What is the pixel pitch of the Sony A900?

The Sony Alpha A900 provides 24.4 megapixels from a full frame sensor. This pixel density gives rise to a size of the individual pixel of 5.94µm.

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 Sony A900 measures 35.9mm in width and 24.0mm in height, so that the total imaging area of the sensor amounts to 862 mm². Moreover, the A900 has 6 048 horizontal pixels and 4 032 vertical pixels, for a total of 24.4 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 (862 mm²) to the MP count (24 385 536).

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 Sony A900 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.		Sony A900	Full Frame	24.4	6048	4032	none	23.7	12.3	1431	79
2.		Canon 5D Mark II	Full Frame	21.0	5616	3744	1080/30p	23.7	11.9	1815	79
3.		Panasonic S1	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.2	14.5	3333	95
4.		Sony A9	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.9	13.3	3517	92
5.		Sony A99 II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	25.4	13.4	2317	92
6.		Sony A6500	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.5	13.7	1405	85
7.		Sony A7S II	Full Frame	12.0	4240	2832	4K/30p	23.6	13.3	2993	85
8.		Sony RX10 II	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	4K/30p	23.0	12.6	531	70
9.		Sony A7 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.9	13.6	2449	90
10.		Sony A99	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	25.0	14.0	1555	89
11.		Sony A850	Full Frame	24.4	6048	4032	none	23.8	12.2	1415	79

Further information on the sensor in the Sony A900 and the camera's operation can be found in the camera manual.

In the United States, the A900 was initially launched in September 2008 at a price of $2,999.

Check A900 offers at
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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just make your choice using the following search menu. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

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