Technology is incredible! New developments, new product evolutions, new cameras! Without the advancement in technology, we would not have image sensors in our digital cameras. We might have still be stuck in medieval times! Well, perhaps not that far back. But the possibilities that these sensors bring to photography has revolutionized our craft!
As we have mentioned in previous articles as well, is that before the era of image sensors, people recorded their photos on photographic film. Compared to image sensors, the film in your camera had to be used up and developed before we could see our results. Before you could see if your photo was properly exposed, if your photo was in focus, and if you took the photo at the perfect time to freeze that moment, it was pretty much a mystery before you received your fully developed photos back. Imagine if you were shooting a wedding on film. If you missed out on certain moments, or you did not expose your photos correctly.. there would be no second chance. What a stressful time that would have been.
With so many different cameras, and different price points, on the market, there should also be differences in specifications of these sensors, right? And that is absolutely correct! Different sensors bring different pros and cons with them. Therefore, we will provide you with more knowledge on the different sensors, and which sensor you might want to consider on your next purchase.
We will cover two of the most common consumer-level image sensors, which are the full-frame and APS-C sensors. Additionally, we will give you a brief overview of a comparison between the two sensors, and things which you may want to consider before choosing one over the other.
Full-frame sensors
A full-frame sensor is based on the 35mm film format, with the dimensions of 36mm x 24mm. This format became the standard in the photography industry. When people used larger film formats, such as the medium format or larger, camera equipment was also significantly larger. When the 35mm film format was introduced, it quickly became popular and widely used due to the size, as it allowed for more compact, portable, and cheaper cameras.
Funny enough, the 35mm format was considered ‘small’ during the time it was introduced. Now, it is one of the larger types of image sensors you can opt for, and by many people viewed as the holy grail of sensors.. due to the standardization, and marketing of course.
APS-C sensors
APS-C was a film format that, just like the 35mm film format, also quickly became popular due to the form factor. In fact, APS-C stands for ‘Advanced Photo System’ with ‘C’ referring to ‘Classic’. The Advanced Photo System had two more film formats, one smaller and one larger, but these did not become as popular. APS-C sensors are an even smaller format compared to the full-frame sensor, with the dimensions of 24mm x 16mm.
To calculate similar, if not the same, field of view, you could simply multiply the focal length by 1.5 times. This is one of the pros and cons that come with using a smaller image format. Something that we will cover further in this article.
Full-frame vs APS-C sensors
When you compare the full-frame sensor with the APS-C sensor, or perhaps even larger or smaller formats for that matter, it would be good to know what the pros and cons are for each sensor type.
Below, we have listed the following topics for you to take into consideration which sensor type would work best for you.
- Image quality
- Price
- Field of view
- Lens-compatibility
- Portability
Image quality
Possibly the biggest benefit that you can get from a full-frame sensor is image quality. When comparing a 24 megapixel full-frame sensor with a 24 megapixels APS-C sensor, the larger sensor has larger individual photo sites, which help in producing cleaner images, especially in higher ISO numbers.
The larger photo sites will help in recording more data, which leads to higher dynamic range. Dynamic range is the tonal distinction in the spectrum from the brightest bright to the darkest dark. Especially when editing your files, with the additional data that your image sensor records, you can retrieve more details from the darker areas as well as the brighter areas. Smaller sensors with typically smaller photo sites will have more trouble to record all that detail. However, this doesn’t mean that they are bad. On the contrary, they are still highly commendable image sensors. Yet, with less data being recorded, you can leverage this in terms of a more advantageous file-size.
When it comes to grain/noise, with the higher dynamic that larger sensors can record, the sensor is less susceptible to the grain when taking photos with higher ISO numbers. When you compare the ISO-performance between the larger 24 megapixel full-frame sensor with the 24 megapixel APS-C sensor, in the lower ISO numbers, you may not notice that big of a difference in image quality. This is because the sensor sensitivity was not amplified enough to make much of a difference.
