Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Specs
| Brand: | Canon |
| Model: | PowerShot S3 IS |
| Megapixels: | 6.00 |
| Sensor: | 1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm) |
| Price: | check here » |
Sensor info
Canon S3 IS comes with a
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm) CCD sensor, which has a diagonal of
7.19 mm (0.28") and a surface area of
24.84 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 S3 IS sensor: ~5.75 x 4.32 mm
The sensor has a surface area of 24.8 mm².
There are approx. 6,000,000 photosites (pixels) on this area.
Pixel pitch, which is a measure of the distance between pixels, is 2.04 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 4.16 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 S3 IS has a pixel density of 24.14 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 S3 IS compares to other cameras, click here.
Pixel or photosite area is 4.16 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 S3 IS has a pixel density of 24.14 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 S3 IS compares to other cameras, click here.
Specifications
| Brand: | Canon |
| Model: | PowerShot S3 IS |
| Effective megapixels: | 6.00 |
| Total megapixels: | 6.20 |
| Sensor size: | 1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm) |
| Sensor type: | CCD |
| Sensor resolution: | 2825 x 2124 |
| Max. image resolution: | 2816 x 2112 |
| Crop factor: | 6.02 |
| Optical zoom: | 12x |
| Digital zoom: | Yes |
| ISO: | Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800 |
| RAW support: | |
| Manual focus: | |
| Normal focus range: | 50 cm |
| Macro focus range: | 10 cm |
| Focal length (35mm equiv.): | 36 - 432 mm |
| Aperture priority: | Yes |
| Max aperture: | f2.7 - f3.5 |
| Max. aperture (35mm equiv.): | f16.3 - f21.1 |
| Depth of field: | simulate → |
| Metering: | Multi, Center-weighted, Spot |
| Exposure Compensation: | ±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps) |
| Shutter priority: | Yes |
| Min. shutter speed: | 15 sec |
| Max. shutter speed: | 1/3200 sec |
| Built-in flash: | |
| External flash: | |
| Viewfinder: | Electronic |
| White balance presets: | 6 |
| Screen size: | 2" |
| Screen resolution: | 115,000 dots |
| Video capture: | |
| Storage types: | SD/SDHC/MMC card |
| USB: | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| HDMI: | |
| Wireless: | |
| GPS: | |
| Battery: | AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended) |
| Weight: | 510 g |
| Dimensions: | 113 x 78 x 76 mm |
| Year: | 2006 |
Compare S3 IS with another camera
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- Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
- Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs. Fujifilm FinePix S5700 Zoom
Diagonal
The diagonal of S3 IS sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of
that value - 0.28" (7.19 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 S3 IS diagonal:
w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
h = 4.32 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 5.75² + 4.32² | = 7.19 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm
Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²
Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm
Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 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 S3 IS pixel pitch:
Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 5.75 | × 1000 | = 2.04 µm |
| 2825 |
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 S3 IS pixel area:
Pixel pitch = 2.04 µm
Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 µm²
Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 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 S3 IS pixel density:
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm
Pixel density = (2825 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 24.14 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 0.575 cm
Pixel density = (2825 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 24.14 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 S3 IS sensor resolution:
Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2124 × 1.33 = 2825
Resolution vertical: X = 2124
Sensor resolution = 2825 x 2124
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
| r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 2124
Sensor resolution = 2825 x 2124
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 S3 IS crop factor:
Sensor diagonal = 7.19 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 6.02 |
| 7.19 |
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 S3 IS equivalent aperture:
Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.7 - f3.5
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f3.5) × 6.02 = f16.3 - f21.1
Aperture = f2.7 - f3.5
35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f3.5) × 6.02 = f16.3 - f21.1
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.