Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92 vs. Canon PowerShot 350

Comparison

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92

Canon PowerShot 350

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Megapixels

5.20

0.30

Max. image resolution

2592 x 1944

640 x 480

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm)

Sensor resolution

2629 x 1977

632 x 475

Diagonal

8.89 mm

6.00 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
2.19	:	1
(ratio)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92		Canon PowerShot 350

Surface area:

37.90 mm²

17.28 mm²

Difference: 20.62 mm² (119%)

P92 sensor is approx. 2.19x bigger than 350 sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Sony P92 (2003) and Canon 350 (1997). Six years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.

Pixel pitch

2.7 µm

7.59 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: 4.89 µm (181%)

Pixel pitch of 350 is approx. 181% higher than pixel pitch of P92.

Pixel area

7.29 µm²

57.61 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: 50.32 µm² (690%)

A pixel on Canon 350 sensor is approx. 690% bigger than a pixel on Sony P92.

Pixel density

13.67 MP/cm²

1.73 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: 11.94 µm (690%)

Sony P92 has approx. 690% higher pixel density than Canon 350.

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

Specs

Sony P92

Canon 350

Crop factor

4.87

7.21

Total megapixels

0.40

Effective megapixels

0.30

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100, 200, 400

120

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

70 cm

Macro focus range

10 cm

3 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

38 - 114 mm

42 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f5.6

f2.0 - f2.4

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f13.6 - f27.3

f14.4 - f17.3

Metering

Matrix, Multi-segment, Spot

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

2 sec

1/4 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

1.5"

1.8"

Screen resolution

123,000 dots

120,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro

Compact Flash

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA (2) batteries (NiMH rechargables included)

Canon NiCD (optional)

Weight

259 g

320 g

Dimensions

119 x 58 x 33 mm

93 x 51 x 94 mm

Year

2003

1997

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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 P92 diagonal

The diagonal of P92 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

Canon 350 diagonal

The diagonal of 350 sensor is not 1/3 or 0.33" (8.5 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.80 mm
h = 3.60 mm

Diagonal = √

4.80² + 3.60²

= 6.00 mm

Surface area

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

P92 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

350 sensor area

Width = 4.80 mm
Height = 3.60 mm

Surface area = 4.80 × 3.60 = 17.28 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

P92 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2629 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 2.7 µm
	2629

350 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels

Pixel pitch =	4.80	× 1000	= 7.59 µm
	632

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

P92 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.7 µm

Pixel area = 2.7² = 7.29 µm²

350 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.59 µm

Pixel area = 7.59² = 57.61 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

P92 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2629 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2629 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 13.67 MP/cm²

350 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels
Sensor width = 0.48 cm

Pixel density = (632 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 1.73 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

P92 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.20

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	5.20 × 1000000	= 1977
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1977 × 1.33 = 2629
Resolution vertical: X = 1977

Sensor resolution = 2629 x 1977

350 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 0.30

r = 4.80/3.60 = 1.33

X = √	0.30 × 1000000	= 475
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 475 × 1.33 = 632
Resolution vertical: X = 475

Sensor resolution = 632 x 475

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

P92 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.87
	8.89

350 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.00 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 7.21
	6.00

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).

P92 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

350 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.21
Aperture = f2.0 - f2.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f2.4) × 7.21 = f14.4 - f17.3

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