Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S3000 vs. Nikon Coolpix S220

Comparison

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Cyber-shot DSC-S3000 image
vs
Coolpix S220 image
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S3000 Nikon Coolpix S220
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Megapixels
10.10
10.00
Max. image resolution
3648 x 2736
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.9" (~ 4.96 x 3.72 mm)
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor resolution
3665 x 2756
3647 x 2742
Diagonal
6.20 mm
7.60 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 : 1.5
(ratio)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S3000 Nikon Coolpix S220
Surface area:
18.45 mm² vs 27.72 mm²
Difference: 9.27 mm² (50%)
S220 sensor is approx. 1.5x bigger than S3000 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Sony S3000 (2011) and Nikon S220 (2009). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.35 µm
1.67 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: 0.32 µm (24%)
Pixel pitch of S220 is approx. 24% higher than pixel pitch of S3000.
Pixel area
1.82 µm²
2.79 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: 0.97 µm² (53%)
A pixel on Nikon S220 sensor is approx. 53% bigger than a pixel on Sony S3000.
Pixel density
54.6 MP/cm²
35.98 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: 18.62 µm (52%)
Sony S3000 has approx. 52% higher pixel density than Nikon S220.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony S3000
Nikon S220
Crop factor
6.98
5.69
Total megapixels
10.70
Effective megapixels
10.00
Optical zoom
Yes
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 2000
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
5 cm
60 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
10 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 112 mm
35 - 105 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3 - f5.7
f3.1 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f20.9 - f39.8
f17.6 - f33.6
Metering
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Centre weighted
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1/4 sec
8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
7
5
Screen size
2.7"
2,5"
Screen resolution
230,400 dots
150,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
2x AA
Nikon EN-EL10 Lithium-ion Battery
Weight
119 g
100 g
Dimensions
99 x 61 x 29.3 mm
89.5 x 55.5 x 18 mm
Year
2011
2009




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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 S3000 diagonal

The diagonal of S3000 sensor is not 1/2.9 or 0.34" (8.8 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.2 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.96 mm
h = 3.72 mm
Diagonal = √  4.96² + 3.72²   = 6.20 mm

Nikon S220 diagonal

The diagonal of S220 sensor is not 1/2.33 or 0.43" (10.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.08 mm
h = 4.56 mm
Diagonal = √  6.08² + 4.56²   = 7.60 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

S3000 sensor area

Width = 4.96 mm
Height = 3.72 mm

Surface area = 4.96 × 3.72 = 18.45 mm²

S220 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 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

S3000 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.96 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Pixel pitch =   4.96  × 1000  = 1.35 µm
3665

S220 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.67 µm
3647


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

S3000 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.35 µm

Pixel area = 1.35² = 1.82 µm²

S220 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.67 µm

Pixel area = 1.67² = 2.79 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

S3000 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Sensor width = 0.496 cm

Pixel density = (3665 / 0.496)² / 1000000 = 54.6 MP/cm²

S220 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (3647 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 35.98 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

S3000 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.96 mm
Sensor height = 3.72 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.10
r = 4.96/3.72 = 1.33
X = √  10.10 × 1000000  = 2756
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2756 × 1.33 = 3665
Resolution vertical: X = 2756

Sensor resolution = 3665 x 2756

S220 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00
r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33
X = √  10.00 × 1000000  = 2742
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2742 × 1.33 = 3647
Resolution vertical: X = 2742

Sensor resolution = 3647 x 2742


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


S3000 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.20 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.98
6.20

S220 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.60 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.69
7.60

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).

S3000 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.98
Aperture = f3 - f5.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3 - f5.7) × 6.98 = f20.9 - f39.8

S220 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.1 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f5.9) × 5.69 = f17.6 - f33.6

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