{"id":24137,"date":"2014-10-09T10:31:08","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T14:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=24137"},"modified":"2021-02-19T17:52:50","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T21:52:50","slug":"full-frame-vs-crop-sensor-cameras-comparison-depth-of-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/full-frame-vs-crop-sensor-cameras-comparison-depth-of-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Full-frame vs Crop-sensor comparison : Depth-of-field & perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Full-frame vs Crop-sensor comparison : \u00a0Depth-of-field & Perspective<\/h1>\n

When the differences between full-frame and crop-sensor cameras are discussed, there is an inevitable question about whether\u00a0the crop sensor multiplies the focal length. Whether a 50mm lens on a crop-sensor acts like a 75mm lens (on a 1.5x crop sensor)\u00a0or 80mm lens (on a 1.6x crop sensor).<\/p>\n

The answers given on the photography forums are confusing – yes,\u00a0the focal length effectively increases.\u00a0No, it doesn’t.\u00a0Two answers that are polar opposites. The discussion (which tend to devolve\u00a0into arguments) are convincingly made for both sides. And that’s because the topic is a complex one … and therefore the answer is (kinda) complex as well.<\/p>\n

One argument goes along the lines that the crop sensor is just that, a crop<\/strong>. An enlargement.\u00a0That nothing changes. The focal length doesn’t change – you just get less of the scene. And that there is no “equivalent focal length” when you go to a crop sensor camera.<\/p>\n

But what really happens\u00a0is more complex than that.<\/p>\n

With this article, I want to help analyze what happens when you change lenses between a full-frame camera and a crop-sensor camera. And we’ll analyze whether there\u00a0is actually an equivalency between certain focal lengths, when using a crop-sensor camera vs a full-frame camera. In other words, whether your 50mm lens becomes\u00a0“equivalent to” a 75mm or 80mm lens when used on a crop-sensor camera.<\/p>\n

Since this article ended up being a long meandering discussion, I thought it best that we start with the final summary. Just to save the impatient people some work.<\/p>\n

Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, a 50mm lens does indeed behave like\u00a0an equivalent focal length<\/strong> of a 75mm lens (on a 1.5x crop sensor), or an 80mm lens (on a 1.6x crop sensor) for the same composition …\u00a0however<\/b>, the\u00a0depth-of-field increases by about a stop.<\/p>\n

Yes, a 100mm lens on a crop-sensor camera will give you the same perspective<\/strong> as a 150mm \/ 160mm lens (on a full-frame camera), if<\/strong> you don’t change position … however<\/strong>, the DoF increases.<\/p>\n

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But let’s discuss this with some images:<\/p>\n

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Notes on depth-of-field \/ DoF<\/h2>\n

Before we can go much further, we need to recap on Depth-of-Field:<\/p>\n