Full Frame vs Crop Sensor cameras: Hello UHH friends. Happy Thanksgiving coming up. I hope we all have lots of great photo opportunities. I have a couple questions. If you own a crop...

LindaChaplin Loc: South Dakota

Hello UHH friends. Happy Thanksgiving coming up. I hope we all have lots of great photo opportunities. I have a couple questions. If you own a crop sensor camera can you obtain the same type of pictures produced by a full frame camera by factoring in the crop sensor and choosing lenses accordingly? What is the main reason a person would jump from a crop sensor to a full-frame camera? Now that the 5D Mark II is coming down in price, is this a good upgrade since I own a 7D? I primarily shoot people/landscapes. Would investing in glass be wiser? Thanks for your ideas.

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

Hello Linda, I don't think you are being ignored it's just that this issue usually starts a big, you know what match. Check in the FAQ section and you'll find more information on this topic than you ever wanted to know. Having said all that I'd focus of quality glass.

rodpark2 Loc: Dallas, Tx

LindaChaplin wrote:

Hello UHH friends. Happy Thanksgiving coming up. I... (show quote)

I have both the Canon 7D and the 5D ll and love them both. The biggest difference to me is lens availability. APS lenses can't generally be used, at least to full capacity on full frame cameras. As the price of sensor chips keeps dropping I think we'll see more and more reasonably priced FF cameras. If you are starting from scratch and won't be wasting any lenses you now have the FF is a good way to go. You will have a very, very difficult time seeing image quality differences. I'm including an image that I think really tests a camera. When there is a lot of small detail the difference between sensor size and megapixels begins to make a real difference. On a headshot or portrait whether it's 6 or 18 MP doesn't make so much difference. I shot this with a Canon 5D ll and a Nikon D7000, same camera settings exactly. It was impossible to really call one better than the other, although I think the Nikon had a slightly better lens to make up for the smaller sensor size. I finally chose this, the Nikon shot.

LindaChaplin Loc: South Dakota

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I'm still a bit confused though...I have EF lenses so I wouldn't be "wasting" lenses, but I'm wondering if going FF is the way to go or if I can get the same results just getting different lenses. Why do folks go FF over a very good crop sensor camera? Thanks.

rodpark2 Loc: Dallas, Tx

LindaChaplin wrote:

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I'm still a bit confused though...I have EF lenses so I wouldn't be "wasting" lenses, but I'm wondering if going FF is the way to go or if I can get the same results just getting different lenses. Why do folks go FF over a very good crop sensor camera? Thanks.

Generally speaking, the larger the sensor the better the image quality (FF vs APS) Everything else equal there is an advantage to FF, but it may be hard to see or justify. For me the decision was to wait until a FF was available at a decent price and when I found a used 5D ll for $1300 in very good condition, I took the plunge. I still can't see much if any advantage over my D7000 APS camera, though. I also already had a good range of EF lenses for the 5D.

LindaChaplin Loc: South Dakota

Hi. Thanks so much...B&H has the Mark II on sale until Nov. 24...I'm thinking!!!

rodpark2 Loc: Dallas, Tx

LindaChaplin wrote:

Hi. Thanks so much...B&H has the Mark II on sale until Nov. 24...I'm thinking!!!

I don't know of anyone unhappy with the 5D series so good luck and happy shooting.

haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska

I am strongly considering the 5D MK III. I thought about the MK II but would prefer the Digic 5 processor over the Digic 4. I thought about the upcoming 6D, it has the Digic 5 processor but the options are trimmed down. If I bought the MK II or 6D, I would save a $1000.00 or so that could be put towards another lens. I don't really need another lens and this may be the only time for a while that I'll have the money for the 5D MK III.

So I'll make a decision in the next couple of weeks...

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

While this thread discusses Nikon sensor sizes, the same is directly applicable to Canon sensors:
FAQ: How Do Lenses on Nikon DX (cropped) and FX (full) Formats Compare?
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-67596-1.html

LindaChaplin Loc: South Dakota

Thank you for that great thread...my question then is whether you can capture the same image on a crop sensor (as compared to a FF) by choosing lenses that support that view...for example to get a true 50 mm exposure, I would need about a 40 mm lens. Am I on the right track?

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

LindaChaplin wrote:

Thank you for that great thread...my question then is whether you can capture the same image on a crop sensor (as compared to a FF) by choosing lenses that support that view...for example to get a true 50 mm exposure, I would need about a 40 mm lens. Am I on the right track?

To get the same angle of view as a 50mm lens gets on a full-frame camera, you would need about a 33 mm lens on a Nikon DX body. (33 x 1.5= 49.5) 31mm lens for an APS-C Canon. The resultant image, shot at the same settings will, give the crop sensor camera a bit more depth of field.

LindaChaplin Loc: South Dakota

Thanks...I think I read that shallow depth of field is one of the hallmarks of a FF camera.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

LindaChaplin wrote:

Thanks...I think I read that shallow depth of field is one of the hallmarks of a FF camera.

Just a bit- FF (or bigger) works better for portraits in my opinion.

sbesaw Loc: Boston

LindaChaplin wrote:

Hi. Thanks so much...B&H has the Mark II on sale until Nov. 24...I'm thinking!!!

Good luck with your decision. I am a Nikon shooter but as I work in the Business now I have had a chance to play with the Mark II and it is a terrific Camera as is the Mark III.

I also think B&H is a terrific Company as well and I have purchased from them before getting into the business. On that note I would point out that Canon, Nikon and Sony are fair traded and the price that you see at B&H is exactly the price you should get from any authorized Canon dealer. Since the the body price from Canon is now $ 1,799 a lot of dealers just list the price as $1,799.00 and not as a sale price because it is the current price.

LindaChaplin Loc: South Dakota

Thanks so much to everyone. I appreciate you all taking the time to give me your thoughts.