Sony Cyber-shot DSC-D770 vs. Canon PowerShot SX510 HS

Comparison

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Cyber-shot DSC-D770 image
vs
PowerShot SX510 HS image
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-D770 Canon PowerShot SX510 HS
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Megapixels
1.40
12.10
Max. image resolution
1344 x 1024
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2" (~ 6.4 x 4.8 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
1365 x 1026
4011 x 3016
Diagonal
8.00 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
1.08 : 1
(ratio)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-D770 Canon PowerShot SX510 HS
Surface area:
30.72 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 2.26 mm² (8%)
D770 sensor is approx. 1.08x bigger than SX510 HS sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 14 years between Sony D770 (1999) and Canon SX510 HS (2013). Fourteen years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
4.69 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: 3.15 µm (205%)
Pixel pitch of D770 is approx. 205% higher than pixel pitch of SX510 HS.
Pixel area
22 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: 19.63 µm² (828%)
A pixel on Sony D770 sensor is approx. 828% bigger than a pixel on Canon SX510 HS.
Pixel density
4.55 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: 37.85 µm (832%)
Canon SX510 HS has approx. 832% higher pixel density than Sony D770.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony D770
Canon SX510 HS
Crop factor
5.41
5.62
Total megapixels
12.80
Effective megapixels
12.10
Optical zoom
5x
30x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
50, 100, 400
Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
20 cm
5 cm
Macro focus range
8 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 140 mm
24 - 720 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.0 - f2.4
f3.4 - f5.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f10.8 - f13
f19.1 - f32.6
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/4 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
None
White balance presets
3
5
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
180,000 dots
461,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (24p)
Storage types
PCMCIA (type II), Memory Stick
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
InfoLithium (NP-F550)
Lithium-Ion NB-6LH rechargeable battery
Weight
900 g
349 g
Dimensions
130 x 100 x 150 mm
104 x 69.5 x 80.2 mm
Year
1999
2013




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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

Sony D770 diagonal

The diagonal of D770 sensor is not 1/2 or 0.5" (12.7 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.40 mm
h = 4.80 mm
Diagonal = √  6.40² + 4.80²   = 8.00 mm

Canon SX510 HS diagonal

The diagonal of SX510 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.

D770 sensor area

Width = 6.40 mm
Height = 4.80 mm

Surface area = 6.40 × 4.80 = 30.72 mm²

SX510 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

D770 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1365 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.40  × 1000  = 4.69 µm
1365

SX510 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

D770 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.69 µm

Pixel area = 4.69² = 22 µm²

SX510 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

D770 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1365 pixels
Sensor width = 0.64 cm

Pixel density = (1365 / 0.64)² / 1000000 = 4.55 MP/cm²

SX510 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

D770 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor height = 4.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.40
r = 6.40/4.80 = 1.33
X = √  1.40 × 1000000  = 1026
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1026 × 1.33 = 1365
Resolution vertical: X = 1026

Sensor resolution = 1365 x 1026

SX510 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


D770 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.41
8.00

SX510 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).

D770 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.41
Aperture = f2.0 - f2.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f2.4) × 5.41 = f10.8 - f13

SX510 HS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f5.8) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f32.6

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