There are two main camera sensor standards: full frame (or 35mm) and crop sensor (or APS-C). The full frame sensor is about 1.5 times the size of the crop sensor, which changes things up a bit. If you’ve just upgraded (or are thinking about upgrading) a crop sensor camera to a full frame camera, here’s what you need to know.
RELATED: IN what is the difference between full frame and touch camera?
All your shots will be wider
In every article where I mention focal length, I always have to say something like 20mm for a full frame camera or around 35mm for a crop sensor camera. This is due to the crop factor. While a 20mm lens is still a 20mm lens, when on a crop sensor camera it has the field of view that a 35mm lens would have on a full frame camera.
This difference changes the way lenses are used when moving to a full frame camera. Your 50mm goes from a short telephoto lens, equivalent to a 70mm lens and perfect for headshots, to a regular lens that’s better for portraits in ambient conditions. Your 35mm is now a wide angle lens.
You will probably be disappointed when you realize that your 200mm telephoto lens, which was so good at getting close to birds, doesn’t have that much magnification. You will need 350mm for your new camera to get the same effect.
On this photo…
… and this photo …
… I stand about the same distance from the subject and use the same 40mm lens. The only difference is that in the first picture I use a crop camera, and in the second I use a full frame camera.
There are more manual controls and better build quality
Full-sized cases are designed for professionals and advanced hobbyists, so many of the hand holding features have been removed. Don’t expect to see six different auto modes for a wide range of situations. Instead, you will get more and more manual control. There is usually an additional dial to adjust shutter speed and aperture at the same time. There may be special user modes where you can save your settings or buttons that you can assign to different tasks.