Toshiba PDR M5 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

Comparison

change cameras »
PDR M5 image
vs
Lumix DMC-FZ200 image
Toshiba PDR M5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
check price » check price »
Megapixels
2.10
12.10
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2" (~ 6.4 x 4.8 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
1672 x 1257
4011 x 3016
Diagonal
8.00 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
1.08 : 1
(ratio)
Toshiba PDR M5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
Surface area:
30.72 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 2.26 mm² (8%)
PDR M5 sensor is approx. 1.08x bigger than FZ200 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 13 years between Toshiba PDR M5 (1999) and Panasonic FZ200 (2012). Thirteen years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
3.83 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: 2.29 µm (149%)
Pixel pitch of PDR M5 is approx. 149% higher than pixel pitch of FZ200.
Pixel area
14.67 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: 12.3 µm² (519%)
A pixel on Toshiba PDR M5 sensor is approx. 519% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FZ200.
Pixel density
6.83 MP/cm²
42.4 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: 35.57 µm (521%)
Panasonic FZ200 has approx. 521% higher pixel density than Toshiba PDR M5.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Toshiba PDR M5
Panasonic FZ200
Crop factor
5.41
5.62
Total megapixels
12.80
Effective megapixels
12.10
Optical zoom
Yes
24x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, (6400 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
90 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
25 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
40 - 120 mm
25 - 600 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.8 - f5.5
f2.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f20.6 - f29.8
f15.7
Metering
Centre weighted
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±1.5 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
1/2 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
Electronic
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
1.8"
3"
Screen resolution
122,320 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60p/60i/30p)
Storage types
SmartMedia
SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
USB
USB 1.1
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
370 g
588 g
Dimensions
130 x 78 x 70 mm
125 x 87 x 110 mm
Year
1999
2012




Choose cameras to compare

vs

Diagonal

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

Toshiba PDR M5 diagonal

The diagonal of PDR M5 sensor is not 1/2 or 0.5" (12.7 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.40 mm
h = 4.80 mm
Diagonal =  6.40² + 4.80²   = 8.00 mm

Panasonic FZ200 diagonal

The diagonal of FZ200 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.

PDR M5 sensor area

Width = 6.40 mm
Height = 4.80 mm

Surface area = 6.40 × 4.80 = 30.72 mm²

FZ200 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

PDR M5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1672 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.40  × 1000  = 3.83 µm
1672

FZ200 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.54 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

PDR M5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.83 µm

Pixel area = 3.83² = 14.67 µm²

FZ200 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

PDR M5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1672 pixels
Sensor width = 0.64 cm

Pixel density = (1672 / 0.64)² / 1000000 = 6.83 MP/cm²

FZ200 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.4 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

PDR M5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor height = 4.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.10
r = 6.40/4.80 = 1.33
X =  2.10 × 1000000  = 1257
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1257 × 1.33 = 1672
Resolution vertical: X = 1257

Sensor resolution = 1672 x 1257

FZ200 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 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


PDR M5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.41
8.00

FZ200 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).

PDR M5 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.41
Aperture = f3.8 - f5.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.8 - f5.5) × 5.41 = f20.6 - f29.8

FZ200 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 5.62 = f15.7

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.