Zeiss ZX1 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300

Comparison

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ZX1 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-HX300 image
Zeiss ZX1 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300
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Megapixels
37.40
20.40
Max. image resolution
7488 x 4992
5184 x 3888

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
36 x 24 mm
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
7490 x 4993
5208 x 3916
Diagonal
43.27 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
30.36 : 1
(ratio)
Zeiss ZX1 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300
Surface area:
864.00 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 835.54 mm² (2936%)
ZX1 sensor is approx. 30.36x bigger than HX300 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Zeiss ZX1 (2018) and Sony HX300 (2013). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
4.81 µm
1.18 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: 3.63 µm (308%)
Pixel pitch of ZX1 is approx. 308% higher than pixel pitch of HX300.
Pixel area
23.14 µm²
1.39 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: 21.75 µm² (1565%)
A pixel on Zeiss ZX1 sensor is approx. 1565% bigger than a pixel on Sony HX300.
Pixel density
4.33 MP/cm²
71.48 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: 67.15 µm (1551%)
Sony HX300 has approx. 1551% higher pixel density than Zeiss ZX1.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Zeiss ZX1
Sony HX300
Crop factor
1
5.62
Total megapixels
39.50
21.10
Effective megapixels
37.40
20.40
Optical zoom
50x
Digital zoom
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80-51200
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (6400, 12800)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
30 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 mm
24 - 1200 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2
f2.8 - f6.3
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f2
f15.7 - f35.4
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Electronic
White balance presets
7
7
Screen size
4.3"
3"
Screen resolution
921,600 dots
921,600 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
3840x2160 (30p)
1920x1080 (60p/60i)
Storage types
512GB internal
SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo/XC-HG Duo
USB
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-ion Battery Pack
Rechargeable Battery Pack NP-BX1
Weight
813 g
650 g
Dimensions
142 x 93 x 94 mm
129.6 x 93.2 x 103.2 mm
Year
2018
2013




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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

Zeiss ZX1 diagonal

w = 36.00 mm
h = 24.00 mm
Diagonal =  36.00² + 24.00²   = 43.27 mm

Sony HX300 diagonal

The diagonal of HX300 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.

ZX1 sensor area

Width = 36.00 mm
Height = 24.00 mm

Surface area = 36.00 × 24.00 = 864.00 mm²

HX300 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

ZX1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 7490 pixels
Pixel pitch =   36.00  × 1000  = 4.81 µm
7490

HX300 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5208 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.18 µm
5208


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

ZX1 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.81 µm

Pixel area = 4.81² = 23.14 µm²

HX300 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.18 µm

Pixel area = 1.18² = 1.39 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

ZX1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 7490 pixels
Sensor width = 3.6 cm

Pixel density = (7490 / 3.6)² / 1000000 = 4.33 MP/cm²

HX300 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5208 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5208 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 71.48 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

ZX1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 37.40
r = 36.00/24.00 = 1.5
X =  37.40 × 1000000  = 4993
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4993 × 1.5 = 7490
Resolution vertical: X = 4993

Sensor resolution = 7490 x 4993

HX300 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.40
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  20.40 × 1000000  = 3916
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3916 × 1.33 = 5208
Resolution vertical: X = 3916

Sensor resolution = 5208 x 3916


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


ZX1 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.27 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.27

HX300 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).

ZX1 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 1
Aperture = f2

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2) × 1 = f2

HX300 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8 - f6.3

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f6.3) × 5.62 = f15.7 - f35.4

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