Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P31 vs. Nikon Coolpix L28

Comparison

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Cyber-shot DSC-P31 image
vs
Coolpix L28 image
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P31 Nikon Coolpix L28
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Megapixels
2.11
20.10
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
5152 x 3864

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
1676 x 1260
5171 x 3888
Diagonal
6.66 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 : 1.33
(ratio)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P31 Nikon Coolpix L28
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 7.14 mm² (33%)
L28 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than P31 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 11 years between Sony P31 (2002) and Nikon L28 (2013). Eleven years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
3.18 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: 1.99 µm (167%)
Pixel pitch of P31 is approx. 167% higher than pixel pitch of L28.
Pixel area
10.11 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: 8.69 µm² (612%)
A pixel on Sony P31 sensor is approx. 612% bigger than a pixel on Nikon L28.
Pixel density
9.89 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: 60.58 µm (613%)
Nikon L28 has approx. 613% higher pixel density than Sony P31.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony P31
Nikon L28
Crop factor
6.5
5.62
Total megapixels
20.48
Effective megapixels
20.10
Optical zoom
1x
5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
10 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
10 cm
10 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
33 mm
26 - 130 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8
f3.2 - f6.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2
f18 - f36.5
Metering
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, 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
2 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
1.6"
3"
Screen resolution
61,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Memory Stick
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH rechargables included)
2 x AA alkaline or lithium batteries
Weight
231 g
164 g
Dimensions
106 x 58 x 40 mm
95.4 x 59.8 x 29 mm
Year
2002
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

Sony P31 diagonal

The diagonal of P31 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal = √  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm

Nikon L28 diagonal

The diagonal of L28 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.

P31 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

L28 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

P31 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1676 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.18 µm
1676

L28 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

P31 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.18 µm

Pixel area = 3.18² = 10.11 µm²

L28 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

P31 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1676 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1676 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.89 MP/cm²

L28 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

P31 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.11
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X = √  2.11 × 1000000  = 1260
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1260 × 1.33 = 1676
Resolution vertical: X = 1260

Sensor resolution = 1676 x 1260

L28 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


P31 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

L28 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).

P31 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 6.5 = f18.2

L28 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.2 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f18 - f36.5

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