What is full frame?

Full frame cameras have a sensor that is close to (or exactly) the same size as a 35mm film negative. The D700 has a sensor that is 36mm x 23.9mm in size, which is 0.1mm smaller than a 35mm negative. Cropped sensors are sensors that are smaller than a 35mm negative.

Wikipedia will tell you all you need to know! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-frame_digital_SLR
 
welly said:
Full frame cameras have a sensor that is close to (or exactly) the same size as a 35mm film negative. The D700 has a sensor that is 36mm x 23.9mm in size, which is 0.1mm smaller than a 35mm negative. Cropped sensors are sensors that are smaller than a 35mm negative.

Wikipedia will tell you all you need to know! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-frame_digital_SLR
Click to expand...

The term crop format has come to refer to Nikon and Canon primarily:

Nikon/Pentax/Sony
23.6x15.7mm, crop factor 1.5x, APS-C

Canon
22.2x14.8mm, crop factor 1.6x, APS-C

And the other one is 4/3rds, which is quite a bit smaller, and slightly more square in shape.

Olympus/Panasonic
17.3x13mm, crop factor 2x, 4/3rds and Micro 4/3rds

The crop factor refers to the relationship to full frame, and is usually used for comparing lens focal length. Eg, 50mm lens when used on crop format has the equivalent field of view of a 75mm lens on full frame - 50 x 1.5 = 75.

APS-C is a somewhat confusing nick name for crop format. It refers to the vaguely similar dimensions of the redundant film format, Advanced Photo System - Classic.
 
Snownation said:
What is full frame cameras? And cropped?
I keep hearing these terms in the forums, and have no idea what they are.
I'm new to photography, so I'm wondering what it does.
Click to expand...

full frame is an incorrect term for a 135 frame sized digital sensor while crop is any sensor of APS-C or 4/3 sized sensor which are 1.5 to 2 times smaller in size.
 
You will have to get the precise scientific description from someone else but remembering back to my learning days the diagonal of the frame format = the focal length of the lens. So a 35mm film frame on a 50mm lens will record a scene as the human eye sees it. Put on a 28mm wide angle and the perspective changes as it will with a 100mm etc etc.

Full frame, as mentioned earlier is similar to a 35mm film frame, cropped gives you a smaller frame and changes the perspective

stew
 
In piratical terms it affects what you see when you look thought the viewfinder of the two different formats - amonst other things

"The crop factor is the sensor's diagonal size compared to a full-frame 35 mm sensor. It is called this because when using a 35 mm lens, such a sensor effectively crops out this much of the image at its exterior (due to its limited size)."


Capture.PNG



see here for further info
 
Another side effect of the smaller sensor is that depth of field (i.e. the amount of the scene sharply in focus) is longer on a crop sensor, view being equal and the same f-stop being used, because the crop sensor lens would be less actual mm in length.

I.e. broadly the same actual photo would be produced

FF - 85mm F1.8
Crop - 50mm F1.4

HTH
 
NOBODY h
as given the correct answer yet..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ful frame is usually £600 more......:p at least.
 
towershot said:
NOBODY h
as given the correct answer yet..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ful frame is usually £600 more......:p at least.
Click to expand...



its a lot cheaper than a cropped sensor if you know where to look......

















kodak.jpg
 
artona said:
Full frame, as mentioned earlier is similar to a 35mm film frame, cropped gives you a smaller frame and changes the perspective

stew
Click to expand...
I have to say it will NOT change the perspective the only thing that will change this is your position to your view I.e. if you mover back to get more in or move forward to get less in.
If you take a photo with a 50mm lens and then a 100mm lens from the same place you can crop the 50mm image and you will see it has the same perspective BUT if you move to have the same view in the image then it will change the perspective.
I hope you can understand my explanation
 
pearce_jj said:
Another side effect of the smaller sensor is that depth of field (i.e. the amount of the scene sharply in focus) is longer on a crop sensor, view being equal and the same f-stop being used, because the crop sensor lens would be less actual mm in length.
Click to expand...

Being picky, depth of field does not change strictly according to focal length, it changes due to image size (magnification) which is a combination of focal length and focusing distance.

If you use a shorter focal length lens, the image size gets smaller, and that is why depth of field is increased. But if you move further back with a longer lens, depth of field is also increased, because the image size gets smaller. It's the net effect on image size that counts.

I.e. broadly the same actual photo would be produced

FF - 85mm F1.8
Crop - 50mm F1.4

HTH
Click to expand...

Not exactly right. 50mm lens on a Canon 1.6x crop camera has same field of view as 80mm on full frame. Nikon 1.5x is 75mm.

Difference in terms of depth of field is about 1.25 stops between full frame and crop - Nikon slightly less, Canon fractionally more. It's f/number x crop factor. So f/1.8 on a crop camera would give the same DoF as f/2.8 on full frame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top