Pentax Optio 230 vs. Canon EOS 350D

Comparison

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Pentax Optio 230

Canon EOS 350D

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Megapixels

1.90

8.00

Max. image resolution

1600 x 1210

3456 x 2304

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

CMOS

Sensor size

1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)

22.2 x 14.8 mm

Sensor resolution

1589 x 1195

3464 x 2309

Diagonal

6.66 mm

26.68 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	:	15.41
(ratio)

Pentax Optio 230		Canon EOS 350D

Surface area:

21.32 mm²

328.56 mm²

Difference: 307.24 mm² (1441%)

350D sensor is approx. 15.41x bigger than 230 sensor.

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Pentax 230 (2002) and Canon 350D (2005). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

3.35 µm

6.41 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: 3.06 µm (91%)

Pixel pitch of 350D is approx. 91% higher than pixel pitch of 230.

Pixel area

11.22 µm²

41.09 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:

Pixel area difference: 29.87 µm² (266%)

A pixel on Canon 350D sensor is approx. 266% bigger than a pixel on Pentax 230.

Pixel density

8.89 MP/cm²

2.43 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: 6.46 µm (266%)

Pentax 230 has approx. 266% higher pixel density than Canon 350D.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Pentax 230

Canon 350D

Crop factor

6.5

1.62

Total megapixels

2.20

8.20

Effective megapixels

1.90

8.00

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, (100, 200)

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

40 cm

Macro focus range

10 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

38 - 114 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.6 - f5

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f16.9 - f32.5

n/a

Metering

Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot

Centre weighted, Evaluative, Multi-pattern

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

4 sec

Bulb+30 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/1500 sec

1/4000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

Optical (pentamirror)

White balance presets

Screen size

1.6"

1.8"

Screen resolution

84,000 dots

115,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

CompactFlash type I

CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive

USB

USB 1.0

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)

Lithium-Ion NB-3L battery

Weight

230 g

540 g

Dimensions

104 x 63 x 42 mm

126.5 x 94.2 x 64 mm

Year

2002

2005

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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

Pentax 230 diagonal

The diagonal of 230 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm

Diagonal = √

5.33² + 4.00²

= 6.66 mm

Canon 350D diagonal

w = 22.20 mm
h = 14.80 mm

Diagonal = √

22.20² + 14.80²

= 26.68 mm

Surface area

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

230 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

350D sensor area

Width = 22.20 mm
Height = 14.80 mm

Surface area = 22.20 × 14.80 = 328.56 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

230 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1589 pixels

Pixel pitch =	5.33	× 1000	= 3.35 µm
	1589

350D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3464 pixels

Pixel pitch =	22.20	× 1000	= 6.41 µm
	3464

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

230 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.35 µm

Pixel area = 3.35² = 11.22 µm²

350D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 6.41 µm

Pixel area = 6.41² = 41.09 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

230 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1589 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1589 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 8.89 MP/cm²

350D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3464 pixels
Sensor width = 2.22 cm

Pixel density = (3464 / 2.22)² / 1000000 = 2.43 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

230 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.90

r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33

X = √	1.90 × 1000000	= 1195
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1195 × 1.33 = 1589
Resolution vertical: X = 1195

Sensor resolution = 1589 x 1195

350D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor height = 14.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.00

r = 22.20/14.80 = 1.5

X = √	8.00 × 1000000	= 2309
	1.5

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2309 × 1.5 = 3464
Resolution vertical: X = 2309

Sensor resolution = 3464 x 2309

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

230 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 6.5
	6.66

350D crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.68 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 1.62
	26.68

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).

230 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.6 - f5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f5) × 6.5 = f16.9 - f32.5

350D equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon 350D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 350D is 1.62

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