I had asked a question about the best dSLR in $1000 to $2000 range. It was only after i posted da question did i realise that even though i have been a photography enthusiast all my life i dont really know much about Photography. Please help me in my research as I belong to India where this is a huge sum of money(a few months salary 4 me), but i plan to skin myself apart after i join my job as i wanted to have a good camera all my life but was denied of the luxury due to limited means. Please help me with your expertise :)
2007-01-19 09:10:23 · 5 answers · asked by Kush 2 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Cameras
It's really simple.
Crop frame refers to any sensor size smaller than a 35mm film frame. Full frame means the sensor is the same size as 35mm film. What that means is the lens is focusing the center of its range on the sensor, and losing the outer edges of the picture where film would normally be, so the effect is to make the image look closer than the focal length. Think of it as an in-camera crop, The good news is the center of a lens is a sweet spot with less light fall-off and the best optics.
Most dSLR camera sensors are smaller than a 35mm film frame. Nikon is about 1.6 times smaller, so multiply the lens by 1.6 to get its apparent focal length. So a 50mm lens on a Nikon has the same field of view as 80mm on a full frame sensor.
Canon does have a full frame sensor in some cameras, so a 50mm lens will look like a 50mm view. I believe their other sensors are 1.5, so a 50mm lens looks like 75mm.
This is not a scientific explanation, but maybe will help you visualize how it is.
Film lenses will be fine on a dSLR (assuming they have the same mount etc) But DX lenses (made for crop frame digital SLRs) will NOT be fine on a film camera, they won't cover the full film area.
Add on here: My mistake, the Nikon is 1.5 and the Canon is 1.6...oops! I never was very good with numbers! Thanks!
2007-01-19 09:33:23 · answer #1 · answered by Ara57 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The crop factor is a way of comparing the size of a digital camera sensor to the size of traditional 35mm film.
If the sensor is the exact same size as a frame of 35mm film, it's called a 'full frame' sensor. Only a few high end digital Canons are full frame.
If the sensor is smaller than a frame of film, it's called a 'cropped sensor'.
With all Nikon dSLR cameras, the sensor is 1.5x smaller than film. With a Canon 400D and 30D, the sensor is 1.6x smaller than film. With other brands, the sensor is even 2x smaller.
This crop factor doesn't matter for image quality, but it does play a trick on your lenses.
With a 1.5 crop factor, all of your lenses will appear to be magnified by 1.5. So a 50mm lens will appear to be 75mm (50 x 1.5 = 75). An 18-70mm zoom will appear to be 27-105mm.
With a 1.6 crop factor, a 50mm lens will appear to be 80mm, and an 18-70mm zoom will appear to be 29-112mm.
This is great for telezoom lenses, because you get more reach for free. It's not so great for wide-angle lenses however, because they become less wide-angle due to the crop factor.
2007-01-19 09:49:26 · answer #2 · answered by OMG, I ♥ PONIES!!1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1, If money's tight- you don't need to spend that much for a good DSLR. there are many excellent products under $1K.
2. think of DSLRs having a smaller piece of film than 35mm cameras- so you only get to see the middle of the photo. Which is exactly the case.
2007-01-19 10:37:43 · answer #3 · answered by Morey000 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ara's answer is right!
To the best of my understanding (I own two Nikon DLSRs) The crop factor is the other way round 1.5 for Nikon and 1.6 for Canon.
Excellent answer thought!
2007-01-19 09:46:44 · answer #4 · answered by teef_au 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Basically it gives you a more zoomed in picture than if you had a full sized sensor. It is gives you more of a tunnel vision view than with a full sized sensor.
2007-01-19 10:15:57 · answer #5 · answered by Koko 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