DX / FX Lens confusion and questions
May 17, 2018 13:42:50 #
mwsilvers
Loc: Central New Jersey
dandi wrote:
I think you understand it according to your original post. It’s not about the lens, because lens is the lens, it does not change. But mostly about the sensor size. The same lens will act differently depending on the sensor size. On a Full frame camera the lens will give you more shallow depth of field. It’s a lot more to that, but I don’t worry about it too much.
The field of view difference is not mostly about the sensor size, it's completely about the sensor size.
May 17, 2018 14:58:52 #
dandi
Loc: near Seattle, WA
mwsilvers wrote:
The field of view difference is not mostly about the sensor size, it's completely about the sensor size.
May 17, 2018 15:08:52 #
deer2ker wrote: I have a 35mm and 50mm for my D5500 and although the 35mm has the focal length of the "nifty fifty" in FX mode, I still prefer the 50mm.
I have a 35mm and 50mm for my D5500 and although the 35mm has the focal length of the "nifty fifty" in FX mode, I still prefer the 50mm.No, its focal length is 35mm. Because of the sensor, and only because of the sensor, you end with images that could have been taken with a 50mm lens on a FX or 35mm camera. The lens is labeled based on its characteristics, not based on characteristics of sensor it will be used with.
May 18, 2018 06:32:58 #
Tom K 66 wrote:
If I am purchasing a Nikon DX 50mm lens for my nikon D7200, I believe the field of view is 75mm. If this is correct why doesn't the manufacturer label it a 75 mm lens?
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
It is a 50mm because that is the ACTUALL focal length (both on DX and FX). Nearly ANY lens (FX or DX) will fit on a Nikon D7200, any FX lens on the D7200 will ONLY use the center 2/3rds (roughly) of the photo area that it would on an FX lens.. However, shooting a DX camera through an FX seems to keep you shooting in the "sweet spot" of the lens.... basically away from the thinner edges where the most focal defects seem to occur.
Personally, I have managed to eliminate all of my DX lenses for FX as they will easily fit both my DX and FX cameras... (I and the wife have Nikon D70s, D7000, D7100, and a D610). This also allows me to not have to worry about whether I am changing to a DX lens when I'm changing lenses on the FX D610. All of the lenses will work on both DX and FX but a DX lens on an FX camera will cause the lens to ONLY expose the center 2/3rds of the FX frame or the camera will shift to DX mode.
By having nothing but FX lenses, it eliminates the confusion. Also, My FX lenses tend to be higher quality and seem to produce better quality images.. (better glass and better mechanics) but they are much heavier than their DX relatives.
May 18, 2018 06:35:56 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
Tom K 66 wrote:
If I am purchasing a Nikon DX 50mm lens for my nikon D7200, I believe the field of view is 75mm. If this is correct why doesn't the manufacturer label it a 75 mm lens?
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
YES, grasshopper
May 18, 2018 06:42:10 #
Tom K 66 wrote:
If I am purchasing a Nikon DX 50mm lens for my nikon D7200, I believe the field of view is 75mm. If this is correct why doesn't the manufacturer label it a 75 mm lens?
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
I suggest you look at the specifications for lenses to help understand that the focal length is always the same as what the manufacturer states. And that does not change regardless of which type of camera it is used on [DX or FX].
The field/angle of view, however, will change depending on which type of camera you are using with the lens. This information is provided in the specifications. This is why FOV is not used to label the lens.
The DX lens will have the same FOV regardless of whether it is used on a DX or an FX camera, because the sensor sizes allow the whole FOV to be used.
An FX lens will NOT have the same FOV on the DX camera as on the FX camera because the sensor of the DX is not large enough to accommodate the full area of the FX lens. It will only "see" the central portion.
NOTE: Nikon makes 7 different 50mm lenses, and ALL of them are FX. FX lenses work very well on DX cameras, just have to consider the difference in FOV.
May 18, 2018 07:01:24 #
Tom K 66 wrote:
If I am purchasing a Nikon DX 50mm lens for my nikon D7200, I believe the field of view is 75mm. If this is correct why doesn't the manufacturer label it a 75 mm lens?
