Samsung Digimax A7 vs. Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

Comparison

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Samsung Digimax A7

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

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Megapixels

7.20

14.10

Max. image resolution

3072 x 2304

4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)

Sensor resolution

3095 x 2327

4330 x 3256

Diagonal

8.89 mm

7.70 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
1.33	:	1
(ratio)

Samsung Digimax A7		Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

Surface area:

37.90 mm²

28.46 mm²

Difference: 9.44 mm² (33%)

A7 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than SX150 IS sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Samsung A7 (2005) and Canon SX150 IS (2011). Six years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.

Pixel pitch

2.3 µm

1.42 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: 0.88 µm (62%)

Pixel pitch of A7 is approx. 62% higher than pixel pitch of SX150 IS.

Pixel area

5.29 µm²

2.02 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: 3.27 µm² (162%)

A pixel on Samsung A7 sensor is approx. 162% bigger than a pixel on Canon SX150 IS.

Pixel density

18.95 MP/cm²

49.41 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: 30.46 µm (161%)

Canon SX150 IS has approx. 161% higher pixel density than Samsung A7.

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

Specs

Samsung A7

Canon SX150 IS

Crop factor

4.87

5.62

Total megapixels

Effective megapixels

14.10

Optical zoom

Yes

12x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto

Auto, 80 - 1600

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

Macro focus range

4 cm

1 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

38 mm

28 - 336 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f3.4 - f5.6

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

n/a

f19.1 - f31.5

Metering

Multi-pattern, Spot

Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

15 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2500 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical

None

White balance presets

Screen size

Screen resolution

230,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

MultiMedia, Secure Digital

SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital

USB

USB 1.1

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

1x CR-V3, 2x AA, Li-Ion

2 x AA batteries (NiMH recommended)

Weight

306 g

Dimensions

113 x 73 x 46 mm

Year

2005

2011

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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

Samsung A7 diagonal

The diagonal of A7 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 SX150 IS diagonal

The diagonal of SX150 IS 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

Surface area

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

A7 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

SX150 IS sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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

A7 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3095 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 2.3 µm
	3095

SX150 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.42 µm
	4330

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

A7 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.3 µm

Pixel area = 2.3² = 5.29 µm²

SX150 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.42 µm

Pixel area = 1.42² = 2.02 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

A7 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3095 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (3095 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 18.95 MP/cm²

SX150 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4330 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.41 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

A7 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.20

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	7.20 × 1000000	= 2327
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2327 × 1.33 = 3095
Resolution vertical: X = 2327

Sensor resolution = 3095 x 2327

SX150 IS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.10

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	14.10 × 1000000	= 3256
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3256 × 1.33 = 4330
Resolution vertical: X = 3256

Sensor resolution = 4330 x 3256

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

A7 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.87
	8.89

SX150 IS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.62
	7.70

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).

A7 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Samsung A7, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Samsung A7 is 4.87

SX150 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f5.6) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f31.5

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