In 2023, probably the two most common sensor sizes you’ll see on the market are full-frame, which is the same sensor size as 35mm film, and the smaller, APS-C format, similar in size to APS-C film. For example, the Canon EOS R7 (APS-C) has 32.5 megapixels, while the Fujifilm X-H2 and X-T5 (also APS-C) have 40 megapixels, so all three have technically higher resolution than many full frame cameras (typically 24-26MP at this price level). But when you factor in resolution, or megapixels, the boundaries become blurred. All other things being equal, a full frame camera will give better quality than an APS-C model. Just as bigger negative sizes give better quality with film cameras, the same is true of sensor sizes. The image sensor is the fundamental element of any camera, but with several different sensor sizes available, it can be a bit confusing to know the differences – and to decide which is best for you. In terms of APS-C vs full-frame Amy Davies lets us know the key differences, pros and cons. UPDATE: I created this follow up video correcting a couple of small mistakes I made in the original, replying to some criticisms in the comments, and forming the equation in a different way for those that struggled with it the first time.Do you need to buy a full-frame camera in 2023, or is APS-C good enough? A lot has happened recently, particularly some new, higher-resolution APS-C cameras that appear to close the gap to full-frame cameras and even overhaul some base models. This is pretty basic stuff that we ALL should know before buying some new gear, or get into an online argument with someone on these topics. Not to say speed-boosters are bad, they are great! I own a Metabones XL booster and think it is a fantastic bit of kit, but I’m just pointing out that the increase of one stop we see (compared to FF) is more about the ISO lying to us, than the booster making the lens magically gather more light.Īnyway, I hope you watch the video, and please do leave some feedback in the comments if I either got something wrong (we are human and we ALL make mistakes), or if I helped enlighten you. ![]() AND it shows why the speed-booster appears to be brighter than the same lens on FF… because the ISO number doesn’t represent total light, only light per square inch. This shows why we need to square the crop factor when doing our lens equivalence with no speed booster in order to match exposure and noise levels. So in terms of total light hitting sensor, an ISO of 200 on M43 will equate to a ISO of 800 on FF. Put simply: the M43 sensor is gathering one quarter of the light of the full-frame sensor. The reason the exposure is now different and about one stop brighter (compared to the same lens on a full-frame camera at the same settings) is because the ISO number is only telling you the light fall per square inch of the sensor, not the total amount of light hitting the sensor, and the total amount of light is most certainly what is important to our image. The booster is simply shrinking the circle of light to better fit the smaller sensor, so that less light is wasted by spilling around the sensor. This is of course completely wrong you can’t get more light out of the lens than what happens to be going through it in the first place. It’s the lens doing the work, not the speed-booster.Īs to the extra stop of light a speed-boosters will give you, people claim you are getting more light out of the lens compared to a full-frame equivalent. The wider FOV allows similar framing to a camera with a larger sensor, which then in turn allows you to use the longer focal length, which WILL give you a similar DOF to a larger sensor. ![]() Its main advantage is that using a booster will waste less of the light that would normally be spilled around the sensor, and, importantly, it widens the FOV. Technically, a speed-booster will make the DOF WIDER than the same lens would have with a non ‘speed-boosted’ adaptor. Lastly, allow me to touch upon another much misunderstood topic: speed-boosters.įirstly regarding DOF, many people seem to think that a speed-booster magically gives a narrower full-frame like depth of field.
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