Crop sensor vs frame ratio full#
Crop sensor vs frame ratio professional#

Crop sensor vs frame ratio full#

So by using a 35mm lens on a crop sensor, we achieve the same field of view as we do with a 50mm lens on a full frame camera, but due to the shorter focal length, the depth of field will be greater for any given aperture. The shorter the focal length of a lens, the greater the depth of field it produces. This has an influence on the depth of field in the image, which can either be seen as an advantage or disadvantage, depending on what you are looking for. How does this translate in the real world? If we use a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera then to get the same angle of view on an APS-C sensor, we would need to use a 35mm lens. The majority of APS-C sensors have a crop factor of ~1.6x, whereas 4/3rd cameras have a crop factor of around 2x. This effect is known as the crop factor and is measured as a degree of magnification. For this reason, crop sensor cameras appear to magnify the image compared to shots taken at the same focal length on a full frame cameras. When we view our images (either on the camera’s screen or on a computer), those taken on a crop sensor need to be magnified to a greater degree in order to fill the screen.

See the image above for an illustration of this. The remaining peripheral areas are never captured by the smaller sensor. Think of using a crop sensor as taking a photo on a full frame camera but only being able to see the central 50-80% of the image. For example, using a 50mm focal length lens on both a full frame and micro 4/3rd sensor will allow the former to capture around double the angle of view as the smaller sensor. For any given focal length, a smaller sensor will capture a smaller area of the scene. The first and most obvious effect of is how much of a scene they are able to capture (field of view). Having defined what the difference is physically between different sensor sizes, how does this actually affect our photography, and the images we take? This gives them an aspect ratio of 4:3 which is obviously squarer than 3:2. Micro 4/3rd sensors, which are found in a lot of mirrorless cameras, have a physical sensor size of around 18mm x 13.5mm.

APS-C sensors are around 22.5mm x 15mm in size, so still retain the same aspect ratio of 3:2. The most common of these are APS-C and micro four thirds. This gives the aspect ratio of 3:2 (three units wide compared to two units tall), which is the ratio most DSLR cameras shoot in.īy definition, a crop sensor is anything smaller than these measurements. What do they actually mean though, and how will they impact on our photography and on what we decide to buy?Ī full frame digital sensor refers to to the negative size of a 35mm film camera.

Crop sensor vs frame ratio professional#

You’ve probably heard professional photographers raving about how good full-frame is compared to a crop sensor camera, and for anyone in the market to buy a DSLR, or indeed mirrorless camera you’ve probably come across these terms.