Canon PowerShot A50
Specs
| Brand: | Canon |
| Model: | PowerShot A50 |
| Megapixels: | 1.20 |
| Sensor: | 1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm) |
| Price: | check here » |
Sensor info
Canon A50 comes with a
1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm) CCD sensor, which has a diagonal of
6.00 mm (0.24") and a surface area of
17.28 mm².
If you want to know about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Actual sensor size
Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
This is the actual size of the A50 sensor: ~4.8 x 3.6 mm
The sensor has a surface area of 17.3 mm².
There are approx. 1,200,000 photosites (pixels) on this area.
Pixel pitch, which is a measure of the distance between pixels, is 3.8 µm.
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next.
Pixel or photosite area is 14.44 µm². The larger the photosite, the more light it can capture and the more information can be recorded.
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor. Canon A50 has a pixel density of 6.93 MP/cm².
These numbers are important in terms of assessing the overall quality of a digital camera. Generally, the bigger (and newer) the sensor, pixel pitch and photosite area, and the smaller the pixel density, the better the camera. If you want to see how A50 compares to other cameras, click here.
Pixel or photosite area is 14.44 µm². The larger the photosite, the more light it can capture and the more information can be recorded.
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor. Canon A50 has a pixel density of 6.93 MP/cm².
These numbers are important in terms of assessing the overall quality of a digital camera. Generally, the bigger (and newer) the sensor, pixel pitch and photosite area, and the smaller the pixel density, the better the camera. If you want to see how A50 compares to other cameras, click here.
Specifications
| Brand: | Canon |
| Model: | PowerShot A50 |
| Effective megapixels: | 1.20 |
| Total megapixels: | 1.30 |
| Sensor size: | 1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm) |
| Sensor type: | CCD |
| Sensor resolution: | 1264 x 950 |
| Max. image resolution: | 1280 x 960 |
| Crop factor: | 7.21 |
| Optical zoom: | 2.5x |
| Digital zoom: | No |
| ISO: | 100, 200, 400 |
| RAW support: | |
| Manual focus: | |
| Normal focus range: | 50 cm |
| Macro focus range: | 17 cm |
| Focal length (35mm equiv.): | 28 - 70 mm |
| Aperture priority: | No |
| Max aperture: | f2.6 - f4.0 |
| Max. aperture (35mm equiv.): | f18.7 - f28.8 |
| Depth of field: | simulate → |
| Metering: | Multi, Center-weighted, Spot |
| Exposure Compensation: | ±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps) |
| Shutter priority: | No |
| Min. shutter speed: | 2 sec |
| Max. shutter speed: | 1/750 sec |
| Built-in flash: | |
| External flash: | |
| Viewfinder: | Optical (tunnel) |
| White balance presets: | 4 |
| Screen size: | 2" |
| Screen resolution: | 120,000 dots |
| Video capture: | |
| Storage types: | Compact Flash |
| USB: | USB 1.0 |
| HDMI: | |
| Wireless: | |
| GPS: | |
| Battery: | Canon NiMH |
| Weight: | 290 g |
| Dimensions: | 103 x 68 x 37 mm |
| Year: | 1999 |
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Diagonal
The diagonal of A50 sensor is not 1/3 or 0.33" (8.5 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of
that value - 0.24" (6 mm). If you want to know why, see
sensor sizes.
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Canon A50 diagonal:
w = 4.80 mm
h = 3.60 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.
Width = 4.80 mm
Height = 3.60 mm
Surface area = 4.80 × 3.60 = 17.28 mm²
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 |
Canon A50 pixel pitch:
Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 4.80 | × 1000 | = 3.8 µm |
| 1264 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
| Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
| effective megapixels |
Canon A50 pixel area:
Pixel pitch = 3.8 µm
Pixel area = 3.8² = 14.44 µm²
Pixel area = 3.8² = 14.44 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
You could also use this formula:
| Pixel density = ( | sensor resolution width in pixels | )² / 1000000 |
| sensor width in cm |
You could also use this formula:
| Pixel density = | effective megapixels × 1000000 | / 10000 |
| sensor surface area in mm² |
Canon A50 pixel density:
Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
Sensor width = 0.48 cm
Pixel density = (1264 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 6.93 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 0.48 cm
Pixel density = (1264 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 6.93 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:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
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 → |
|
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
Canon PowerShot A50 sensor resolution:
Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.20
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 950 × 1.33 = 1264
Resolution vertical: X = 950
Sensor resolution = 1264 x 950
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.20
| r = 4.80/3.60 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 950
Sensor resolution = 1264 x 950
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 |
Canon A50 crop factor:
Sensor diagonal = 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).
Canon PowerShot A50 equivalent aperture:
Crop factor = 7.21
Aperture = f2.6 - f4.0
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f4.0) × 7.21 = f18.7 - f28.8
Aperture = f2.6 - f4.0
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f4.0) × 7.21 = f18.7 - f28.8
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.
If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.