Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P72 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W1

Comparison

change cameras »

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P72

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W1

check price »

Megapixels

3.20

5.10

Max. image resolution

2048 x 1536

2592 x 1944

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

Sensor resolution

2063 x 1551

2604 x 1958

Diagonal

6.66 mm

8.89 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	:	1.78
(ratio)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P72		Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W1

Surface area:

21.32 mm²

37.90 mm²

Difference: 16.58 mm² (78%)

W1 sensor is approx. 1.78x bigger than P72 sensor.

Pixel pitch

2.58 µm

2.73 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: 0.15 µm (6%)

Pixel pitch of W1 is approx. 6% higher than pixel pitch of P72.

Pixel area

6.66 µm²

7.45 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:

Pixel area difference: 0.79 µm² (12%)

A pixel on Sony W1 sensor is approx. 12% bigger than a pixel on Sony P72.

Pixel density

14.98 MP/cm²

13.41 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: 1.57 µm (12%)

Sony P72 has approx. 12% higher pixel density than Sony W1.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Sony P72

Sony W1

Crop factor

6.5

4.87

Total megapixels

Effective megapixels

3.20

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100, 200, 400

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

Macro focus range

10 cm

6 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

39 - 117 mm

38 - 114 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f5.6

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f18.2 - f36.4

f13.6 - f27.3

Metering

Matrix, Multi-segment, Spot

Multi Spot, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

2 sec

30 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/1000 sec

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

White balance presets

Screen size

1.5"

2.5"

Screen resolution

123,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA (2) batteries (NiMH rechargables included)

Weight

263 g

189 g

Dimensions

119 x 58 x 33 mm

91 x 60 x 31 mm

Year

2003

2004

Choose cameras to compare

Popular comparisons:

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:

Diagonal = √

w² + h²

where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Sony P72 diagonal

The diagonal of P72 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 W1 diagonal

The diagonal of W1 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm

Diagonal = √

7.11² + 5.33²

= 8.89 mm

Surface area

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

P72 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

W1 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 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

P72 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2063 pixels

Pixel pitch =	5.33	× 1000	= 2.58 µm
	2063

W1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2604 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 2.73 µm
	2604

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

P72 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.58 µm

Pixel area = 2.58² = 6.66 µm²

W1 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.73 µm

Pixel area = 2.73² = 7.45 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

P72 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2063 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (2063 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 14.98 MP/cm²

W1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2604 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2604 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 13.41 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

P72 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.20

r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33

X = √	3.20 × 1000000	= 1551
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1551 × 1.33 = 2063
Resolution vertical: X = 1551

Sensor resolution = 2063 x 1551

W1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.10

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	5.10 × 1000000	= 1958
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1958 × 1.33 = 2604
Resolution vertical: X = 1958

Sensor resolution = 2604 x 1958

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

P72 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 6.5
	6.66

W1 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.87
	8.89

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).

P72 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.6) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f36.4

W1 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.6) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f27.3

More comparisons of Sony P72:

Enter your screen size (diagonal)

My screen size is inches

Actual size is currently adjusted to screen.

If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.