Pentax Optio 330RS vs. Samsung NV8

Comparison

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Pentax Optio 330RS

Samsung NV8

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Megapixels

3.10

8.10

Max. image resolution

2048 x 1536

3264 x 2448

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

1/1.76" (~ 7.27 x 5.46 mm)

Sensor resolution

2031 x 1527

3282 x 2468

Diagonal

8.89 mm

9.09 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	:	1.05
(ratio)

Pentax Optio 330RS		Samsung NV8

Surface area:

37.90 mm²

39.69 mm²

Difference: 1.79 mm² (5%)

NV8 sensor is slightly bigger than 330RS sensor (only 5% difference).

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Pentax 330RS (2002) and Samsung NV8 (2007). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

3.5 µm

2.22 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: 1.28 µm (58%)

Pixel pitch of 330RS is approx. 58% higher than pixel pitch of NV8.

Pixel area

12.25 µm²

4.93 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: 7.32 µm² (148%)

A pixel on Pentax 330RS sensor is approx. 148% bigger than a pixel on Samsung NV8.

Pixel density

8.16 MP/cm²

20.38 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: 12.22 µm (150%)

Samsung NV8 has approx. 150% higher pixel density than Pentax 330RS.

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

Specs

Pentax 330RS

Samsung NV8

Crop factor

4.87

4.76

Total megapixels

3.30

8.20

Effective megapixels

3.10

8.10

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, (125, 250)

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

40 cm

80 cm

Macro focus range

14 cm

4 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

37 - 111 mm

34 - 102 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f4.8

f2.8 - f5.1

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f13.6 - f23.4

f13.3 - f24.3

Metering

Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot

Centre weighted, Multi Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

4 sec

15 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2000 sec

1/1500 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

1.6"

2.5"

Screen resolution

84,000 dots

230,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

CompactFlash type I

MultiMedia, SDHC, Secure Digital

USB

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Lithium-Ion rechargeable

Weight

235 g

173 g

Dimensions

92 x 59 x 32 mm

96.5 x 60 x 18.6 mm

Year

2002

2007

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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 330RS diagonal

The diagonal of 330RS 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

Samsung NV8 diagonal

The diagonal of NV8 sensor is not 1/1.76 or 0.57" (14.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.09 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.27 mm
h = 5.46 mm

Diagonal = √

7.27² + 5.46²

= 9.09 mm

Surface area

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

330RS sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

NV8 sensor area

Width = 7.27 mm
Height = 5.46 mm

Surface area = 7.27 × 5.46 = 39.69 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

330RS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 3.5 µm
	2031

NV8 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.27 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.27	× 1000	= 2.22 µm
	3282

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

330RS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.5 µm

Pixel area = 3.5² = 12.25 µm²

NV8 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.22 µm

Pixel area = 2.22² = 4.93 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

330RS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2031 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 8.16 MP/cm²

NV8 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels
Sensor width = 0.727 cm

Pixel density = (3282 / 0.727)² / 1000000 = 20.38 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

330RS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.10

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	3.10 × 1000000	= 1527
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1527 × 1.33 = 2031
Resolution vertical: X = 1527

Sensor resolution = 2031 x 1527

NV8 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.27 mm
Sensor height = 5.46 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.10

r = 7.27/5.46 = 1.33

X = √	8.10 × 1000000	= 2468
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2468 × 1.33 = 3282
Resolution vertical: X = 2468

Sensor resolution = 3282 x 2468

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

330RS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.87
	8.89

NV8 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.09 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.76
	9.09

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).

330RS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.8) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f23.4

NV8 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.76
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.1

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.1) × 4.76 = f13.3 - f24.3

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