23
votes
Would it be possible to make a 36×36 mm "full frame" sensor?
That's not correct. Look at this picture:
The green rectangle is a 36x24 sensor. The green circle, which has a diameter of 43.3mm, is the minimal light spot needed for that size. The blue square is ...
- 1,781
19
votes
How does crop factor affect perspective?
When I started photography, this one took me ages to figure out, because people tend to explain it with a lot of math, or in a way that makes sense once you already grasp the principle but not before.
...
- 23.1k
17
votes
Why did they ever make smaller than full-frame sensors?
The first mainstream applications for electronic image sensors (be it Image-Orthicons, Vidicons, Plumbicons, or CCDs, or CMOS active pixel sensors, be it analog-electronic or digital workflows) were ...
- 7,172
14
votes
Accepted
What practical advantages do expensive Nikon DSLRs give vs affordable ones?
The Nikon D5 and its predecessors are mainly intended for action and sports photographers. They are designed for speed and sensitivity in order to freeze fast moving action and capture it at its ...
- 102k
12
votes
Accepted
Is there ever a right time to upgrade to full frame camera body?
When you need to. That is the one and only time you need to think about it.
If the answer to one or more of these questions is a Yes, then you may want to consider an upgrade...
Do you need a ...
- 9,539
11
votes
What is the difference between these Canon full frame cameras?
Without wanting to seem too harsh: if you don't understand the differences between those cameras, you're probably not ready to buy one.
More generally, if you put similar format cameras if you put ...
- 21.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Can I use a 127.5mm focal length on a crop camera to see what the view would be like using an 85mm full frame lens?
No. You should set your zoom to 85mm to see what an 85mm lens looks like on your camera.
The focal length of a lens is a physical property that does not change no matter what size sensor you put ...
- 51.1k
10
votes
Would it be possible to make a 36×36 mm "full frame" sensor?
Is it possible and why it has not been done yet ?
Not necessarily. A 24x36mm sensor will easily fit in an image circle that's too small for a 36x36mm sensor. Specifically, a 24x36mm sensor requires a ...
- 31.6k
10
votes
APS-C crop factor 1.5x or 1.53x
Nikon 1.5X APS-C sensors in their current lineup are actually 1.52-1.53X depending on the exact measurements of the various different sensors in different models. Some older, discontinued models in ...
- 174k
10
votes
Why is my crop lens producing a circular image on my full-frame camera?
The 18-300 DX VR is a DX lens, as its name says.
DX, by Nikon, is the acronym for APS-C format.
The D750 is an FX body (FX by Nikon means full-frame).
So you are trying to use an APS-C lens on a full-...
- 585
9
votes
Accepted
Does a full frame lens require more light on a crop body?
The amount of light passed through the lens stays the same, the lens will still be a F/2.8 lens.
Since the smaller sensor only crops out a different area from the illuminated circle, the exposure ...
- 1,060
9
votes
Why did they ever make smaller than full-frame sensors?
Big sensors cost more than small sensors for more-or-less the same reason that big TVs cost more than small TVs. Compare a 30-inch TV and a 60-inch TV (about 75cm and 150cm, if you prefer). ...
- 920
8
votes
Does a full frame lens require more light on a crop body?
The same light will pass through the lens regardless of the type of camera to which it is attached. Less of that total amount of light will land on the smaller sensor. But exposure, when discussed in ...
- 174k
8
votes
What options are there for travel walkabout lenses for Canon 5D Mark III?
You can't use Nikon nor Panasonic lens, they have different mount.
For me the best option for FF Canon are Canon 24-105/f4 or Sigma 24-105/f4. Both of them offer image stabilization and are quite ...
- 10.8k
7
votes
How to transition from crop-frame to full-frame
The main fundamental thing to get used to is doing the crop math in the other direction with FX lenses. What you're used to seeing as 50mm with your crop body, on full frame, will look like 35mm on ...
- 51.1k
7
votes
Focal length on Full frames and cropped sensors
If you take a photo of a FF camera and 75mm DX lens and compare that image with another shot of same subject made by a cropped camera and a 50mm lens what you will see ?
But to be able to see the "...
- 12.8k
7
votes
How do I tell whether a Nikon DSLR or lens is full or cropped frame?
Let's start with some Nikon terminology. Nikon refers to their full frame cameras and lenses as “FX” and their cropped frame cameras and lenses as “DX”. The crop factor for Nikon cameras is ...
- 904
7
votes
How does crop factor affect perspective?
Not correct. Perspective (referring to the size and spacing of background objects relative to subject) is determined by only the distance of camera to subject. This is the geometry drawn from the ...
- 12.8k
7
votes
Why did they ever make smaller than full-frame sensors?
Because you specifically asked about history...
I'd suggest: size, weight, & cost.
All those considerations were equally true in the pre-digital (ie film) days. A popular film format was the 110 ...
7
votes
Why did they ever make smaller than full-frame sensors?
Long before digital, people sought to produce smaller film formats to address manufacturing, usability, and other cost-benefit issues, which are described in other answers.
What is now known as "full ...
- 26.8k
7
votes
APS-C lenses on full frame Mirrorless bodies
Since the adapter moves the lenses further from the sensor, I’d imagine that the coverage of the lens would be larger, and that the adapter or body alters focus to compensate. Is this thinking correct?...
- 174k
6
votes
Can a teleconverter make lenses designed for a "crop" sensor cover full frame?
Your basic assumption about teleconverters is right. But you haven't done the math:
1/2" is 6.4mm x 4.8mm—doubled is still only 12.8mm x 9.6mm.
OTOH it's not unheard-of for tiny format lenses to ...
- 745
6
votes
What is the focal length of Nikon 1 lenses mounted on a full frame camera?
10mm is 10mm. Focal lengths of almost all interchangeable lens camera systems are expressed in the actual focal length of the lens.There are certain technical reasons why this is so, but the simplest ...
- 174k
6
votes
What practical advantages do expensive Nikon DSLRs give vs affordable ones?
They're designed for different use cases.
The D810 and kin are designed for wedding, event, and landscape photographers who need maximum resolution; flagship models like the D5 are designed for ...
- 5,926
6
votes
APS-C crop factor 1.5x or 1.53x
It doesn't really matter, but two decimal digits is more precision than is practically useful.
... or is it standard practice to round to only the first place with crop factor?
This is good ...
- 143k
6
votes
Accepted
How is focal length facial distortion different on an APS-C sensor compared to a full frame?
The facial deformations you are worried about are due to perspective distortion. Perspective is determined by one thing and one thing only: subject distance.
Here's an example of focal length ...
- 174k
6
votes
Full-Sensor Nikon D750 With 4K Video
Will there be D750 coming out anytime soon that will be capable of 4K video?
That part of the question is off-topic because we don't deal in speculation. Having said that, Nikon's big release this ...
- 1,497
6
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't full frame have faster shutter speed than crop (all other things equal)?
A full frame sensor gathers more light for the total area, but that's because there is more total area. The light gathered for the same sized portion of the recording medium is the same for any ...
- 143k
6
votes
Accepted
APS-C lenses on full frame Mirrorless bodies
The EF-S to RF adapter is only possible because of the very short Flange focal distance of 20mm of the RF mount compared to the 44mm of the EF and EF-S mounts.
The adapter places the EF-S mount lens ...
- 12.2k
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