Samsung Digimax A7 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80

Comparison

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Digimax A7 image
vs
Lumix DMC-LS80 image
Samsung Digimax A7 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80
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Megapixels
7.20
8.10
Max. image resolution
3072 x 2304
3264 x 2448

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
Sensor resolution
3095 x 2327
3282 x 2468
Diagonal
8.89 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
1.53 : 1
(ratio)
Samsung Digimax A7 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80
Surface area:
37.90 mm² vs 24.84 mm²
Difference: 13.06 mm² (53%)
A7 sensor is approx. 1.53x bigger than LS80 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Samsung A7 (2005) and Panasonic LS80 (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
2.3 µm
1.75 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: 0.55 µm (31%)
Pixel pitch of A7 is approx. 31% higher than pixel pitch of LS80.
Pixel area
5.29 µm²
3.06 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: 2.23 µm² (73%)
A pixel on Samsung A7 sensor is approx. 73% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic LS80.
Pixel density
18.95 MP/cm²
32.58 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: 13.63 µm (72%)
Panasonic LS80 has approx. 72% higher pixel density than Samsung A7.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Samsung A7
Panasonic LS80
Crop factor
4.87
6.02
Total megapixels
8.30
Effective megapixels
8.10
Optical zoom
Yes
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
4 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 mm
33 - 100 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.1
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
f16.9 - f30.7
Metering
Multi-pattern, Spot
Intelligent Multiple
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
None
White balance presets
4
5
Screen size
2"
2.5"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
MultiMedia, Secure Digital
MultiMedia, SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.1
USB 1.1
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
1x CR-V3, 2x AA, Li-Ion
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight
129 g
Dimensions
95.7 x 62.0 x 31.2 mm
Year
2005
2008




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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

Panasonic LS80 diagonal

The diagonal of LS80 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.

A7 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

LS80 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

A7 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3095 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 2.3 µm
3095

LS80 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.75 µm
3282


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

LS80 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.75 µm

Pixel area = 1.75² = 3.06 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

LS80 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3282 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3282 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 32.58 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

LS80 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.10
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X = √  8.10 × 1000000  = 2468
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2468 × 1.33 = 3282
Resolution vertical: X = 2468

Sensor resolution = 3282 x 2468


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

LS80 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).

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

LS80 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.1

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.1) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f30.7

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