Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50 vs. Samsung WB650

Comparison

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Cyber-shot DSC-W50 image
vs
WB650 image
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50 Samsung WB650
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Megapixels
6.00
12.00
Max. image resolution
2816 x 2112
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
2825 x 2124
3995 x 3004
Diagonal
7.19 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 : 1.15
(ratio)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50 Samsung WB650
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
WB650 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than W50 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Sony W50 (2006) and Samsung WB650 (2010). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
2.04 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: 0.5 µm (32%)
Pixel pitch of W50 is approx. 32% higher than pixel pitch of WB650.
Pixel area
4.16 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: 1.79 µm² (76%)
A pixel on Sony W50 sensor is approx. 76% bigger than a pixel on Samsung WB650.
Pixel density
24.14 MP/cm²
42.06 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: 17.92 µm (74%)
Samsung WB650 has approx. 74% higher pixel density than Sony W50.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony W50
Samsung WB650
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
14.20
Effective megapixels
12.00
Optical zoom
3x
15x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
80 cm
Macro focus range
2 cm
3 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 114 mm
24 - 360 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.2
f3.2 - f5.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f31.3
f18 - f32.6
Metering
Multi-pattern, Spot
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
1 sec
16 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
115,000 dots
920,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NP-BG1 rechargeable
Lithium-Ion SLB-11A rechargeable battery
Weight
127 g
245 g
Dimensions
89 x 57 x 23 mm
106.6 x 60.5 x 28 mm
Year
2006
2010




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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 W50 diagonal

The diagonal of W50 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal =  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm

Samsung WB650 diagonal

The diagonal of WB650 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.

W50 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

WB650 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

W50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.04 µm
2825

WB650 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.54 µm
3995


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

W50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.04 µm

Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 µm²

WB650 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

W50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2825 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 24.14 MP/cm²

WB650 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3995 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.06 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

W50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  6.00 × 1000000  = 2124
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2124 × 1.33 = 2825
Resolution vertical: X = 2124

Sensor resolution = 2825 x 2124

WB650 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  12.00 × 1000000  = 3004
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3004 × 1.33 = 3995
Resolution vertical: X = 3004

Sensor resolution = 3995 x 3004


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


W50 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

WB650 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).

W50 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.2

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.2) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f31.3

WB650 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.2 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f5.8) × 5.62 = f18 - f32.6

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