Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S75 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3

Comparison

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Cyber-shot DSC-S75 image
vs
Lumix DMC-GF3 image
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S75 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3
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Megapixels
3.34
12.10
Max. image resolution
2048 x 1536
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
Sensor resolution
2108 x 1585
4011 x 3016
Diagonal
8.89 mm
21.64 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

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vs
1 : 5.93
(ratio)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S75 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3
Surface area:
37.90 mm² vs 224.90 mm²
Difference: 187 mm² (493%)
GF3 sensor is approx. 5.93x bigger than S75 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 10 years between Sony S75 (2001) and Panasonic GF3 (2011). Ten years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
3.37 µm
4.31 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: 0.94 µm (28%)
Pixel pitch of GF3 is approx. 28% higher than pixel pitch of S75.
Pixel area
11.36 µm²
18.58 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: 7.22 µm² (64%)
A pixel on Panasonic GF3 sensor is approx. 64% bigger than a pixel on Sony S75.
Pixel density
8.79 MP/cm²
5.38 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: 3.41 µm (63%)
Sony S75 has approx. 63% higher pixel density than Panasonic GF3.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony S75
Panasonic GF3
Crop factor
4.87
2
Total megapixels
13.10
Effective megapixels
12.10
Optical zoom
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400
Auto, 160 - 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
4 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
34 - 102 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.0 - f2.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f9.7 - f12.2
n/a
Metering
Centre weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
1.8"
3"
Screen resolution
123,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Memory Stick
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
InfoLithium (NP-FM50)
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
444 g
264 g
Dimensions
125 x 52 x 65 mm
107.7 x 67.1 x 32.5 mm
Year
2001
2011




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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 S75 diagonal

The diagonal of S75 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

Panasonic GF3 diagonal

w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
Diagonal = √  17.30² + 13.00²   = 21.64 mm


Surface area

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

S75 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

GF3 sensor area

Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm

Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 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

S75 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2108 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 3.37 µm
2108

GF3 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   17.30  × 1000  = 4.31 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

S75 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.37 µm

Pixel area = 3.37² = 11.36 µm²

GF3 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.31 µm

Pixel area = 4.31² = 18.58 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

S75 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2108 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2108 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 8.79 MP/cm²

GF3 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 5.38 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

S75 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.34
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X = √  3.34 × 1000000  = 1585
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1585 × 1.33 = 2108
Resolution vertical: X = 1585

Sensor resolution = 2108 x 1585

GF3 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 17.30/13.00 = 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


S75 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

GF3 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2
21.64

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).

S75 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.0 - f2.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f2.5) × 4.87 = f9.7 - f12.2

GF3 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 Panasonic GF3, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Panasonic GF3 is 2

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