Question DX vs FX: Looking for clarification I have a Nikon D90, 12 mp. If I go to a full frame 24 mp, I understand that a pic with the same field of view would be better

Npt Bob Loc: Newport, RI

Looking for clarification
I have a Nikon D90, 12 mp.
If I go to a full frame 24 mp,
I understand that a pic with the same field of view would be better - 24 vs 12 mp for the same photo.
But if I take a picture with each from the same position with the same lens and then crop the FX to the same field of view as the DX will I have a better picture? Or will I have a 12 mp picture the same quality as the DX?

Pistnbroke Loc: UK

I understand that a pic with the same field of view would be better - 24 vs 12 mp for the same photo.

YES

But if I take a picture with each from the same position with the same lens and then crop the FX to the same field of view as the DX will I have a better picture? Or will I have a 12 mp picture the same quality as the DX?

YES in principle probably only 10MP

Your FX 24 will work at a lower iso in the same light so better and be more modern so better
If you want to stick with DX get a D7100 or D7200. If you are using a D90 in 2020 you are not a gear freak.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you use a review site like www.kenrockwell.com , you can find the statistics of the camera's 'DX mode'. When used, the Nikon bodies will automatically detect a Nikon brand DX lens and crop the image to match the smaller image circle the DX lens creates on the larger full-frame sensor. In the case of an example 24MP D750, that would result in a 10MP image. You can talk about all the technology "improvements" of a full-frame body, but if you don't have FX lenses for a 24MP body, why not get that same "improved technology" in a native 24MP DX body, like a D7200, D7500 or D500?

Pistnbroke Loc: UK

ECHO ECHO.....

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Npt Bob wrote:

Looking for clarification
I have a Nikon D90, 12 mp.
If I go to a full frame 24 mp,
I understand that a pic with the same field of view would be better - 24 vs 12 mp for the same photo.
But if I take a picture with each from the same position with the same lens and then crop the FX to the same field of view as the DX will I have a better picture? Or will I have a 12 mp picture the same quality as the DX?

Visually, here's what you get. You will be able to crop in tight without the loss of detail you would have with a Dx sensor.

Pistnbroke Loc: UK

Loss of detail ?? He will have 10mp not 12 MP......

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

Visually, here's what you get. You will be able to crop in tight without the loss of detail you would have with a Dx sensor.

For most manufacturers you lose more detail, especially in normal light, with the “FF” camera, because the ‘crop’ camera pixels are closer together.

BebuLamar

Npt Bob wrote:

Looking for clarification
I have a Nikon D90, 12 mp.
If I go to a full frame 24 mp,
I understand that a pic with the same field of view would be better - 24 vs 12 mp for the same photo.
But if I take a picture with each from the same position with the same lens and then crop the FX to the same field of view as the DX will I have a better picture? Or will I have a 12 mp picture the same quality as the DX?

You are speaking of your D90 and a typical FX body with 24MP like a Nikon D750 or the newer D780 then doing so you will have about 10MP with the FX camera. However, your D90 is quite old and the newer camera although having fewer pixels in crop mode it may still can deliver a better image in term of noise and dynamic range.
But it doesn't make sense to buy an FX camera to shoot in crop mode.

Pistnbroke Loc: UK

I give up ..you can always rely on rubbish on the hogs
ie
For most manufacturers, you lose more detail, especially in normal light, with the “FF” camera, because the ‘crop’ camera pixels are closer together.

Well blow me the D500 and D850 have the same pixel spacing.

You all have a nice day

richandtd Loc: Virginia

go with the FX now with your DX lenses and buy FX lenses as you can as a way of expanding

Npt Bob Loc: Newport, RI

My wording on the original post seems to be misleading, sorry.
When I asked about using the same lens, what I meant was if I take a picture using the 12mp DX with a 50mm DX lens (angle of view = 75 for FX) and take a picture from the same spot using a 24mp FX with a 50mm FX lens (not crop factor/DX lens) and then crop the FX pic in post to the same angle of view as that from the DX camera, will I have a better picture than the DX or will they have same quality
Hope this wording clarifies
Thanks for all the great info from this group - I have greatly improved my photos from reading the HOG.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Npt Bob wrote:

My wording on the original post seems to be mislea... (show quote)

'Better' is subjective, so there isn't an agreed upon / logical answer to your question. As said earlier, mount your DX lens to a full frame 24MP body and shoot away. The camera will automatically do that proposed cropping for you. But only you can decide if that image is 'better' as compared to any other image.

Rather than asking vague hypothetical questions about 'better', why not instead present the background or the specific purpose of your question?

If you're asking whether buying a more expensive full-frame camera and shooting it in 'DX crop mode' will give better images? Well, it's your money to spend as you desire and for you to judge what is 'best' for your needs, even though you could buy a less expensive 24MP DX camera and obtain actual 24MP images.

If rather, you're asking if an FX lens on a FX body is a better image than DX on DX, that's a whole other can of worms where again, only you can be the judge of 'better'.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Pistnbroke wrote:

I give up ..you can always rely on rubbish on the hogs
ie
For most manufacturers, you lose more detail, especially in normal light, with the “FF” camera, because the ‘crop’ camera pixels are closer together.

Well blow me the D500 and D850 have the same pixel spacing.

You all have a nice day

You missed the “For most manufacturers” part. In most cases, my statement is true. In particular, you need over 50mp for the pixels on a “FF” camera to be closer together than the pixels are on a 24mp “APS-C “ camera; most “APS-C” cameras are 24mp today, and few “FF” cameras have sensors with more than 50mp.

You also have a nice day.

BebuLamar

Npt Bob wrote:

My wording on the original post seems to be mislea... (show quote)

We know what you meant. You ended up with about 10MP which is a bit less than 12MP out of the D90. But the newer FX camera may have less noise and better dynamic range so the 10MP image could be better than the 12MP image out of the D90.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Npt Bob wrote:

My wording on the original post seems to be mislea... (show quote)

Take your full frame image and divide it into 1/3rds the full frame sensor is 36x 24 and the crop 24 x 16 or 2 x 2 (4) of those 9 thirds you just created or 4/9ths , You are using over half your pixels. leaving 10.66MB an acceptable DPI for an 8 x 12 photo is 300dpi (8.64MB) or 10lpm (line pairs per mm) in English if you hold a 8x10 at a normal viewing distance the resolution is fine, if you make a larger print you view from further back so 24"x 16" is still acceptable, if you like to put your nose on the print then you will start to see there is a limit to how much detail is in the image.

Since you have less pixels at aps size from the full frame than the crop the pixel sites are a little bigger so hopefully has a better sn ratio or less noise.

Elephant in the Room Why not use a suitable full frame lens, more pixels, an improvement in noise over the aps-c and less enlargement for any given size.