This tag refers to to physical size of a camera's sensor.
31
votes
10answers
2k views
What is the relationship between focal length and crop factor?
I'm reading that a 50mm lens is recommended as a first prime lens for DSLR owners as it's supposed to give a 'natural' perspective, but when used on (most) DSLRs, the view is cropped, as if you were ...
27
votes
13answers
18k views
How do Micro 4/3s cameras compare with DSLR cameras?
What are the major (and perhaps more subtle) differences between the newer Micro 4/3s format in comparison to the well-established DSLR cameras? What are the pros and cons of the Micro 4/3s format, ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
Why are larger sensors better at low light?
The top answer of What point and shoots are good in low light conditions? says that (1) a fast lens/wide aperture (2) reasonable ISO 400+ handling and (3) a large sensor when put together are critical ...
14
votes
8answers
2k views
Are full-frame cameras bad for sports photography?
I was reading about crop factor from various places on the internet, and the general idea that kept building in my mind was that full-frame cameras are good for wide-angle shots but not that good for ...
14
votes
6answers
5k views
Why does a bigger sensor lead to a shallower depth of field?
It has been mentioned at a few places that a larger sensor results in images with a shallower depth of field.
Example image: http://www.mattgrum.com/FF_vs_APS-C.jpg
APS-C Canon 30D left, FF ...
14
votes
6answers
4k views
How does background blur (bokeh) relate to sensor size?
This is a somewhat theoretical question.
Suppose I first take a photo of a subject using a full frame sensor DSLR, with a given lens (say 50mm prime lens at f/3.5).
Now suppose I exchange the camera ...
12
votes
2answers
3k views
How come a 1" sensor is 13.2 x 8.8 mm big?
I'm wondering how sensor sizes are calculated. The Sony RX100 reportedly has a sensor size of 1" which is 13.2 x 8.8 mm according to the press release and various sites.
How does that work? That's a ...
11
votes
4answers
1k views
Why do some DSLRs have fewer megapixels than some pocket cameras?
Some point and shoot cameras like the Olympus mju range have more megapixel capabilities than many DSLRs. Why is this? Is this because they have larger sensors or more dense ones? What are the ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
What differences between point and shoot zoom versus DSLR zoom cause the price disparity?
I'm just getting into the world of photography, stepping up from a point-and-shoot. I've just purchased a Nikon D3100 and it should be here in a couple of days.
I've done lots of research, but ...
7
votes
6answers
900 views
What are the cheap alternatives to DSLRs to get “large sensor image quality”?
In a review of an entry level DSLR, I found this:
[this] is an excellent DSLR but make clear that a DSLR is no longer the only way to gain large sensor image quality at this price [around $500]
...
6
votes
3answers
633 views
What's better image quality; full frame with Canon 400mm 5.6L plus 1.4 extender, OR, cropped frame with same lens?
I am about to upgrade to a Canon 7D for my birding using my 400mm 5.6L lens. With the 1.6 crop factor sensor that gives (roughly) a magnification factor equivalent to my other option, a Canon 5D mkII ...
6
votes
3answers
211 views
Must I allow for crop factor in the viewfinder when shooting with a Nikon DX format camera?
Will a Nikon D5100 (dx format) viewfinder show me what the captured image will be, or do I need to allow for "crop" factor? Will that depend on/alter with using a DX lens or an FX lens? I don't have ...
5
votes
4answers
184 views
Why do small sensor cameras use proportionally larger mounts?
After seeing the Pentax Q which uses a sensor with 5.6X crop factor that is miniature compared to its mount and now the Nikon 1 system with its 2.7X crop factor also looks like its sensor is small ...
4
votes
3answers
410 views
Do compact and DSLR cameras have the same sensor size if they have the same number of megapixels?
In the analog camera, I understood the impact of using a 35mm film vs using a 70 mm film.
However in digital world, I dont know if the sensor size is the same for compact and DSLRs. In other words, ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Why is the sensor size small in D3100 as compared to D3000?
I thought Nikon D3100 must be more advanced than D3000 (because of the higher number and the increased price).
But, the D3000's sensor size is 23.6mm x 15.8mm and the D3100's sensor size is actually ...
