#Crop sensor vs frame ratio how to
#Crop sensor vs frame ratio update

I decided to shoot these in my little studio with my fabulous model Veronica. To show the difference between the two cameras I am including some examples using the same three focal lengths.īefore I show the examples I am including a shot of my setup that I took with my iPhone.

#Crop sensor vs frame ratio update

(What you previously would have needed a 200mm lens to shoot with a full frame camera, you now only need a focal length of 125mm.)Įventually, I did update my camera to a full frame but only because I was looking for a camera that handed low light better than my 30D. In addition to having a lower price tag, a potential benefit to shooting with a crop sensor, if you are wanting to do long distance shooting, is that your lens will now have a longer focal length. There are lots of really great cameras on the market today that have a crop sensor such as the Canon 70D, 7D and the Rebel line (Nikon sells them as well but since I shoot Canon I am only listing those).

The 100mm lens would act as a 160mm lens (100 x 1.6 = 160).

The 50mm lens would act as a 80mm lens (50 x 1.6 = 80).

The 28mm lens would act as a 45mm lens (28 x 1.6 = 44.8).

Here are some examples of this comparison (using a crop factor of 1.6x): In order to determine what the focal length of your lens is, on a crop factor camera, use the Focal Length Multiplier: multiply the focal length by the crop factor to get the 35mm, or full frame, equivalent. But how do you know what the effective focal length of your lens is? This is where knowing what your crop factor is, comes into play. You can see the difference between the 30D crop sensor and 5d mark II full frame.īy changing the field of view, a crop sensor changes the effective focal length of your lens and makes it act like a longer lens. Why do you need to know what your crop factor is? (More on that in a moment.) What this means is that my Canon 30D will produce an image with a field of view that is 5/8ths the size of what full frame camera’s field of view will produce. My Canon 30D has a crop factor of 1.6x which means that it is 5/8th or 62.5% the size of a full frame sensor. Cameras can have a crop factor of 1.3x, 1.5x, or 1.6x. What does crop sensor mean?Ī crop sensor is literally that- a cropped, or smaller version, of the full sized (35mm) sensor. It measures 36x24mm and is referred to as 1.0x. In short, the sensor is the digital camera’s version of film.Ī full frame camera has a sensor that’s the same size as a frame of traditional 35mm film. In a digital camera, it is the sensor that collects the light that comes through the lens and converts it into electrical signals that are sent to the memory card. On a film camera, it is the film that collects the light that comes through the camera’s lens to form an image. Let’s start with the basics, what is the sensor?

#Crop sensor vs frame ratio how to

I knew this camera was a crop sensor, or APS-C, when I bought it and I learned how to adjust the focal lengths of my lenses to make it work for me.

I wanted to dabble without spending a ton of money. As with many photographers, I started my interest in digital photography with a smaller and less expensive camera.