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
In my humble opinion, starting the DSLR at the crop size was a huge mistake. Everyone was used to the 35mm SLR. Why make a digital version with a smaller sensor? Yes, the price was lower, but now manufacturers have the double expense of researching and manufacturing two different systems. When I bought my first DSLR, a D90, I didn't know there was any such thing as a crop sensor. Now we have two systems that are not totally compatible and millions of words written about advantages, disadvantages, and compatibility.
With Nikon the difference between DX and FX is 50%, in favor of the FX. So a 100mm lens would have a field of view of 150mm.
May 18, 2018 07:02:19 #
May 18, 2018 07:19:42 #
jerryc41 wrote:
In my humble opinion, starting the DSLR at the cro... (show quote)
That's why I didn't buy any DX camera.
May 18, 2018 07:25:51 #
Tom K 66 wrote:
If I am purchasing a Nikon DX 50mm lens for my nikon D7200, I believe the field of view is 75mm. If this is correct why doesn't the manufacturer label it a 75 mm lens?
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
Lens manufacturers label the lens with the optical characteristics of the lens, not how the lens will behave on any particular camera body. A 50mm lens is a 50mm lens, but will provide the FOV of 75mm on a DX body and a FOV of 100mm on a m4/3 body.
May 18, 2018 07:31:08 #
BebuLamar wrote:
That's why I didn't buy any DX camera.
And I had a D70s and a D300s. Both were fantastic cameras and performed brilliantly. All of my glass has been FX or pre-digital Nikkor AF for years so it made the transition to FX much easier. I used a D300s along side a D700 and it made for great imaging possibilities without swapping lenses in the field. Don’t “poo-poo’ DX.
May 18, 2018 07:44:39 #
jerryc41 wrote:
In my humble opinion, starting the DSLR at the cro... (show quote)
They didn't really have a choice. The fragility of sensor material and the price of the sensors made FX sized sensors nearly impossible. DX sized (crop sensors) were about the ONLY size cameras available.. and the size went through the entire lineup. The first Nikon DX single lens reflex was the Nikon D1 in July of 1999.... the first FX was the Nikon D3 in August of 2007.. In other words, until August of 2007, if you wanted "full frame" you had to shoot film. The Nikon D3 retailed at about $5000 US for the body only.
I had a Nikon F2 Photomic 35 film camera and my first DSLR was a Nikon D70s. I also had and Agfa digital, Canon point and shoot digital, and a Vivitar point and shoot digital. All but the Nikons were a joke (keeping in mind that this is comparing apples and oranges as to photo quality. However, all of the digital point and shoots were in the $200-$400 price range at the time. I think I paid $750 for the D70s and it was a 6mp camera.
May 18, 2018 08:15:21 #
Srt101 fan: great reply! I too don’t understand some of the details as these cameras get more and more sophisticated... I just worry about composition and timing and rely on incredible auto focus and auto exposures.
May 18, 2018 08:28:57 #
jerryc41 wrote:
In my humble opinion, starting the DSLR at the cro... (show quote)
I disagree!
My last film camera was a Canon EOS Elan which cost me $700. If they had produced only DSLRs with sensors of that size, I might still be using that now-23-year-old camera, because I have never trusted used cars or cameras, and there has never been a new "FF" camera in that price range.
May 18, 2018 09:04:29 #
Lenses are generally classed by the focal length of the lens, and the f-stop of that lens. Discussing simply the focal length of a 50mm lens means it will sharply focus when 50mm from the surface on which the image is being projected. The field of view is expressed in degrees and the angular measurement of the extents which can be observed through a particular lens. It's expressed in degrees not millimeters. The focal length of a lens does not change regardless of the camera on which it's attached.
--Bob
--Bob
Tom K 66 wrote:
If I am purchasing a Nikon DX 50mm lens for my nikon D7200, I believe the field of view is 75mm. If this is correct why doesn't the manufacturer label it a 75 mm lens?
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
If I purchase an FX 50mm lens and use it on my DX camera is the field of view also 75mm? Direct answers to these questions may clear up this confusion for me. Thanks in advance
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