Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30

Comparison

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Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-QX30 image
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30
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Megapixels
18.20
20.40
Max. image resolution
4896 x 3672
5184 x 3888

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
4920 x 3699
5208 x 3916
Diagonal
7.70 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
(ratio)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
QX10 and QX30 sensors are the same size.
Pixel pitch
1.25 µm
1.18 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: 0.07 µm (6%)
Pixel pitch of QX10 is approx. 6% higher than pixel pitch of QX30.
Pixel area
1.56 µm²
1.39 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: 0.17 µm² (12%)
A pixel on Sony QX10 sensor is approx. 12% bigger than a pixel on Sony QX30.
Pixel density
63.79 MP/cm²
71.48 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: 7.69 µm (12%)
Sony QX30 has approx. 12% higher pixel density than Sony QX10.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony QX10
Sony QX30
Crop factor
5.62
5.62
Total megapixels
18.90
21.10
Effective megapixels
18.20
20.40
Optical zoom
10x
30x
Digital zoom
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Auto, 80-3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
5 cm
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
25 - 250 mm
24 - 720 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f3.3 - f5.9
f3.5 - f6.3
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.5 - f33.2
f19.7 - f35.4
Metering
Multi Pattern
Multi
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/6000 sec
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
Screen resolution
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60p/30p)
Storage types
microSD, microSDHC, Memory Stick Micro
Memory Stick Micro, microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
NP-BN
NP-BN
Weight
105 g
193 g
Dimensions
62.4 x 61.8 x 30 mm
68.4 x 65.1 x 57.6 mm
Year
2013
2014




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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 QX10 diagonal

The diagonal of QX10 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

Sony QX30 diagonal

The diagonal of QX30 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.

QX10 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

QX30 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

QX10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4920 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.25 µm
4920

QX30 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5208 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.18 µm
5208


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

QX10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.25 µm

Pixel area = 1.25² = 1.56 µm²

QX30 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.18 µm

Pixel area = 1.18² = 1.39 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

QX10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4920 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4920 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.79 MP/cm²

QX30 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5208 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5208 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 71.48 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

QX10 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.20
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  18.20 × 1000000  = 3699
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3699 × 1.33 = 4920
Resolution vertical: X = 3699

Sensor resolution = 4920 x 3699

QX30 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.40
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  20.40 × 1000000  = 3916
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3916 × 1.33 = 5208
Resolution vertical: X = 3916

Sensor resolution = 5208 x 3916


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


QX10 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

QX30 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).

QX10 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f18.5 - f33.2

QX30 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f6.3

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f6.3) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f35.4

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