Olympus C-960 Zoom vs. Canon PowerShot A10

Comparison

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C-960 Zoom image
vs
PowerShot A10 image
Olympus C-960 Zoom Canon PowerShot A10
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Megapixels
1.31
1.20
Max. image resolution
1280 x 960
1280 x 960

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
Sensor resolution
1319 x 992
1264 x 950
Diagonal
6.66 mm
6.66 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 »
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1 : 1
(ratio)
Olympus C-960 Zoom Canon PowerShot A10
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 21.32 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
C-960 Zoom and A10 sensors are the same size.
Pixel pitch
4.04 µm
4.22 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: 0.18 µm (4%)
Pixel pitch of A10 is approx. 4% higher than pixel pitch of C-960 Zoom.
Pixel area
16.32 µm²
17.81 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:
vs
Pixel area difference: 1.49 µm² (9%)
A pixel on Canon A10 sensor is approx. 9% bigger than a pixel on Olympus C-960 Zoom.
Pixel density
6.12 MP/cm²
5.62 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: 0.5 µm (9%)
Olympus C-960 Zoom has approx. 9% higher pixel density than Canon A10.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Olympus C-960 Zoom
Canon A10
Crop factor
6.5
6.5
Total megapixels
1.30
Effective megapixels
1.20
Optical zoom
Yes
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
125, 250, 500
100, 150
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
80 cm
76 cm
Macro focus range
20 cm
16 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 105 mm
35 - 105 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.4
f2.7 - f4.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2 - f28.6
f17.6 - f31.2
Metering
Centre weighted
Evaluative
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1/2 sec
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/1500 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
1.8"
1.5"
Screen resolution
61,000 dots
120,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SmartMedia
CompactFlash type I
USB
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
4x AA
AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight
380 g
250 g
Dimensions
127 x 67 x 53 mm
110 x 71 x 38 mm
Year
2000
2001




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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

Olympus C-960 Zoom diagonal

The diagonal of C-960 Zoom sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal = √  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm

Canon A10 diagonal

The diagonal of A10 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal = √  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm


Surface area

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

C-960 Zoom sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

A10 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 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

C-960 Zoom pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1319 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 4.04 µm
1319

A10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 4.22 µm
1264


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

C-960 Zoom pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.04 µm

Pixel area = 4.04² = 16.32 µm²

A10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.22 µm

Pixel area = 4.22² = 17.81 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

C-960 Zoom pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1319 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1319 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 6.12 MP/cm²

A10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1264 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1264 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 5.62 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

C-960 Zoom sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.31
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X = √  1.31 × 1000000  = 992
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 992 × 1.33 = 1319
Resolution vertical: X = 992

Sensor resolution = 1319 x 992

A10 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.20
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X = √  1.20 × 1000000  = 950
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 950 × 1.33 = 1264
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


C-960 Zoom crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

A10 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

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).

C-960 Zoom equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.4) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f28.6

A10 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.7 - f4.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f4.8) × 6.5 = f17.6 - f31.2

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