Pentax Optio S50 vs. Leica SL2

Comparison

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Optio S50 image
vs
SL2 image
Pentax Optio S50 Leica SL2
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Megapixels
5.00
47.30
Max. image resolution
2560 x 1920
8368 x 5584

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
36 x 24 mm
Sensor resolution
2579 x 1939
8423 x 5615
Diagonal
7.19 mm
43.27 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

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vs
1 : 34.78
(ratio)
Pentax Optio S50 Leica SL2
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 864.00 mm²
Difference: 839.16 mm² (3378%)
SL2 sensor is approx. 34.78x bigger than S50 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 15 years between Pentax S50 (2004) and Leica SL2 (2019). Fifteen years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
2.23 µm
4.27 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: 2.04 µm (91%)
Pixel pitch of SL2 is approx. 91% higher than pixel pitch of S50.
Pixel area
4.97 µm²
18.23 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: 13.26 µm² (267%)
A pixel on Leica SL2 sensor is approx. 267% bigger than a pixel on Pentax S50.
Pixel density
20.12 MP/cm²
5.47 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: 14.65 µm (268%)
Pentax S50 has approx. 268% higher pixel density than Leica SL2.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Pentax S50
Leica SL2
Crop factor
6.02
1
Total megapixels
5.40
Effective megapixels
5.00
47.30
Optical zoom
3x
 
Digital zoom
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100-50000 (extends to 50)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
40 cm
Macro focus range
6 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
36 - 107 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.6 - f4.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f15.7 - f28.9
n/a
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
1800 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Electronic
White balance presets
5
8
Screen size
1.8"
3.2"
Screen resolution
85,000 dots
2,100,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
4992x3744 (30p/​25p/​24p)
Storage types
SD/MMC card, Internal
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
BP-SCL4 lithium-ion battery
Weight
180 g
928 g
Dimensions
89 x 59 x 26 mm
146 x 107 x 42 mm
Year
2004
2019




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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 S50 diagonal

The diagonal of S50 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal =  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm

Leica SL2 diagonal

w = 36.00 mm
h = 24.00 mm
Diagonal =  36.00² + 24.00²   = 43.27 mm


Surface area

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

S50 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

SL2 sensor area

Width = 36.00 mm
Height = 24.00 mm

Surface area = 36.00 × 24.00 = 864.00 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

S50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.23 µm
2579

SL2 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 8423 pixels
Pixel pitch =   36.00  × 1000  = 4.27 µm
8423


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

S50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.23 µm

Pixel area = 2.23² = 4.97 µm²

SL2 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.27 µm

Pixel area = 4.27² = 18.23 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

S50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 20.12 MP/cm²

SL2 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 8423 pixels
Sensor width = 3.6 cm

Pixel density = (8423 / 3.6)² / 1000000 = 5.47 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

S50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  5.00 × 1000000  = 1939
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939

Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939

SL2 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 47.30
r = 36.00/24.00 = 1.5
X =  47.30 × 1000000  = 5615
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 5615 × 1.5 = 8423
Resolution vertical: X = 5615

Sensor resolution = 8423 x 5615


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


S50 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

SL2 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.27 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.27

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).

S50 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.6 - f4.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f4.8) × 6.02 = f15.7 - f28.9

SL2 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 Leica SL2, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Since crop factor for Leica SL2 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.

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