What is the pixel pitch of the Nikon D850?

The Nikon D850 provides 45.4 megapixels from a full frame sensor. This pixel density gives rise to a size of the individual pixel of 4.35µm.

The pixel size or pixel pitch can be calculated by dividing the sensor area by the pixel count and then taking the square root. In particular, the sensor in the Nikon D850 measures 35.9mm in width and 23.9mm in height, so that the total imaging area of the sensor amounts to 858 mm². Moreover, the D850 has 8 256 horizontal pixels and 5 504 vertical pixels, for a total of 45.4 megapixels. Then, the size (height or width) of each individual pixel can be calculated as the square root of the ratio of the sensor area (858 mm²) to the MP count (45 441 024).

Larger pixels provide advantages with respect to gathering light, particularly in low-light situations. Large pixels notably have a better signal to noise ratio, meaning that they can better differentiate between incoming photons and the noisy signals that the internal processes of the camera create. As a result, big pixels are particularly helpful to the photographer when shooting with high ISO settings.

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Nikon D850 to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better), covering color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape), and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

#		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Nikon D850	Full Frame	45.4	8256	5504	4K/30p	26.4	14.8	2660	100
2.		Canon 5DS	Full Frame	50.3	8688	5792	1080/30p	24.7	12.4	2381	87
3.		Canon 5DS R	Full Frame	50.3	8688	5792	1080/30p	24.6	12.4	2308	86
4.		Nikon D5	Full Frame	20.7	5588	3712	4K/30p	25.1	12.3	2343	88
5.		Nikon D810	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/60p	25.7	14.8	2853	97
6.		Nikon Df	Full Frame	16.2	4928	3280	none	24.6	13.1	3279	89
7.		Nikon D610	Full Frame	24.2	6016	4016	1080/30p	25.1	14.4	2925	94
8.		Nikon D600	Full Frame	24.2	6016	4016	1080/30p	25.1	14.2	2980	94
9.		Nikon D800	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/30p	25.3	14.4	2853	95
10.		Nikon D800E	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/30p	25.6	14.3	2979	96
11.		Sony A99 II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	25.4	13.4	2317	92

Further information on the sensor in the Nikon D850 and the camera's operation can be found in the camera manual.

In the United States, the D850 was initially launched in July 2017 at a price of $3,299.

Check D850 price at
amazon.com

Camera to camera comparisons

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