Pentax Optio WG-1 GPS vs. Epson PhotoPC L-500V

Comparison

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Optio WG-1 GPS image
vs
PhotoPC L-500V image
Pentax Optio WG-1 GPS Epson PhotoPC L-500V
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Megapixels
14.00
5.00
Max. image resolution
4288 x 3216
2560 x 1920

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
Sensor resolution
4315 x 3244
2579 x 1939
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)
Pentax Optio WG-1 GPS Epson PhotoPC L-500V
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 24.84 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
WG-1 GPS sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than L-500V sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Pentax WG-1 GPS (2011) and Epson L-500V (2004). Seven years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
1.43 µm
2.23 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: 0.8 µm (56%)
Pixel pitch of L-500V is approx. 56% higher than pixel pitch of WG-1 GPS.
Pixel area
2.04 µm²
4.97 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: 2.93 µm² (144%)
A pixel on Epson L-500V sensor is approx. 144% bigger than a pixel on Pentax WG-1 GPS.
Pixel density
49.07 MP/cm²
20.12 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: 28.95 µm (144%)
Pentax WG-1 GPS has approx. 144% higher pixel density than Epson L-500V.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Pentax WG-1 GPS
Epson L-500V
Crop factor
5.62
6.02
Total megapixels
14.50
5.36
Effective megapixels
14.00
5.00
Optical zoom
5x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80 - 6400
Auto, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 140 mm
34 - 102 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3.5 - f5.5
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.7 - f30.9
f16.9 - f29.5
Metering
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1500 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
5
Screen size
2.7"
2.5"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
200,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
SD card
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion D-LI92 rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Weight
157 g
200 g
Dimensions
114 x 58 x 28 mm
92 x 62 x 32 mm
Year
2011
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

Pentax WG-1 GPS diagonal

The diagonal of WG-1 GPS 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

Epson L-500V diagonal

The diagonal of L-500V 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.

WG-1 GPS sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

L-500V 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

WG-1 GPS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.43 µm
4315

L-500V pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.23 µm
2579


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

WG-1 GPS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.43 µm

Pixel area = 1.43² = 2.04 µm²

L-500V pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.23 µm

Pixel area = 2.23² = 4.97 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

WG-1 GPS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4315 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4315 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.07 MP/cm²

L-500V pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 20.12 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

WG-1 GPS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  14.00 × 1000000  = 3244
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3244 × 1.33 = 4315
Resolution vertical: X = 3244

Sensor resolution = 4315 x 3244

L-500V sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  5.00 × 1000000  = 1939
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939

Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939


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


WG-1 GPS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

L-500V 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).

WG-1 GPS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.5) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f30.9

L-500V equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f29.5

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