Pentax Optio S50 vs. Nikon Coolpix S3700
Comparison
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Megapixels
5.00
20.10
Max. image resolution
2560 x 1920
5152 x 3864
Sensor
Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 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 »
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 »
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| Pentax Optio S50 | Nikon Coolpix S3700 | |
Surface area:
| 24.84 mm² | vs | 28.46 mm² |
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
S3700 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than S50 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations.
There is a gap of 11 years between Pentax S50 (2004) and
Nikon S3700 (2015).
Eleven years is a huge amount of time,
technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more
efficient than the older one.
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.
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.
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.
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: 3.55 µm² (250%)
A pixel on Pentax S50 sensor is approx. 250% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S3700.
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.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Specs
Pentax S50
Nikon S3700
Total megapixels
5.40
20.48
Effective megapixels
5.00
20.10
Optical zoom
3x
8x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
80–1600 (3200 when Auto)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
40 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
6 cm
2 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
36 - 107 mm
25 - 200 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.6 - f4.8
f3.7 - f6.6
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1500 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
5
Screen size
1.8"
2.7"
Screen resolution
85,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (30p/25p)
Storage types
SD/MMC card, Internal
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL19
Weight
180 g
118 g
Dimensions
89 x 59 x 26 mm
95.9 x 58 x 20.1 mm
Year
2004
2015
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Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
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
w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 5.75² + 4.32² | = 7.19 mm |
Nikon S3700 diagonal
The diagonal of S3700 sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of
that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see
sensor sizes.
w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 6.16² + 4.62² | = 7.70 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
Height = 4.32 mm
Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²
S3700 sensor area
Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm
Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²
Height = 4.62 mm
Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 5.75 | × 1000 | = 2.23 µm |
| 2579 |
S3700 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 6.16 | × 1000 | = 1.19 µm |
| 5171 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
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
Pixel area = 2.23² = 4.97 µm²
S3700 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 1.19 µm
Pixel area = 1.19² = 1.42 µm²
Pixel area = 1.19² = 1.42 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
One could also use this 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
Sensor width = 0.575 cm
Pixel density = (2579 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 20.12 MP/cm²
S3700 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm
Pixel density = (5171 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.47 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 0.616 cm
Pixel density = (5171 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.47 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:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
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 → |
|
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
S50 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939
Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
| r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 1939
Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939
S3700 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.10
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3888 × 1.33 = 5171
Resolution vertical: X = 3888
Sensor resolution = 5171 x 3888
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.10
| r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 3888
Sensor resolution = 5171 x 3888
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 |
S3700 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 5.62 |
| 7.70 |
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
Aperture = f2.6 - f4.8
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f4.8) × 6.02 = f15.7 - f28.9
S3700 equivalent aperture
Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.7 - f6.6
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.7 - f6.6) × 5.62 = f20.8 - f37.1
Aperture = f3.7 - f6.6
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.7 - f6.6) × 5.62 = f20.8 - f37.1
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