Canon A490 vs Nikon S30

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Canon A490 versus Nikon S30, both Small Sensor Compact cameras by manufacturers Canon and Nikon. The image resolution of the A490 (10MP) and the S30 (10MP) is pretty comparable but the A490 (1/2.3") and S30 (1/3") possess totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The A490 was launched 3 years prior to the S30 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before going through a detailed comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the A490 scores versus the S30 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Canon PowerShot A490 and Nikon Coolpix S30. The complete galleries are provided at Canon A490 Gallery and Nikon S30 Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera, you should think about its weight and volume. The Canon A490 features exterior dimensions of 94mm x 62mm x 31mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 1.2") and a weight of 175 grams (0.39 lbs) whilst the Nikon S30 has sizing of 102mm x 65mm x 40mm (4.0" x 2.6" x 1.6") having a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs).

Look at the Canon A490 versus Nikon S30 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have at that time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the A490 and the S30.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the A490 and S30 is 93 and 90 respectively.

Generally, it's tough to envision the gap in sensor measurements merely by seeing specs. The graphic here will give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A490 and S30.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras posses the exact same MP albeit not the same sensor measurements. The A490 comes with the bigger sensor which is going to make getting shallow DOF easier. The older A490 will be behind with regard to sensor technology.