Samsung PL200 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V

Comparison

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PL200 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V image
Samsung PL200 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
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Megapixels
14.20
18.20
Max. image resolution
4320 x 3240
4896 x 3672

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
4346 x 3268
4920 x 3699
Diagonal
7.70 mm
7.70 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 : 1
(ratio)
Samsung PL200 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
PL200 and HX20V sensors are the same size.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Samsung PL200 (2010) and Sony HX20V (2012). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.42 µm
1.25 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: 0.17 µm (14%)
Pixel pitch of PL200 is approx. 14% higher than pixel pitch of HX20V.
Pixel area
2.02 µm²
1.56 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: 0.46 µm² (29%)
A pixel on Samsung PL200 sensor is approx. 29% bigger than a pixel on Sony HX20V.
Pixel density
49.78 MP/cm²
63.79 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: 14.01 µm (28%)
Sony HX20V has approx. 28% higher pixel density than Samsung PL200.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Samsung PL200
Sony HX20V
Crop factor
5.62
5.62
Total megapixels
14.40
Effective megapixels
14.20
Optical zoom
Yes
20x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto
Auto, 100 - 12800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
1 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
31 - 217 mm
25 - 500 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3.2 - f8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
f18 - f45
Metering
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
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
7
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60p/60i)
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NP-BG1 battery
Weight
254 g
Dimensions
104 x 60 x 20 mm
106.6 x 61.9 x 34.6 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

Samsung PL200 diagonal

The diagonal of PL200 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

Sony HX20V diagonal

The diagonal of HX20V 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


Surface area

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

PL200 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

HX20V sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
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

PL200 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4346 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.42 µm
4346

HX20V pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4920 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.25 µm
4920


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

PL200 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.42 µm

Pixel area = 1.42² = 2.02 µm²

HX20V pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.25 µm

Pixel area = 1.25² = 1.56 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

PL200 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4346 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4346 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.78 MP/cm²

HX20V pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4920 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4920 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.79 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

PL200 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.20
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  14.20 × 1000000  = 3268
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3268 × 1.33 = 4346
Resolution vertical: X = 3268

Sensor resolution = 4346 x 3268

HX20V sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.20
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  18.20 × 1000000  = 3699
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3699 × 1.33 = 4920
Resolution vertical: X = 3699

Sensor resolution = 4920 x 3699


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


PL200 crop factor

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

HX20V 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).

PL200 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 Samsung PL200, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Samsung PL200 is 5.62

HX20V equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.2 - f8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f8) × 5.62 = f18 - f45

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