Where can I find a list of physical sensor sizes for digital cameras??

December 27, 2007 7:05 AM

Where can I find a list of physical sensor sizes for digital cameras?

So, I love photography - film, Polaroid, digital, you name it - and everybody knows that the larger the image sensor, the better it is for the picture (I realize that's a generality and other factors come into play, but hear me out). However, of the many fine digital camera information resources available online, I've been able to find no site that lists as part of a camera's specs the actual *physical* size of the camera's sensor as opposed to the ratio, like "1/2.5" or "1/2.35."

Anybody aware of an online resource that has this info? I'm specifically looking for a sub-compact digital camera that I can just throw in a pocket when I don't want to tote the 5D around all day.

posted by mrkinla to media & arts (9 comments total)

Here
posted by Fins at 7:13 AM on December 27, 2007

The "1/2.5" number isn't really a ratio, it doesn't really seem to mean anything specific at all, though the larger it is, the larger the sensor will be. Here's a list of sensor "types" (which is what that number is called) and their physical dimensions
posted by duckstab at 7:14 AM on December 27, 2007

DAMN. TOO SLOW.
posted by duckstab at 7:15 AM on December 27, 2007

I hear your frustration, but pretty much any pocket size camera will have a tiny sensor compared to a full-frame camera like the 5D. I imagine the variation in sizes across different cameras of the same style is too small to make a significant difference. Here is a comment from DaShiv that describes a nice compact DSLR setup he recently aquired.

Having said that, have you seen this list? It converts those confusing 1/3.2" type numbers (which are not actually aspect ratios) to actual sizes.
posted by TedW at 7:19 AM on December 27, 2007

Even slower than duckstab
posted by TedW at 7:20 AM on December 27, 2007

I thought this was well-worded and illustrated.
posted by neilkod at 7:26 AM on December 27, 2007

Here's a diagram of common sizes.

Sizes like 1/1.8" are not ratios, they are actual dimensions. You can plug them into a calculator:

2/3" = 0.667"

1/1.8" = 0.556"

1/2.5" = 0.4"
posted by mbrubeck at 7:29 AM on December 27, 2007

Not to get too off-topic, but please don't believe everything on that 6mpixel website. There's no reason why detectors should only be six megapixels. They're wrong on so many counts that it will take me a much longer blog post to deconstruct them all. The bottom line is to pick cameras based on actual reviews (dpreview.com especially), not well-worded theoretical arguments.
posted by kiltedtaco at 7:38 AM on December 27, 2007

mbrubeck: check out those links to the DP Review articles. The "dimensions" are purely notional.
posted by adamrice at 7:42 AM on December 27, 2007