Samsung Digimax U-CA505 vs. Canon PowerShot SX210 IS

Comparison

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Digimax U-CA505 image
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PowerShot SX210 IS image
Samsung Digimax U-CA505 Canon PowerShot SX210 IS
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Megapixels
5.00
14.10
Max. image resolution
2560 x 1920
4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
2579 x 1939
4330 x 3256
Diagonal
7.19 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 : 1.15
(ratio)
Samsung Digimax U-CA505 Canon PowerShot SX210 IS
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
SX210 IS sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than U-CA505 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Samsung U-CA505 (2004) and Canon SX210 IS (2010). 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
2.23 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: 0.81 µm (57%)
Pixel pitch of U-CA505 is approx. 57% higher than pixel pitch of SX210 IS.
Pixel area
4.97 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:
vs
Pixel area difference: 2.95 µm² (146%)
A pixel on Samsung U-CA505 sensor is approx. 146% bigger than a pixel on Canon SX210 IS.
Pixel density
20.12 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: 29.29 µm (146%)
Canon SX210 IS has approx. 146% higher pixel density than Samsung U-CA505.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Samsung U-CA505
Canon SX210 IS
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
14.50
Effective megapixels
14.10
Optical zoom
No
14x
Digital zoom
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
60 cm
5 cm
Macro focus range
6 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 mm
28 - 392 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.2
f3.1 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.3
f17.4 - f33.2
Metering
Multi Spot, Spot
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/3200 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
None
White balance presets
7
5
Screen size
2"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
MultiMedia, Secure Digital
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
Lithium-Ion NB-5L battery
Weight
115 g
215 g
Dimensions
97 x 52 x 25 mm
105.8 x 59.3 x 31.9 mm
Year
2004
2010




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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 U-CA505 diagonal

The diagonal of U-CA505 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

Canon SX210 IS diagonal

The diagonal of SX210 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.

U-CA505 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

SX210 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

U-CA505 pixel pitch

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

SX210 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

U-CA505 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.23 µm

Pixel area = 2.23² = 4.97 µm²

SX210 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

U-CA505 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 20.12 MP/cm²

SX210 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

U-CA505 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

SX210 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


U-CA505 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

SX210 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).

U-CA505 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f3.2

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2) × 6.02 = f19.3

SX210 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.1 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f17.4 - f33.2

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