Canon PowerShot S20 vs. Canon PowerShot S10

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot S20

Canon PowerShot S10

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Megapixels

3.10

1.90

Max. image resolution

2048 x 1536

1600 x 1200

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

1/2" (~ 6.4 x 4.8 mm)

Sensor resolution

2031 x 1527

1589 x 1195

Diagonal

8.89 mm

8.00 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
1.23	:	1
(ratio)

Canon PowerShot S20		Canon PowerShot S10

Surface area:

37.90 mm²

30.72 mm²

Difference: 7.18 mm² (23%)

S20 sensor is approx. 1.23x bigger than S10 sensor.

Pixel pitch

3.5 µm

4.03 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: 0.53 µm (15%)

Pixel pitch of S10 is approx. 15% higher than pixel pitch of S20.

Pixel area

12.25 µm²

16.24 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:

Pixel area difference: 3.99 µm² (33%)

A pixel on Canon S10 sensor is approx. 33% bigger than a pixel on Canon S20.

Pixel density

8.16 MP/cm²

6.16 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: 2 µm (32%)

Canon S20 has approx. 32% higher pixel density than Canon S10.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Canon S20

Canon S10

Crop factor

4.87

5.41

Total megapixels

3.30

2.10

Effective megapixels

3.10

1.90

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

100, 200, 400

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

66 cm

46 cm

Macro focus range

12 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

32 - 64 mm

35 - 70 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f4

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f13.6 - f19.5

f15.1 - f21.6

Metering

Centre weighted

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

2 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

White balance presets

Screen size

1.8"

Screen resolution

120,000 dots

114,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive

USB

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Canon NiMH

Weight

320 g

270 g

Dimensions

106 x 70 x 34 mm

105.4 x 69.4 x 33.8 mm

Year

2000

1999

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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

Canon S20 diagonal

The diagonal of S20 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm

Diagonal = √

7.11² + 5.33²

= 8.89 mm

Canon S10 diagonal

The diagonal of S10 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

Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

S20 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

S10 sensor area

Width = 6.40 mm
Height = 4.80 mm

Surface area = 6.40 × 4.80 = 30.72 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

S20 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 3.5 µm
	2031

S10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1589 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.40	× 1000	= 4.03 µm
	1589

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

S20 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.5 µm

Pixel area = 3.5² = 12.25 µm²

S10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.03 µm

Pixel area = 4.03² = 16.24 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

S20 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2031 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 8.16 MP/cm²

S10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1589 pixels
Sensor width = 0.64 cm

Pixel density = (1589 / 0.64)² / 1000000 = 6.16 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

S20 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.10

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	3.10 × 1000000	= 1527
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1527 × 1.33 = 2031
Resolution vertical: X = 1527

Sensor resolution = 2031 x 1527

S10 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor height = 4.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.90

r = 6.40/4.80 = 1.33

X = √	1.90 × 1000000	= 1195
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1195 × 1.33 = 1589
Resolution vertical: X = 1195

Sensor resolution = 1589 x 1195

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

S20 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.87
	8.89

S10 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.00 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.41
	8.00

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).

S20 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f19.5

S10 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.41
Aperture = f2.8 - f4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4) × 5.41 = f15.1 - f21.6

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