Pentax Optio 430RS vs. Ricoh GR Digital 4

Comparison

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Optio 430RS image
vs
GR Digital 4 image
Pentax Optio 430RS Ricoh GR Digital 4
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Megapixels
3.80
10.40
Max. image resolution
2304 x 1712
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)
Sensor resolution
2248 x 1690
3733 x 2786
Diagonal
8.89 mm
9.41 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 : 1.12
(ratio)
Pentax Optio 430RS Ricoh GR Digital 4
Surface area:
37.90 mm² vs 42.47 mm²
Difference: 4.57 mm² (12%)
GR 4 sensor is approx. 1.12x bigger than 430RS sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 9 years between Pentax 430RS (2002) and Ricoh GR 4 (2011). Nine years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
3.16 µm
2.02 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: 1.14 µm (56%)
Pixel pitch of 430RS is approx. 56% higher than pixel pitch of GR 4.
Pixel area
9.99 µm²
4.08 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: 5.91 µm² (145%)
A pixel on Pentax 430RS sensor is approx. 145% bigger than a pixel on Ricoh GR 4.
Pixel density
10 MP/cm²
24.58 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: 14.58 µm (146%)
Ricoh GR 4 has approx. 146% higher pixel density than Pentax 430RS.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Pentax 430RS
Ricoh GR 4
Crop factor
4.87
4.6
Total megapixels
4.10
Effective megapixels
3.80
Optical zoom
3x
1x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200
Auto, 80 - 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
40 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
14 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
37 - 111 mm
28 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.6 - f4.8
f1.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f12.7 - f23.4
f8.7
Metering
Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
2 sec
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (optional)
White balance presets
7
6
Screen size
1.6"
3"
Screen resolution
80,000 dots
1,230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Lithium-Ion DB65 rechargeable battery
Weight
235 g
190 g
Dimensions
92 x 59 x 32 mm
109 x 60 x 33 mm
Year
2002
2011




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vs

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Pentax 430RS diagonal

The diagonal of 430RS 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

Ricoh GR 4 diagonal

The diagonal of GR 4 sensor is not 1/1.7 or 0.59" (14.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.41 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.53 mm
h = 5.64 mm
Diagonal =  7.53² + 5.64²   = 9.41 mm


Surface area

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

430RS sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

GR 4 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 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

430RS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2248 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 3.16 µm
2248

GR 4 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3733 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.53  × 1000  = 2.02 µm
3733


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

430RS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.16 µm

Pixel area = 3.16² = 9.99 µm²

GR 4 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.02 µm

Pixel area = 2.02² = 4.08 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

430RS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2248 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2248 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 10 MP/cm²

GR 4 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3733 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (3733 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 24.58 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

430RS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.80
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  3.80 × 1000000  = 1690
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1690 × 1.33 = 2248
Resolution vertical: X = 1690

Sensor resolution = 2248 x 1690

GR 4 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.40
r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34
X =  10.40 × 1000000  = 2786
1.34
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2786 × 1.34 = 3733
Resolution vertical: X = 2786

Sensor resolution = 3733 x 2786


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


430RS crop factor

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

GR 4 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.41 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.6
9.41

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).

430RS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.6 - f4.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f4.8) × 4.87 = f12.7 - f23.4

GR 4 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f1.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f1.9) × 4.6 = f8.7

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