4
votes
1answer
230 views
What is the camera's influence on lenses' optical properties?
I installed my 50mm f/1.4 Nikon lens on my Olympus E-P1. I notice some properties of the lens changed — namely, magnification and DoF both increased.
I understand magnification increases because of ...
4
votes
1answer
116 views
What factor determines the largest usable sensor size with a certain lens?
Reading this excellent answer about field of view, focal length and sensor size a new question came to mind.
From the drawn diagrams it is clearly visible that for the same focal length an increase ...
4
votes
2answers
498 views
Are cropped images from a full-frame sensor equal quality to full APS-C images despite the lower resolution?
If I put a DX lens on a Nikon D700, it will reduce megapixels to 5.1.
I understand that FX pixels are about 2.5 times larger than DX pixels. Would I be correct to assume that, therefore, my FX image ...
4
votes
1answer
210 views
Is there a noticeable difference between a 23.1 x 15.4mm and a 23.6 x 15.8mm sensor size?
Is there a noticeable difference between a 23.1 x 15.4 mm and a 23.6 x 15.8 mm sensor size when accompanied by a prime lens of 1.4F?
After how large a change in the numbers does the difference get ...
4
votes
1answer
329 views
what's the relation between sensor size and image quality (noise, dynamic range)?
I'm reading this description on sensor size:
Digital compact cameras have substantially smaller sensors offering a
similar number of pixels. As a consequence, the pixels are much
smaller, ...
3
votes
4answers
227 views
Does micro 4/3 have an advantage in low light due to aperture equivilence?
Recent Micro Four/Thirds sensors seem to have improved their noise performance significantly.
I own a Canon 5D Mark 2 full frame DSLR and am considering purchasing an Olympus OM-D EM5 micro four ...
3
votes
2answers
965 views
Why do the 600D/7D sensors have more noise at high ISO than 5Dmk2 or 1Dmk4?
Hi I'm wondering why the high ISO performance in a 5Dmk2 or 1Dmk4 is so much better than a 600D or 7d? I've been trying to photograph the milky way galaxy and when I use an ISO of 6400 I have an ...
3
votes
1answer
183 views
How do you determine the acceptable Circle of Confusion for a particular photo?
I've noticed that several online and/or downloadable Depth of Field Calculators use different values for the acceptable CoC (Circle of Confusion) for some of the same camera models/sensor sizes. This, ...
2
votes
6answers
955 views
Is small sensor always a bad thing?
I own a DSLR. I want to buy some not-too-expensive compact, and there are a lot of compacts in the range 100-250$ with 1/2.3" sensors.
Can such a sensor/camera set give a quality somewhat comparable ...
2
votes
2answers
271 views
Is “Ultrapixels” just marketing or is there a real benefit?
HTC has branded the sensor in its new phone (the HTC One) to be "Ultra pixels". For the same sensor size it only gives you 4MP where today's standard for top of the line smartphones is 8MP and up. Of ...
1
vote
2answers
206 views
1
vote
1answer
497 views
how does full frame cameras give better bokeh than crop sensor? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When do the differences between APS-C and full frame sensors matter, and why?
Why does a bigger sensor lead to a shallower depth of field?
When I compare my camera ...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
DX 35mm vs FX 50mm
Will the picture taken from
AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G and
AF-NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G be one and the same because of the DX and FX format??
1
vote
3answers
191 views
Why do two cameras with different resolution but both with 2/3″ sensors, and same mount and lens, give a different view?
In testing, I have a circle on a piece of paper. I need to mount a camera at a fixed distance so that the circle just captures the top and bottom of that circle.
Im testing this because I need to ...
0
votes
2answers
8k views
What is the difference between DX format and FX format lenses, and which to choose for what purpose?
http://www.nikon.co.in/products.php?categoryid=1011
What is the difference between DX format and FX format lenses, and which to choose for what purpose?
What are the pros and cons of both?
0
votes
2answers
122 views
How to simulate different focal length and sensor size on an image?
I like to simulate different focal length and sensor size based on an image i have taken. I have a full frame body so I like to know how the picture would look like if I have taken with a cropped ...
