Fujifilm FinePix J38 vs. Nikon Coolpix 4800

Comparison

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Fujifilm FinePix J38

Nikon Coolpix 4800

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Megapixels

12.20

4.00

Max. image resolution

4000 x 3000

2288 x 1716

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)

1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)

Sensor resolution

4029 x 3029

2306 x 1734

Diagonal

7.70 mm

7.19 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
1.15	:	1
(ratio)

Fujifilm FinePix J38		Nikon Coolpix 4800

Surface area:

28.46 mm²

24.84 mm²

Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)

J38 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than 4800 sensor.

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Fujifilm J38 (2009) and Nikon 4800 (2004). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

1.53 µm

2.49 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: 0.96 µm (63%)

Pixel pitch of 4800 is approx. 63% higher than pixel pitch of J38.

Pixel area

2.34 µm²

6.2 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: 3.86 µm² (165%)

A pixel on Nikon 4800 sensor is approx. 165% bigger than a pixel on Fujifilm J38.

Pixel density

42.78 MP/cm²

16.08 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: 26.7 µm (166%)

Fujifilm J38 has approx. 166% higher pixel density than Nikon 4800.

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

Specs

Fujifilm J38

Nikon 4800

Crop factor

5.62

6.02

Total megapixels

4.20

Effective megapixels

4.00

Optical zoom

Yes

8.3x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

60 cm

40 cm

Macro focus range

10 cm

1 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

32 - 96 mm

36 - 300 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.9 - f5.2

f2.7 - f4.4

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f16.3 - f29.2

f16.3 - f26.5

Metering

TTL 256-zones metering

Multi, Center-weighted, Average

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

8 sec

4 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/1400 sec

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

None

Electronic

White balance presets

Screen size

2.7"

1.8"

Screen resolution

230,000 dots

118,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

SDHC, Secure Digital

SD/MMC card, Internal

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Li-Ion

Nikon EN-EL1 Lithium-Ion included

Weight

113 g

295 g

Dimensions

92 x 55.9 x 20 mm

106 x 66 x 54 mm

Year

2009

2004

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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

Fujifilm J38 diagonal

The diagonal of J38 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

Nikon 4800 diagonal

The diagonal of 4800 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 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.

J38 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

4800 sensor area

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

J38 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4029 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.53 µm
	4029

4800 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2306 pixels

Pixel pitch =	5.75	× 1000	= 2.49 µm
	2306

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

J38 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.53 µm

Pixel area = 1.53² = 2.34 µm²

4800 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.49 µm

Pixel area = 2.49² = 6.2 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

J38 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4029 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4029 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.78 MP/cm²

4800 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2306 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2306 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 16.08 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

J38 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.20

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	12.20 × 1000000	= 3029
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3029 × 1.33 = 4029
Resolution vertical: X = 3029

Sensor resolution = 4029 x 3029

4800 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 4.00

r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33

X = √	4.00 × 1000000	= 1734
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1734 × 1.33 = 2306
Resolution vertical: X = 1734

Sensor resolution = 2306 x 1734

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

J38 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.62
	7.70

4800 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 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).

J38 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.9 - f5.2

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.9 - f5.2) × 5.62 = f16.3 - f29.2

4800 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.7 - f4.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f4.4) × 6.02 = f16.3 - f26.5

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