Sigma SD10 vs. Sigma SD15

Comparison

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SD10 image
vs
SD15 image
Sigma SD10 Sigma SD15
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Megapixels
3.40
4.70
Max. image resolution
2268 x 1512 x 3
2640 x 1760 x 3
Note: Both Sigma SD10 and Sigma SD15 use 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
Foveon
Sensor size
20.7 x 13.8 mm
20.7 x 13.8 mm
Sensor resolution
2259 x 1506
2655 x 1770
Diagonal
24.88 mm
24.88 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)
Sigma SD10 Sigma SD15
Surface area:
285.66 mm² vs 285.66 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
SD10 and SD15 sensors are the same size.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Sigma SD10 (2003) and Sigma SD15 (2010). Seven years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
9.16 µm
7.8 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: 1.36 µm (17%)
Pixel pitch of SD10 is approx. 17% higher than pixel pitch of SD15.
Pixel area
83.91 µm²
60.84 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: 23.07 µm² (38%)
A pixel on Sigma SD10 sensor is approx. 38% bigger than a pixel on Sigma SD15.
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%)
Sigma SD15 has approx. 39% higher pixel density than Sigma SD10.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sigma SD10
Sigma SD15
Crop factor
1.74
1.74
Total megapixels
3.40
4.70
Effective megapixels
3.40
4.70
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
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
Center-weighted average, Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
B+30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/6000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
8
8
Screen size
1.8"
3"
Screen resolution
130,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
950 g
750 g
Dimensions
152 x 120 x 79 mm
144 x 107.3 x 80.5 mm
Year
2003
2010




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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

Sigma SD15 diagonal

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

SD15 sensor area

Width = 20.70 mm
Height = 13.80 mm

Surface area = 20.70 × 13.80 = 285.66 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

SD15 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 20.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2655 pixels
Pixel pitch =   20.70  × 1000  = 7.8 µm
2655


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

SD15 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.8 µm

Pixel area = 7.8² = 60.84 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

SD15 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2655 pixels
Sensor width = 2.07 cm

Pixel density = (2655 / 2.07)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

SD15 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 20.70 mm
Sensor height = 13.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 4.70
r = 20.70/13.80 = 1.5
X = √  4.70 × 1000000  = 1770
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1770 × 1.5 = 2655
Resolution vertical: X = 1770

Sensor resolution = 2655 x 1770


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

SD15 crop factor

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

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

SD15 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 SD15, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Sigma SD15 is 1.74

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