Ricoh CX4 vs. Olympus PEN E-PL5

Comparison

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CX4 image
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PEN E-PL5 image
Ricoh CX4 Olympus PEN E-PL5
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Megapixels
10.00
16.10
Max. image resolution
3648 x 2736
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
Sensor resolution
3647 x 2742
4627 x 3479
Diagonal
7.70 mm
21.64 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 : 7.9
(ratio)
Ricoh CX4 Olympus PEN E-PL5
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 224.90 mm²
Difference: 196.44 mm² (690%)
PEN E-PL5 sensor is approx. 7.9x bigger than CX4 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Ricoh CX4 (2010) and Olympus PEN E-PL5 (2012). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.69 µm
3.74 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: 2.05 µm (121%)
Pixel pitch of PEN E-PL5 is approx. 121% higher than pixel pitch of CX4.
Pixel area
2.86 µm²
13.99 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: 11.13 µm² (389%)
A pixel on Olympus PEN E-PL5 sensor is approx. 389% bigger than a pixel on Ricoh CX4.
Pixel density
35.05 MP/cm²
7.15 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: 27.9 µm (390%)
Ricoh CX4 has approx. 390% higher pixel density than Olympus PEN E-PL5.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Ricoh CX4
Olympus PEN E-PL5
Crop factor
5.62
2
Total megapixels
10.60
17.20
Effective megapixels
10.00
16.10
Optical zoom
10.7x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Auto, 200 - 25600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
30 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 300 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.5 - f5.6
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.7 - f31.5
n/a
Metering
256-segment Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Electronic (optional)
White balance presets
6
8
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
920,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p)
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion DB-100 rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion BLS-5 rechargeable battery
Weight
205 g
325 g
Dimensions
102 x 59 x 29 mm
110.5 x 63.7 x 38.2 mm
Year
2010
2012




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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

Ricoh CX4 diagonal

The diagonal of CX4 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
Diagonal =  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 mm

Olympus PEN E-PL5 diagonal

w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
Diagonal =  17.30² + 13.00²   = 21.64 mm


Surface area

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

CX4 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

PEN E-PL5 sensor area

Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm

Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 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

CX4 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.69 µm
3647

PEN E-PL5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Pixel pitch =   17.30  × 1000  = 3.74 µm
4627


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

CX4 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.69 µm

Pixel area = 1.69² = 2.86 µm²

PEN E-PL5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.74 µm

Pixel area = 3.74² = 13.99 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

CX4 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3647 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 35.05 MP/cm²

PEN E-PL5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm

Pixel density = (4627 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 7.15 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

CX4 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  10.00 × 1000000  = 2742
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2742 × 1.33 = 3647
Resolution vertical: X = 2742

Sensor resolution = 3647 x 2742

PEN E-PL5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
r = 17.30/13.00 = 1.33
X =  16.10 × 1000000  = 3479
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3479 × 1.33 = 4627
Resolution vertical: X = 3479

Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479


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


CX4 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

PEN E-PL5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2
21.64

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).

CX4 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.6) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f31.5

PEN E-PL5 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 Olympus PEN E-PL5, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Olympus PEN E-PL5 is 2

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