What you need to know about digital camera sensors
Bec Summer
STACK Writer
Sensor size is important when choosing a digital camera, and the two main options you’ll come across are full frame sensors and APS-C sensors. There are key differences between the two, and each has its own advantages. Let's take a look...
Full frame sensors
• A full frame sensor is the same size as a full frame of old school 35mm film, giving photographers and videographers better image clarity, depth and detail, as well as more of the image to work with when composing a shot and cropping when editing.
• A full frame sensor provides a shallower depth of field for portrait photography, drawing attention to a subject’s face and expression, and a wider field of view when shooting landscapes.
• Bokeh is better with a full frame camera, because a shallower depth of field creates a smoother background blur, making the subject more distinct in the foreground.
• Cameras with full frame sensors tend to be larger and more expensive than those with APS-C sensors.
• Professional photographers favour the full frame format for its higher image resolution, compatibility with specialised lenses, wider field of view, and greater ISO for low light performance.
APS-C sensors
• APS-C stands for Advanced Photo System type-C – APS being a former film format, and C the format’s ‘classic’ negative size at 25.1mm x 16.7mm, which is the same size as an APS-C sensor in a modern digital camera. • An APS-C sensor is smaller than a full frame camera’s sensor and is also known as a ‘crop’ sensor, because it captures less of a scene. However, the subject can fill the frame without you having to get up close, resulting in more detail for portrait shots and more flexibility with composition.
• APS-C sensors can increase the focal length of lenses by 1.6 times, so small or distant subjects appear larger in the frame. If you’re into dynamic sports photography or taking snaps of wildlife on the sly, then an APS-C camera is the way to go.
• Cameras with an APS-C sensor are great for beginners. The smaller sensor size allows amateur snappers to gain a better understanding of depth of field and focal length, and to experiment with different photography skills.
• APS-C cameras are more budget friendly than their full frame counterparts and more compact and portable, making them a good fit for vlogging on the go and travel photography.
What is crop factor?
Crop factor is a term you’re likely to come across when considering a camera with an APS-C sensor. Simply put, because the APS-C frame is smaller than a full frame sensor, a smaller part of the scene is captured, and the image resembles a shot that has been zoomed in.
Cropping makes subjects appear larger and closer, which is useful when shooting from a distance, and it also eliminates the need to manually crop images when editing.
^Discounts apply to previous ticketed/advertised price prior to the discount offer. As we negotiate, products will likely have been sold below ticketed/advertised price prior to the discount offer. Prices may differ at airport stores.
