Epson PhotoPC 3100 Zoom vs. Canon PowerShot S90

Comparison

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Epson PhotoPC 3100 Zoom

Canon PowerShot S90

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Megapixels

3.34

10.00

Max. image resolution

2544 x 1904

3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)

Sensor resolution

2108 x 1585

3661 x 2732

Diagonal

8.89 mm

9.41 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	:	1.12
(ratio)

Epson PhotoPC 3100 Zoom		Canon PowerShot S90

Surface area:

37.90 mm²

42.47 mm²

Difference: 4.57 mm² (12%)

S90 sensor is approx. 1.12x bigger than 3100 Zoom sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 8 years between Epson 3100 Zoom (2001) and Canon S90 (2009). Eight years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.

Pixel pitch

3.37 µm

2.06 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: 1.31 µm (64%)

Pixel pitch of 3100 Zoom is approx. 64% higher than pixel pitch of S90.

Pixel area

11.36 µm²

4.24 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: 7.12 µm² (168%)

A pixel on Epson 3100 Zoom sensor is approx. 168% bigger than a pixel on Canon S90.

Pixel density

8.79 MP/cm²

23.64 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: 14.85 µm (169%)

Canon S90 has approx. 169% higher pixel density than Epson 3100 Zoom.

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

Specs

Epson 3100 Zoom

Canon S90

Crop factor

4.87

4.6

Total megapixels

10.40

Effective megapixels

10.00

Optical zoom

3.8x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

100, 200, 400

Auto, 80-3200

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

Macro focus range

5 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

34 - 102 mm

28 - 105 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.0 - f2.5

f2.0 - f4.9

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f9.7 - f12.2

f9.2 - f22.5

Metering

256-segment Matrix, Spot

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

8 sec

15 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/1000 sec

1/1600 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

1.8"

Screen resolution

72,000 dots

461,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

640x480 (30p)

Storage types

CompactFlash type I

SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus card

USB

USB 1.0

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA NiMH (4) batteries (supplied)

Lithium-Ion NB-6L rechargeable battery

Weight

360 g

195 g

Dimensions

107 x 88 x 65 mm

100 x 58 x 31 mm

Year

2001

2009

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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

Epson 3100 Zoom diagonal

The diagonal of 3100 Zoom 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 S90 diagonal

The diagonal of S90 sensor is not 1/1.7 or 0.59" (14.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.41 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.53 mm
h = 5.64 mm

Diagonal = √

7.53² + 5.64²

= 9.41 mm

Surface area

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

3100 Zoom sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

S90 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 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

3100 Zoom pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2108 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 3.37 µm
	2108

S90 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.53	× 1000	= 2.06 µm
	3661

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

3100 Zoom pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.37 µm

Pixel area = 3.37² = 11.36 µm²

S90 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.06 µm

Pixel area = 2.06² = 4.24 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

3100 Zoom pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2108 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2108 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 8.79 MP/cm²

S90 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (3661 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 23.64 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

3100 Zoom sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.34

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	3.34 × 1000000	= 1585
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1585 × 1.33 = 2108
Resolution vertical: X = 1585

Sensor resolution = 2108 x 1585

S90 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00

r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34

X = √	10.00 × 1000000	= 2732
	1.34

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2732 × 1.34 = 3661
Resolution vertical: X = 2732

Sensor resolution = 3661 x 2732

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

3100 Zoom crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.87
	8.89

S90 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.41 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.6
	9.41

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).

3100 Zoom equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.0 - f2.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f2.5) × 4.87 = f9.7 - f12.2

S90 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f2.0 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f4.9) × 4.6 = f9.2 - f22.5

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