Rollei Powerflex 500 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S730

Comparison

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Powerflex 500 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-S730 image
Rollei Powerflex 500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S730
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Megapixels
16.00
7.20
Max. image resolution
4608 x 3456
3072 x 2304

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
Sensor resolution
4612 x 3468
3095 x 2327
Diagonal
7.60 mm
7.19 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
1.12 : 1
(ratio)
Rollei Powerflex 500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S730
Surface area:
27.72 mm² vs 24.84 mm²
Difference: 2.88 mm² (12%)
Powerflex 500 sensor is approx. 1.12x bigger than S730 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Rollei Powerflex 500 (2011) and Sony S730 (2007). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.32 µm
1.86 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: 0.54 µm (41%)
Pixel pitch of S730 is approx. 41% higher than pixel pitch of Powerflex 500.
Pixel area
1.74 µm²
3.46 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: 1.72 µm² (99%)
A pixel on Sony S730 sensor is approx. 99% bigger than a pixel on Rollei Powerflex 500.
Pixel density
57.54 MP/cm²
28.97 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: 28.57 µm (99%)
Rollei Powerflex 500 has approx. 99% higher pixel density than Sony S730.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Rollei Powerflex 500
Sony S730
Crop factor
5.69
6.02
Total megapixels
Effective megapixels
Optical zoom
Yes
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100 - 6400
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
2 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 138 mm
35 - 105 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.4 - f6.1
f2.4 - f4.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f13.7 - f34.7
f14.4 - f28.9
Metering
Centre weighted
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
1/8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
5
Screen size
2.7"
2.4"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
112,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
USB
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight
113 g
189 g
Dimensions
98.2 x 59.9 x 22.2 mm
91 x 61 x 29 mm
Year
2011
2007




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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

Rollei Powerflex 500 diagonal

The diagonal of Powerflex 500 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

Sony S730 diagonal

The diagonal of S730 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


Surface area

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

Powerflex 500 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 mm²

S730 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 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

Powerflex 500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.32 µm
4612

S730 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3095 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.86 µm
3095


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

Powerflex 500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.32 µm

Pixel area = 1.32² = 1.74 µm²

S730 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.86 µm

Pixel area = 1.86² = 3.46 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

Powerflex 500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4612 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 57.54 MP/cm²

S730 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3095 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3095 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 28.97 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

Powerflex 500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.00
r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33
X =  16.00 × 1000000  = 3468
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3468 × 1.33 = 4612
Resolution vertical: X = 3468

Sensor resolution = 4612 x 3468

S730 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.20
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  7.20 × 1000000  = 2327
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2327 × 1.33 = 3095
Resolution vertical: X = 2327

Sensor resolution = 3095 x 2327


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


Powerflex 500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.60 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.69
7.60

S730 crop factor

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

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).

Powerflex 500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f2.4 - f6.1

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.4 - f6.1) × 5.69 = f13.7 - f34.7

S730 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.4 - f4.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.4 - f4.8) × 6.02 = f14.4 - f28.9

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