Understand The Term Full Frame And Crop Factor

Often hear the words "full frame", "Crop factor", "APS-C", APS-H "and still don't understand the meaning? The sense of this vocabulary is not merely to know it, but it is very useful to understand the focal length. Understanding focal length will have an impact on the lens-what lens should I choose.

Initially the Single Lens Reflex (SLR) is created which is used as a medium is film. Still remember the dong with a film camera with film Fuji or Kodak? Well that is the movie with the size of the 35 mm (36 x 24 mm), this is known as a movie with standard 135. In the era of the film almost all cameras use the same film format. It is a full frame camera, 35 mm.

800px 135 fuji film macros 300x200 understand the term Full Frame and Crop Factor

At the time of the digital world begins to make the sensors the price is very expensive. Create a digital sensor approximately the size of 35 mm film, the exorbitant price it just using the Canon 1Ds sensor for it. To suppress the selling price (so it could sell more) then the camera manufacturers make a sensor with smaller size. This is a smaller size will be cheaper in terms of cost. The came the range of sensor size.

500px SensorSizes understand the term Full Frame and Crop Factor

The most common measure used is the type of APS-C. For this type of sensor size slightly smaller Canon than his colleagues, although all still referred to APS-C type. While the APS-H is only used by Canon 1 d camera (without the letter s). One of the types of sensors that are also quite popular lately, is a type of Four Third cameras are commonly used by Olympus. While the bottom line of the above scheme is commonly used by digital camera pocket with super small sensor size.

What is the impact of the use of the smaller sensors? Certainly appear "Auto-Crop" on the resulting image. This is because the picture of the lens captured only a small portion of the field that is the sensor is.

Sensor Sizes Understand The Term Full Frame And Crop Factor

Courtesy of: http://philipbloom.net/

Can be seen in the photo above. On camera with full frame sensor, then the result is the full picture. With the APS-H sensor APS-C and a smaller then the photos as if in the crop becomes more "small". I provide quotes on the word "little" because it could be camera with APS-C sensors have a larger sensor resolution, so it is called a crop but the prints could be larger than the maximum full frame (for example, we compare the results from Canon 5 d Mark 1 with Canon 7 d).

The level of crop is stated with a crop factor. Crop factor stated focal length multiplier to produce an Equivalent Field of View (EFOV). An example of this in the photo above we used a lens with focal length 14 mm. see the results obtained by the APS-C sensor, this kind of results obtained using the lens of 22.4 mm (14 mm x crop factor 1.6) on a full frame sensor. So if you want to generate full frame photos as above (14 mm) must use the lens of 8.75 mm (14 mm/1.6) on cameras with APS-C sensors.

Another example: 200 mm lens on a full frame will act like a lens 200 mm (full frame 1 x crop factor). However, the results were like a lens with focal length 320mm on cameras with APS-C sensor (crop factor 1.6 x).

What are the effects of sensor size? The most direct impact is the arrangement of different lenses. On a full frame lens focal length 24 mm wide is included, but in APS-C focal length is simply normal (24 mm x 1.6 = 38.4 mm). So if I have the following lens arrangement on full frame:

• Super wide lens: Canon 17-40 f4 L

• The all round lenses/normal: Canon 24-105 f4 L IS

• Telephoto lens: Canon 70-200 f4 L IS

canon 5 d mark ii top understand the term Full Frame & Crop Factor

On cameras with APS-C sensors then the order of its focal length is changed:

• Super wide lenses: Canon EF-S 10-22 F3.5-4.5 – equivalent to a 16-35 mm wide, at least so far for Canon APS-C

• The all round lenses/normal: Canon EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS – the equivalent of 27-88mm

• Telephoto lens: Canon 70-200 f4 L IS – the equivalent of 112-320mm

canon eos 1000d understand the term Full Frame and Crop Factor

It can be seen that the Affairs of the sensor size is very influential on the lens normal wide & tele instead. Telephoto lens thus much tele using small sensors. But wide lens becomes no longer wide by using small sensors. This is one of the factors why the landscape professional photographers prefer full frame sensor compared to APS-C sensor.

Wide lens is generally a prime lens is the best/fixed focal length. Currently the best Canon brand lens wide is the EF 14 mm & 24 mm. at the second full frame lens provides a wide viewing angle and very useful. But in such a small sensor APS-C lens only produces the equivalent focal length 13.9 mm & 38.4 mm – still less wide.

 

Canon put out 2 lines of lenses, the EF & EF-S (L Series including type EF). Types of lenses the EF can be used either in full frame sensor or non-full frame. However, the EF-S type can only be used on a camera with a 1.6 x crop factor (Yes, even the APS-H could not use EF-S). So for example the lens EF-S 10-22 F3.5-4.5 will not be used on the Canon 5dMarkII. The risk of its use is the mirror on the camera can be on the back of the EF-S lenses tend to be more prominent.

On Nikon lens type 2 is also known (in General, because there is a grouping of others), namely the non-DX and DX. DX lenses can only be used on cameras with a crop factor. So for example the legendary lens Nikkor 17-55 F2.8 DX will not be used perfectly on the D700 for example. The difference is in the Nikon DX lenses actually still useable on full frame, but his crop would be enough "crazy" – from 12.1 Mpixel using non DX lenses, to just 3.2 MPixel if you use DX lenses.

canon 14 mm comparison understand the term Full Frame and Crop Factor

Canon 16-35 mm & 14 mm, Sigma 12-24 mm

In general the advantages of a full frame sensor:

• Because of the sensor size is larger then is able to use a wide lens focal length that corresponds to the specified, not multiply by the crop factor anymore

• The larger sensor size make sensors in high ISO performance is better, cleaner from noise and tend to be a little sharper with better color gradation

• Depth-of-field that is narrower, the result is blur is better. Remember that small sensors just take a portion of the depth-of-field of a lens, using a full frame sensor will display the entire space captured sharp lens.

Whereas in general the lack of a full frame sensor are:

• The prices are expensive sensors make full frame cameras typically achieve 2 x more expensive than folding small sensors

• The large sensor size generally create the appearance of light fall-off & vignette at the ends of the picture. This is because the quality of the lighting & the best sharpness from lenses generally is in the middle. The small Sensor makes us use the "best" of a lens.

Understand your sensor size & crop factor. Then arrange your lens range to suit your needs and also the crop factor.