Panasonic PV DC3000 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3

Comparison

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PV DC3000 image
vs
Lumix DMC-ZR3 image
Panasonic PV DC3000 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3
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Megapixels
3.34
14.10
Max. image resolution
2048 x 1536
4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor resolution
2108 x 1585
4330 x 3256
Diagonal
8.89 mm
7.60 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
1.37 : 1
(ratio)
Panasonic PV DC3000 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3
Surface area:
37.90 mm² vs 27.72 mm²
Difference: 10.18 mm² (37%)
PV DC3000 sensor is approx. 1.37x bigger than ZR3 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 10 years between Panasonic PV DC3000 (2000) and Panasonic ZR3 (2010). Ten years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
3.37 µm
1.4 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: 1.97 µm (141%)
Pixel pitch of PV DC3000 is approx. 141% higher than pixel pitch of ZR3.
Pixel area
11.36 µm²
1.96 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: 9.4 µm² (480%)
A pixel on Panasonic PV DC3000 sensor is approx. 480% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic ZR3.
Pixel density
8.79 MP/cm²
50.72 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: 41.93 µm (477%)
Panasonic ZR3 has approx. 477% higher pixel density than Panasonic PV DC3000.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic PV DC3000
Panasonic ZR3
Crop factor
4.87
5.69
Total megapixels
14.50
Effective megapixels
14.10
Optical zoom
Yes
8x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
12 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
32 - 64 mm
25 - 200 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f2.9
f3.3 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f14.1
f18.8 - f33.6
Metering
Centre weighted
Intelligent Multiple
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
1/4 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/1300 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
None
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
1.5"
2.7"
Screen resolution
110,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
MultiMedia, Secure Digital
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.1
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
4x AA
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
239 g
159 g
Dimensions
93 x 96 x 40 mm
98 x 55 x 26 mm
Year
2000
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 PV DC3000 diagonal

The diagonal of PV DC3000 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm
Diagonal =  7.11² + 5.33²   = 8.89 mm

Panasonic ZR3 diagonal

The diagonal of ZR3 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


Surface area

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

PV DC3000 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

ZR3 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 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

PV DC3000 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2108 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 3.37 µm
2108

ZR3 pixel pitch

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


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

PV DC3000 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.37 µm

Pixel area = 3.37² = 11.36 µm²

ZR3 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.4 µm

Pixel area = 1.4² = 1.96 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

PV DC3000 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2108 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2108 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 8.79 MP/cm²

ZR3 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

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

PV DC3000 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.34
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  3.34 × 1000000  = 1585
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1585 × 1.33 = 2108
Resolution vertical: X = 1585

Sensor resolution = 2108 x 1585

ZR3 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


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


PV DC3000 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

ZR3 crop factor

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

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).

PV DC3000 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.9) × 4.87 = f14.1

ZR3 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

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