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How can I shoot 18mm full frame with my Nikon d40? Is it possible to shoot full frame with this camera? What lens do I need?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Please explain what you mean by " full frame " . The d40 has a "crop sensor" or sensor that is smaller than what is called a full frame sensor. ( full frame meaning the size equivalent to the size of 35mm film frame. ) You can shoot "FULL FRAME" on a camera that does not have a full frame sensor, so what i believe you are asking is how can you achieve the the "equivalent" of 18mm focal length on a camera with sensor that is smaller than full frame. Is that correct? Twalbarg gives a brief explanation of the crop factor in his/her answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Jan 8, 2018 at 20:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ I would suggest that you search the term "crop factor for DX-format sensor" on this stack or the internet in general and you will get much more info about full frame vs DX-format sensor. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Jan 8, 2018 at 20:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to Photo.SE! Could you edit your question to better explain what you're trying to do? As an 18mm lens on a DX-format sensor is similar to a 28mm lens on a full frame sensor, and 28mm is a popular focal length for video, I wonder if this is perhaps about shooting video? If so, you should know that video questions are mostly off topic here, but they'll be well-received at video.stackexchange.com. \$\endgroup\$
    – Caleb
    Jan 8, 2018 at 20:55

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Considering the D40 has a DX-format sensor (23.7 × 15.6 mm), you cannot shoot "full frame" with it - the sensor is smaller than a full frame sensor. If you have an 18mm lens with an F mount, you should be able to use it, but with a crop factor of 1.5, it's roughly equivalent to a 27mm lens on a full frame sensor body. If you want an equivalent focal length of 18mm, you'd need a 12mm F-mount lens.

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The term “full frame” is a label applied to digital cameras that sport an image sensor fabricated to match the dimensions of negatives and slides outputted by the 35mm film cameras popular since the last half of the 20th century. This camera outputted negatives and slides that measure 24mm height by 36mm length. Today, many models of digital cameras are designed with an electronic image sensor that sports the same dimensions thus they are termed “full frame” or sometimes FX.

As image chip technology evolves, the sensor size can shrank. Nevertheless the bigger FX sensor outputs superior quality however the more compact sensor cameras give them a run for their money.

Your Nikon D40 is classified as a compact digital because it sports an image sensor that measures 15.6mm height by 23.7mm length. The difference mathematically is called the magnification or crop factor. For the D40 this value is 1.5. What this means, if we mount a lens of the D40, to figure out what lens to mount on an FX to get similar results we multiply the focal length by 1.5. As an example, if you mount an 18mm on your D40, you would need to mount a 18 X 1.5 = 30mm OK to round) on a full frame to gain a similar view. Conversely, if a 30mm mounted on a full frame you would mount 30 ÷ 1.5 = 20mm to get approximately the same view.

More to the point, Nikon makes a zoom 18mm thru 70mm that will do nicely. To approximately duplicate this lens’s action on a full frame, you would mount a zoom covers a range 30mm thru 105mm (or close to these values).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Or if you are Nikon, 35.9x23.9mm. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jan 9, 2018 at 3:17

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