Sigma SD10 vs. Nikon D50

Comparison

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SD10 image
vs
D50 image
Sigma SD10 Nikon D50
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Megapixels
3.40
6.10
Max. image resolution
2268 x 1512 x 3
3008 x 2000
Note: Sigma SD10 uses Foveon X3 image sensor, which is a new type of sensor that has 3 layers of photoelements stacked together in 1 pixel location. Traditional CCD/CMOS sensors have 1 pixel for 1 color, whereas Foveon sensor captures all 3 colors (blue, green, and red) at every pixel.

Sensor

Sensor type
Foveon
CCD
Sensor size
20.7 x 13.8 mm
23.7 x 15.6 mm
Sensor resolution
2259 x 1506
3045 x 2003
Diagonal
24.88 mm
28.37 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 : 1.29
(ratio)
Sigma SD10 Nikon D50
Surface area:
285.66 mm² vs 369.72 mm²
Difference: 84.06 mm² (29%)
D50 sensor is approx. 1.29x bigger than SD10 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Sigma SD10 (2003) and Nikon D50 (2005). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
9.16 µm
7.78 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: 1.38 µm (18%)
Pixel pitch of SD10 is approx. 18% higher than pixel pitch of D50.
Pixel area
83.91 µm²
60.53 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: 23.38 µm² (39%)
A pixel on Sigma SD10 sensor is approx. 39% bigger than a pixel on Nikon D50.
Pixel density
1.19 MP/cm²
1.65 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: 0.46 µm (39%)
Nikon D50 has approx. 39% higher pixel density than Sigma SD10.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sigma SD10
Nikon D50
Crop factor
1.74
1.53
Total megapixels
3.40
6.24
Effective megapixels
3.40
6.10
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 200, 400, 800, 1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Centre weighted, Evaluative
3D Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
Bulb+30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/6000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Optical (pentamirror)
White balance presets
8
7
Screen size
1.8"
2"
Screen resolution
130,000 dots
130,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive
Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Nikon EN-EL3 Lithium-Ion included
Weight
950 g
540 g
Dimensions
152 x 120 x 79 mm
133 x 102 x 76 mm
Year
2003
2005




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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

Sigma SD10 diagonal

w = 20.70 mm
h = 13.80 mm
Diagonal =  20.70² + 13.80²   = 24.88 mm

Nikon D50 diagonal

w = 23.70 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.70² + 15.60²   = 28.37 mm


Surface area

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

SD10 sensor area

Width = 20.70 mm
Height = 13.80 mm

Surface area = 20.70 × 13.80 = 285.66 mm²

D50 sensor area

Width = 23.70 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.70 × 15.60 = 369.72 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

SD10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 20.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2259 pixels
Pixel pitch =   20.70  × 1000  = 9.16 µm
2259

D50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3045 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.70  × 1000  = 7.78 µm
3045


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

SD10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 9.16 µm

Pixel area = 9.16² = 83.91 µm²

D50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.78 µm

Pixel area = 7.78² = 60.53 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

SD10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2259 pixels
Sensor width = 2.07 cm

Pixel density = (2259 / 2.07)² / 1000000 = 1.19 MP/cm²

D50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3045 pixels
Sensor width = 2.37 cm

Pixel density = (3045 / 2.37)² / 1000000 = 1.65 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

SD10 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 20.70 mm
Sensor height = 13.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.40
r = 20.70/13.80 = 1.5
X =  3.40 × 1000000  = 1506
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1506 × 1.5 = 2259
Resolution vertical: X = 1506

Sensor resolution = 2259 x 1506

D50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.10
r = 23.70/15.60 = 1.52
X =  6.10 × 1000000  = 2003
1.52
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2003 × 1.52 = 3045
Resolution vertical: X = 2003

Sensor resolution = 3045 x 2003


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


SD10 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 24.88 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.74
24.88

D50 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.37 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.37

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).

SD10 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 Sigma SD10, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Sigma SD10 is 1.74

D50 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 Nikon D50, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D50 is 1.53

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