Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P43 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170

Comparison

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Cyber-shot DSC-P43 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-W170 image
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P43 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170
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Megapixels
4.10
10.10
Max. image resolution
2304 x 1728
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
2335 x 1756
3665 x 2756
Diagonal
6.66 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 : 1.33
(ratio)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P43 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 7.14 mm² (33%)
W170 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than P43 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Sony P43 (2004) and Sony W170 (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
2.28 µm
1.68 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: 0.6 µm (36%)
Pixel pitch of P43 is approx. 36% higher than pixel pitch of W170.
Pixel area
5.2 µm²
2.82 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: 2.38 µm² (84%)
A pixel on Sony P43 sensor is approx. 84% bigger than a pixel on Sony W170.
Pixel density
19.19 MP/cm²
35.4 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: 16.21 µm (84%)
Sony W170 has approx. 84% higher pixel density than Sony P43.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony P43
Sony W170
Crop factor
6.5
5.62
Total megapixels
Effective megapixels
Optical zoom
No
5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400
Auto
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
10 cm
10 cm
Macro focus range
10 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
33 mm
28 - 140 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8
f3.3 - f5.2
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2
f18.5 - f29.2
Metering
Matrix, Spot
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
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
6
9
Screen size
1.5"
2.7"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
2x AA
Lithium-Ion (NP-BG1)
Weight
148 g
173 g
Dimensions
102 x 53 x 35 mm
94 x 58 x 24 mm
Year
2004
2008




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vs

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal = √  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Sony P43 diagonal

The diagonal of P43 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal = √  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm

Sony W170 diagonal

The diagonal of W170 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.

P43 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

W170 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

P43 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2335 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 2.28 µm
2335

W170 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.68 µm
3665


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

P43 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.28 µm

Pixel area = 2.28² = 5.2 µm²

W170 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.68 µm

Pixel area = 1.68² = 2.82 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

P43 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2335 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (2335 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 19.19 MP/cm²

W170 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3665 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 35.4 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

P43 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 4.10
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X = √  4.10 × 1000000  = 1756
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1756 × 1.33 = 2335
Resolution vertical: X = 1756

Sensor resolution = 2335 x 1756

W170 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  10.10 × 1000000  = 2756
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2756 × 1.33 = 3665
Resolution vertical: X = 2756

Sensor resolution = 3665 x 2756


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


P43 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

W170 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).

P43 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 6.5 = f18.2

W170 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.2

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.2) × 5.62 = f18.5 - f29.2

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