Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2 vs. Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

Comparison

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Xacti VPC-HD2 image
vs
PowerShot SX50 HS image
Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2 Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
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Megapixels
7.38
12.10
Max. image resolution
3680 x 2760
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
3133 x 2356
4011 x 3016
Diagonal
7.19 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 : 1.15
(ratio)
Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2 Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
SX50 HS sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than VPC-HD2 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Sanyo VPC-HD2 (2007) and Canon SX50 HS (2012). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.84 µm
1.54 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: 0.3 µm (19%)
Pixel pitch of VPC-HD2 is approx. 19% higher than pixel pitch of SX50 HS.
Pixel area
3.39 µm²
2.37 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: 1.02 µm² (43%)
A pixel on Sanyo VPC-HD2 sensor is approx. 43% bigger than a pixel on Canon SX50 HS.
Pixel density
29.69 MP/cm²
42.4 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: 12.71 µm (43%)
Canon SX50 HS has approx. 43% higher pixel density than Sanyo VPC-HD2.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sanyo VPC-HD2
Canon SX50 HS
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
12.80
Effective megapixels
12.10
Optical zoom
Yes
50x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 80 - 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
10 cm
5 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 380 mm
24 - 1200 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.5 - f3.5
f3.4 - f6.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f21.1 - f21.1
f19.1 - f36.5
Metering
Centre weighted, Multi Spot, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±1.8 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
1/2 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Electronic
White balance presets
6
7
Screen size
2.2"
2.8"
Screen resolution
210,000 dots
461,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (24p)
Storage types
Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
Lithium-Ion NB-10L rechargeable battery
Weight
209 g
595 g
Dimensions
78.7 x 35.5 x 119 mm
122.5 x 87.3 x 105.5 mm
Year
2007
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

Sanyo VPC-HD2 diagonal

The diagonal of VPC-HD2 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

Canon SX50 HS diagonal

The diagonal of SX50 HS 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.

VPC-HD2 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

SX50 HS 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

VPC-HD2 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3133 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.84 µm
3133

SX50 HS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.54 µm
4011


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

VPC-HD2 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.84 µm

Pixel area = 1.84² = 3.39 µm²

SX50 HS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.54 µm

Pixel area = 1.54² = 2.37 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

VPC-HD2 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3133 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3133 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 29.69 MP/cm²

SX50 HS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.4 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

VPC-HD2 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.38
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X = √  7.38 × 1000000  = 2356
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2356 × 1.33 = 3133
Resolution vertical: X = 2356

Sensor resolution = 3133 x 2356

SX50 HS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  12.10 × 1000000  = 3016
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3016 × 1.33 = 4011
Resolution vertical: X = 3016

Sensor resolution = 4011 x 3016


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


VPC-HD2 crop factor

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

SX50 HS 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).

VPC-HD2 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f3.5 - f3.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f3.5) × 6.02 = f21.1 - f21.1

SX50 HS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f36.5

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