Pentax Optio RS1500 vs. Pentax Optio L50

Comparison

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Pentax Optio RS1500

Pentax Optio L50

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Megapixels

14.00

8.50

Max. image resolution

4288 x 3216

3264 x 2448

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)

1/2.35" (~ 6.03 x 4.52 mm)

Sensor resolution

4315 x 3244

3362 x 2528

Diagonal

7.60 mm

7.54 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
1.02	:	1
(ratio)

Pentax Optio RS1500		Pentax Optio L50

Surface area:

27.72 mm²

27.26 mm²

Difference: 0.46 mm² (2%)

RS1500 sensor is slightly bigger than L50 sensor (only 2% difference).

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Pentax RS1500 (2011) and Pentax L50 (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

1.41 µm

1.79 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: 0.38 µm (27%)

Pixel pitch of L50 is approx. 27% higher than pixel pitch of RS1500.

Pixel area

1.99 µm²

3.2 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: 1.21 µm² (61%)

A pixel on Pentax L50 sensor is approx. 61% bigger than a pixel on Pentax RS1500.

Pixel density

50.37 MP/cm²

31.09 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: 19.28 µm (62%)

Pentax RS1500 has approx. 62% higher pixel density than Pentax L50.

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

Specs

Pentax RS1500

Pentax L50

Crop factor

5.69

5.74

Total megapixels

14.50

Effective megapixels

14.00

Optical zoom

Yes

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100 - 6400

Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 6400

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

40 cm

Macro focus range

8 cm

10 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

28 - 110 mm

36 - 180 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f3.2 - f5.9

f3.5 - f5.6

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f18.2 - f33.6

f20.1 - f32.1

Metering

Multi-segment

Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

4 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

None

White balance presets

Screen size

2.5"

Screen resolution

230,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

SDHC, Secure Digital

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Lithium-Ion D-LI92 rechargeable battery

Li-Ion

Weight

130 g

115 g

Dimensions

92 x 56 x 21 mm

95 x 55 x 23.5 mm

Year

2011

2008

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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 RS1500 diagonal

The diagonal of RS1500 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

Pentax L50 diagonal

The diagonal of L50 sensor is not 1/2.35 or 0.43" (10.8 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.54 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.03 mm
h = 4.52 mm

Diagonal = √

6.03² + 4.52²

= 7.54 mm

Surface area

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

RS1500 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

L50 sensor area

Width = 6.03 mm
Height = 4.52 mm

Surface area = 6.03 × 4.52 = 27.26 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

RS1500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.08	× 1000	= 1.41 µm
	4315

L50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.03 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3362 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.03	× 1000	= 1.79 µm
	3362

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

RS1500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.41 µm

Pixel area = 1.41² = 1.99 µm²

L50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.79 µm

Pixel area = 1.79² = 3.2 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

RS1500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4315 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 50.37 MP/cm²

L50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3362 pixels
Sensor width = 0.603 cm

Pixel density = (3362 / 0.603)² / 1000000 = 31.09 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

RS1500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.00

r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33

X = √	14.00 × 1000000	= 3244
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3244 × 1.33 = 4315
Resolution vertical: X = 3244

Sensor resolution = 4315 x 3244

L50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.03 mm
Sensor height = 4.52 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.50

r = 6.03/4.52 = 1.33

X = √	8.50 × 1000000	= 2528
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2528 × 1.33 = 3362
Resolution vertical: X = 2528

Sensor resolution = 3362 x 2528

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

RS1500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.60 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.69
	7.60

L50 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.54 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.74
	7.54

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).

RS1500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.2 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f18.2 - f33.6

L50 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.74
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.6) × 5.74 = f20.1 - f32.1

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