Friday's Photo Tip - Beware the Sensor Size

Friday's Photo Tip - Beware the Sensor Size









All digital cameras use a sensor to capture an image - it is the film of the digital camera.

Remember all the different kinds and sizes of film there used to be to choose from?

Well digital cameras are the same way there too.

Depending on the camera you buy, it will have a certain size sensor.

The sensors in the the DSLR cameras are broken down into two different types.

They are the Full Frame Sensor and the APS-C Sensor.

The full frame sensor is equated to the full 35mm size in the film cameras.

The APS-C is considered a "cropped" version of the 35mm size.

So it stands to reason that the full frame has more pixels which will produce a larger image.

It is also quite a bit more expensive.

The APS-C sensor is what is in most DSLRs on the market today.

This doesn't mean that the DSLR with the APS-C sensor is inferior though.

It does the same job as the full frame - it just produces a smaller file.

Since most professionals need the large file, they opt to go with the full frame camera.

In the last few years, lens manufacturers have been coming out with lenses that are designed for the APS-C cameras.

Now, they can also be used on the full frame cameras, but the pixels will be limited by the amount of the camera that they were designed for.

A couple of the manufacturers have also mentioned that there is serious vignetting when using them.

The manufacturers also have a special code on the lens style number that indicates they are the cropped style and not the full frame. This is something to be aware of when purchasing a lens, especially if you are using an APS camera now and want to upgrade in the future.

And if you are wondering about using the full frame lens on an APS sensor camera - go for it.

Each camera brand has a "crop factor" depending on the actual size of the sensor.

This crop factor affects the field of view (FOV) of the lens.

If the camera has a 1.6 crop factor, then a 300mm lens captures an image that would take a 480mm lens on a full frame camera to capture.

This crop factor doesn't work as nicely on the wide angle images though.

As always - there are pros and cons to everyting.

The point and shoot cameras don't have to worry about any of these problems though.

Their sensors are designed to work perfectly with their fixed lenses.

Photography has something to offer for everyone - from the inexperienced to the experienced.

And digital photography makes it so much more fun!