Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 vs. Nikon Coolpix A900

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-ZS50 image
vs
Coolpix A900 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 Nikon Coolpix A900
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Megapixels
12.10
20.00
Max. image resolution
4000 x 3000
5184 x 3888

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
4011 x 3016
5158 x 3878
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-ZS50 Nikon Coolpix A900
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
ZS50 and A900 sensors are the same size.
Pixel pitch
1.54 µm
1.19 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: 0.35 µm (29%)
Pixel pitch of ZS50 is approx. 29% higher than pixel pitch of A900.
Pixel area
2.37 µm²
1.42 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: 0.95 µm² (67%)
A pixel on Panasonic ZS50 sensor is approx. 67% bigger than a pixel on Nikon A900.
Pixel density
42.4 MP/cm²
70.11 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: 27.71 µm (65%)
Nikon A900 has approx. 65% higher pixel density than Panasonic ZS50.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic ZS50
Nikon A900
Crop factor
5.62
5.62
Total megapixels
12.80
21.14
Effective megapixels
12.10
20.00
Optical zoom
30x
35x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
Auto, 80-3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
24 - 720 mm
24 - 840 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.3 - f6.4
f3.4 - f6.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.5 - f36
f19.1 - f38.8
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
None
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
1,040,000 dots
921,600 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60p/60i/30p)
3840x2160 (30p/25p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-ion Battery Pack
EN-EL12 lithium-ion battery
Weight
243 g
298 g
Dimensions
110.7 x 64.6 x 34.4 mm
113 x 66.5 x 39.9 mm
Year
2015
2016




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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 ZS50 diagonal

The diagonal of ZS50 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

Nikon A900 diagonal

The diagonal of A900 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.

ZS50 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

A900 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

ZS50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.54 µm
4011

A900 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5158 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.19 µm
5158


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

ZS50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.54 µm

Pixel area = 1.54² = 2.37 µm²

A900 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.19 µm

Pixel area = 1.19² = 1.42 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

ZS50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.4 MP/cm²

A900 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5158 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5158 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.11 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

ZS50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  12.10 × 1000000  = 3016
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3016 × 1.33 = 4011
Resolution vertical: X = 3016

Sensor resolution = 4011 x 3016

A900 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  20.00 × 1000000  = 3878
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3878 × 1.33 = 5158
Resolution vertical: X = 3878

Sensor resolution = 5158 x 3878


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


ZS50 crop factor

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

A900 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).

ZS50 equivalent aperture

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

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

A900 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f6.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f6.9) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f38.8

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