Full Frame, DX and the Rest

[oreo5000]

Hi Guys,
I was wondering if someone could clear this up for me as im a little confused.

So, I understand that if you have a Dslr, which isnt full frame like my D200, and you attach an old lens, say an 18-70, because of the crop factor you have to multiply it by 1.5, which would result in the lens being 27-105 right?

So am I right in thinking that DX lenses are made specifically for DX cameras and they have the same focal length as stated, ie my 18-200 is actually still 18-200, or does the x1.5 still apply here?

Cheers for your help

 

[8utters]

The x1.5 applies to whatever lens you put on your x1.5 body as it's the body that has a cropped sensor, nothing to do with the lens.

It's called a crop factor (of 1.5 in this case). Full frame is natrually 1.0 so an 18-200mm will be a true 18-200mm.

Only on a Nikon D3 though, the only full-frame Nikon DSLR.

(Or a EOS 5D or 1Ds if your speaking Canon).

 

[oreo5000]

The x1.5 applies to whatever lens you put on your x1.5 body as it's the body that has a cropped sensor, nothing to do with the lens.

It's called a crop factor (of 1.5 in this case). Full frame is natrually 1.0 so an 18-200mm will be a true 18-200mm.

Only on a Nikon D3 though, the only full-frame Nikon DSLR.

(Or a EOS 5D or 1Ds if your speaking Canon).

Thanks for clearing that up, am I right in thinking then than if you stick a DX lens on a D3, you will have a loss of image because it cant cover the FX sensor?

 

[redhed17]

The D3 goes into a cropped mode when you attach a DX lens, I think it goes down to 5 megapixel image.

 

[oreo5000]

The D3 goes into a cropped mode when you attach a DX lens, I think it goes down to 5 megapixel image.

Thanks for that, so to get full frame you would have to buy suitable lenses also, obviously not DX.

 

[8utters]

Yeah you would with a Nikon.

 

[ppp]

So, I understand that if you have a Dslr, which isnt full frame like my D200, and you attach an old lens, say an 18-70, because of the crop factor you have to multiply it by 1.5, which would result in the lens being 27-105 right?

Remember it doesn't make the lens a 27-150 it just gives you the field of view of a 27-105 i.e to get the same image on a 35mm camera you would need a 27-105 lens

 

[redhed17]

Just in case anyone was wondering, and because I'm a bit bored.

The reason the D3 goes into a cropped mode, is because the DX specific lenses cast a smaller image circle on to the sensor area. This was supposedly to allow for smaller, lighter lenses to be made, and too make full use of the light passing through the lens. Uncropped you would have a severely vignetted image on a 'full size' sensor.

This would be the same for any specific lens designed for APS-C sized sensor on a full sized sensor camera. If indeed it was possible to put that type of lens on a full frame camera. The Canon EF-S lenses (designed for APS-C cameras) are not able to be used on any of their cameras beyond the 40D in their range. Move from a 40D to a 5D for example, and any EF-S lenses are useless for the 5D. At least with the Nikon D3 you would be able to make use of your old lenses, though only for a 5Mp image. Something you may need to do for awhile considering the price of a D3.

 

[oreo5000]

Remember it doesn't make the lens a 27-150 it just gives you the field of view of a 27-105 i.e to get the same image on a 35mm camera you would need a 27-105 lens

Yeah man, is that not what we said?

 

[oreo5000]

Just in case anyone was wondering, and because I'm a bit bored.

The reason the D3 goes into a cropped mode, is because the DX specific lenses cast a smaller image circle on to the sensor area. This was supposedly to allow for smaller, lighter lenses to be made, and too make full use of the light passing through the lens. Uncropped you would have a severely vignetted image on a 'full size' sensor.

This would be the same for any specific lens designed for APS-C sized sensor on a full sized sensor camera. If indeed it was possible to put that type of lens on a full frame camera. The Canon EF-S lenses (designed for APS-C cameras) are not able to be used on any of their cameras beyond the 40D in their range. Move from a 40D to a 5D for example, and any EF-S lenses are useless for the 5D. At least with the Nikon D3 you would be able to make use of your old lenses, though only for a 5Mp image. Something you may need to do for awhile considering the price of a D3.

So If I were to use my 18-200VR DX on a D3 it would go into DX mode and still give me a 5mp image of a 27- 300mm right?
So what would the equivalent lens be to actually get the full 18-200 on the D3?

 

[redhed17]

So If I were to use my 18-200VR DX on a D3 it would go into DX mode and still give me a 5mp image of a 27- 300mm right?
So what would the equivalent lens be to actually get the full 18-200 on the D3?

You are right, 27-300 view, the same as you currently get with the D200. To get the full 18-200 view on a D3, you would need an FX version of the 18-200 lens, should such a thing exist.

 

[Joe T]

So If I were to use my 18-200VR DX on a D3 it would go into DX mode and still give me a 5mp image of a 27- 300mm right?
So what would the equivalent lens be to actually get the full 18-200 on the D3?

You would need an 18-200 lens designed for a full frame sensor. And there isnt one.

 

[StewartR]

Remember it doesn't make the lens a 27-105 it just gives you the field of view of a 27-105 i.e to get the same image on a 35mm camera you would need a 27-105 lens

Yeah man, is that not what we said?

No. It's not quite the same thing.

The most obvious effect of putting an 18-70mm lens on a camera with a DX sensor is that you get a smaller field of view than you would on a full-frame camera. You get the same field of view that you would with a 27-105mm on a full-frame camera.

But - the focal length is still 18-70mm. You get the depth of field of an 18-70mm lens, not the depth of field of a 27-105mm lens. It's harder to get nice background blur on a crop-sensor camera for this reason.