500 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).

ZS10 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f18.8 - f33.6

S6500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.1 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f17.4 - f36.5

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