By now, you may be thinking: “Perhaps it would be a good idea to get a camera with a full-frame sensor, but one that is already several years older, so I can save some money whilst getting the better image quality.” Trust me, I have been there too. And it actually may not be best thing to do.
The thing that is important for you to understand, is that smaller sensors are vastly improving as technology progresses. So much that these provide a better image quality than larger sensors that are several years old. Another aspect is still price, and that is something that we will further explain down below.
Price
As larger sensors are more difficult to make, and require more material to produce, the production cost of each sensor goes up. These sensors need to be housed in a camera body that will also tend to be larger in size. And as mentioned before, the larger the product, the more complex it will be, and the higher the price.
However, camera manufacturers have slowly been able to make smaller cameras whilst maintaining a larger sensor. This has slowly made cameras with larger sensors a lot more accessible over time, which is absolutely fantastic! There is, however, one drawback. Though the price of a full-frame camera has become more accessible, you are still required to get lenses, which are full-frame compatible. These lenses also tend to be significantly larger and complex, which all increase the price of the lens.
Smaller sensors, on the other hand, are a whole lot more affordable.. not only when it comes to the camera, but also the lenses. Lens manufacturers are developing lenses specifically for the smaller format, which are more cost-effective. The drawback to this is lens-compatibility, and something that we will cover later on.
Field of view
Simply said, your field of view is how much of the view in front of your camera will be captured by the sensor. Hypothetically, a full-frame sensor with a 50mm lens (don’t worry, we will touch on the different lens types in a later stage) will capture a given scene. If you take a photo from the same position, take that same 50mm lens, and put it in front of an APS-C sensor, your field of view will be narrower. As your APS-C sensor is physically smaller than the full-frame one, you will basically get a cropped-in version of the scene. This make it looks like you are zooming in on the scene. In fact, you are simply taking a crop of a scene that is portrayed in your image circle.
Longer focal lengths lenses, in combination with larger maximum apertures, tend to be more complex. This is reflected in the amount of glass used inside the lens, as well as the physical size of the lens. This generally leads to incredibly large and expensive lenses. Thus, when you require longer focal lengths, it may be the wiser decision to opt for an APS-C sensor to benefit from the focal length multiplier.
Lens-compatibility
As we previously mentioned that lens-compatibility may be an issue, here is the school of thought. A lens projects a circular beam of light on the image sensor. Lenses that are designed for full-frame cameras produce an image circle that would be large enough to cover the larger sensor. Lenses that are designed for APS-C sensors, or smaller sensors, will produce an image circle that would be large enough to cover the smaller sensor. This means that lenses for the smaller sensor do not produce an image circle that would be large enough for the larger sensor. Still with us so far?
Of course, you could take a full-frame lens, and put it on an APS-C camera. The image circle would still be wide enough to even cover the smaller sensor. A winner right there! Just don’t forget that the cost of the full-frame lens will likely be more expensive. However, this may be a good investment if you aim to grow to a full-frame camera one day in the future.
Portability
With smaller sensors, camera and lens manufacturers are able to develop and produce smaller products. You can take advantage of this feature in terms of portability. With a smaller setup, you can more easily slide it in your bag, and bring it on your next trip abroad.. or hike that mountain you have always wanted to go up to.
In case you have a larger setup, of course you can still bring it on your trip here and there, but it will limit you more in terms of space that should be accounted for, not to mention the weight that comes with it. You will be able to take those memorable photos in higher quality, yes. However, your back may not appreciate it as much. Especially if you are on your feet for hours and hours on end.
There will always be pros and cons to selecting a certain product. In the end, go for the smarter choices. Do not spend more than you should, and try to determine what your needs are. Of course, we would love to have the camera with the best image sensor. But is it really what we need though? And would the lesser option be enough for what we are going to use it for? In our case, mostly we can do with the more modest options. And making those decisions tend to be the ones we don’t regret going for.
Now that you have been introduced to the two most common image sensors for photography consumers, let’s have a look at the different camera types on the market.
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