Samsung S85 vs. Nikon Coolpix S3400

Comparison

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S85 image
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Coolpix S3400 image
Samsung S85 Nikon Coolpix S3400
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Megapixels
8.20
20.10
Max. image resolution
3264 x 2448
5152 x 3864

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
3302 x 2483
5171 x 3888
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 S85 Nikon Coolpix S3400
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
S3400 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than S85 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Samsung S85 (2007) and Nikon S3400 (2013). 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
1.74 µm
1.19 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 (46%)
Pixel pitch of S85 is approx. 46% higher than pixel pitch of S3400.
Pixel area
3.03 µm²
1.42 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: 1.61 µm² (113%)
A pixel on Samsung S85 sensor is approx. 113% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S3400.
Pixel density
32.98 MP/cm²
70.47 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: 37.49 µm (114%)
Nikon S3400 has approx. 114% higher pixel density than Samsung S85.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Samsung S85
Nikon S3400
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
8.30
20.48
Effective megapixels
8.20
20.10
Optical zoom
5x
7x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
80-1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
80 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 190 mm
26 - 182 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.6
f3.4 - f6.4
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f27.7
f19.1 - f36
Metering
Centre weighted, Multi Spot
Matrix, center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
Screen size
2.5"
2.7"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
MultiMedia, SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
2 x AA Alkaline batteries
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL19
Weight
204 g
128 g
Dimensions
100 x 63 x 23 mm
96.8 x 57.8 x 20.5 mm
Year
2007
2013




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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 S85 diagonal

The diagonal of S85 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

Nikon S3400 diagonal

The diagonal of S3400 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.

S85 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

S3400 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

S85 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3302 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.74 µm
3302

S3400 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.19 µm
5171


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

S85 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.74 µm

Pixel area = 1.74² = 3.03 µm²

S3400 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.19 µm

Pixel area = 1.19² = 1.42 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

S85 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3302 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3302 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 32.98 MP/cm²

S3400 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5171 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.47 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

S85 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.20
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X = √  8.20 × 1000000  = 2483
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2483 × 1.33 = 3302
Resolution vertical: X = 2483

Sensor resolution = 3302 x 2483

S3400 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  20.10 × 1000000  = 3888
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3888 × 1.33 = 5171
Resolution vertical: X = 3888

Sensor resolution = 5171 x 3888


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


S85 crop factor

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

S3400 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).

S85 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.6) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f27.7

S3400 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f6.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f6.4) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f36

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