Proudly owning a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless digital camera, such because the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Nikon D850 or Sony Alpha A7R III, is the ambition of many photographers. 

In any case, they suppose, larger should be higher – and these cameras, with their super-sized sensors, are what all the highest professionals appear to make use of.

Change to a full-frame digital camera and your photos will robotically be higher – or so the hype goes. However that is solely partly true; a full-frame sensor digital camera simply takes completely different – not essentially higher – pictures in comparison with DSLR and mirrorless cameras with the extra commonplace APS-C-sized sensor.

Full-frame defined

So, what precisely will we imply by ‘full-frame’? A full-frame digital camera makes use of a sensor that is the identical measurement as a single body of conventional 35mm movie, measuring 36 x 24mm. The extra common APS-C sensor measurement present in most DSLRs and mirrorless cameras measures 22 x 15mm. This implies a full-frame sensor has greater than 2.5 instances the floor space of an APS-C sensor.

Certain, measurement has sure benefits, however there are additionally distinct drawbacks to creating the change as much as a full-frame DSLR.

Digital camera choice

Generally, if you wish to improve to a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless digital camera, put together to pay a premium. For starters, the added manufacturing price of the larger sensors (and the decrease quantity of manufacturing) is one space that forces price up. 

That is not the one cause although. As a result of full-frame cameras are primarily geared toward professionals and eager fanatics, there is a sure expectation as to the extent of efficiency, options and construct that these cameras ought to have, which once more all comes at a value. 

Not everybody needs (or can afford) all of those superior options, which is why we have seen some comparatively reasonably priced full-frame cameras in recent times, with the Canon EOS 6D Mark II, Nikon D750 and Sony Alpha A7 II standing out proper now. These all provide full-frame sensors, however do not have fairly the identical ultra-rugged construct and top-line efficiency as their stablemates provide. Do not get us flawed although – these are nonetheless very succesful cameras that may obtain some good outcomes. 

Picture high quality

Maybe the largest benefit of going full-frame is picture high quality. 

Whereas APS-C and full-frame cameras can now share an virtually an identical decision – Nikon’s APS-C 20.9MP D500 and full-frame 20.8MP D5 is only one instance, full-frame sensors are crucially greater than two-and-a-half instances larger, which permits for a lot bigger particular person pixels (or if we’re getting technical, photosites) in comparison with an APS-C sensor that shares the identical decision.

This implies full-frame sensors usually produce higher high quality photos at increased ISO sensitivities, because the bigger particular person pixels can seize extra gentle, leading to much less undesirable digital noise encroaching into photos. 

The bigger bodily dimensions of a full-frame sensor imply it is also potential to extend the variety of pixels on the chip with out seeing this excessive ISO efficiency undergo. Each the 45.4MP Nikon D850 and 42.2MP Sony Alpha A7R III are good examples of this, managing to ship wonderful excessive ISO outcomes whereas that includes densely populated sensors.

In plenty of situations nevertheless, should you had been to shoot at low sensitivities with each full-frame and APS-C digital camera that shared the identical decision, the quantity of element recorded can be very onerous to inform aside. Nonetheless, full-frame cameras have one other trick up their sleeve: dynamic range.   

Full-frame cameras, due to the bigger pixels, have a broader dynamic vary on the whole (although different components do play a component), making them higher outfitted to seize the complete brightness vary of a scene that options each excessive areas of darkish shadows and brilliant highlights, in addition to midtones. 

Crop-factor impact

The dimensions of the sensor additionally modifications the quantity of the scene captured by the digital camera. Though APS-C and full-frame cameras can share most of the similar lenses, the visible impact they supply is completely different. It is the angle of view that really modifications, as smaller APS-C sensors cowl much less of the picture projected by the lens.

This is named the crop issue, which compares the angle of view with that of a standard full-frame 35mm movie SLR. With full-frame DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, as a result of the sensor is similar measurement as a 35mm adverse, that is not a problem; a 24mm lens offers the identical angle of view as a 24mm lens earlier than the age of digital cameras.

An APS-C sensor, nevertheless, sees a smaller angle of view, with a crop issue of 1.5x (Canon APS-C sensors are ever-so barely smaller nonetheless, with a crop issue of 1.6x). This implies the identical 24mm lens on an APS-C DSLR or mirrorless digital camera truly captures the angle of view of a standard 36mm focal length (24 x 1.5 = 36). So if you wish to seize sweeping wide-angle vistas, a full-frame digital camera lets you absorb extra of the scene in entrance of you than an APS-C mannequin with the identical lens.

The flip-side is that the crop issue impact of APS-C cameras turns into a bonus when taking pictures distant topics. As an illustration, a 300mm lens is 300mm on a full-frame digital camera, however on an APS-C mannequin it turns into a way more fascinating 450mm – nice for getting near the motion in sports activities or wildlife images.

Lens alternative

Full-frame cameras used to supply an actual benefit when taking pictures landscapes or indoors in tight areas. Nonetheless, lens makers have combated this by creating each prime and zoom lenses with shorter focal lengths completely designed to be used on APS-C-sensor cameras.

The standard commonplace zoom bundled with plenty of APS-C digital camera affords 18mm as its widest setting, roughly equal to the view given by a full-frame 28mm lens. Tremendous-wide lenses provide settings of 10mm, equal to, or with an efficient focal size (EFL) of, 15mm. These lenses cannot be used with full-frame cameras (as they might produce darkish corners), so in some methods APS-C customers truly get a wider alternative of optics. 

It is price contemplating this compatibility although should you’re considering of investing in a full-frame physique down the road, as you may need to commerce in some or your entire choice of lenses should you’ve purchased devoted APS-C glass.

Blurring backgrounds

Portrait photographers love full-frame cameras, because the bigger the sensor a digital digital camera makes use of, the shallower depth of area (DoF) you get. This implies you’ll be able to throw backgrounds and foregrounds extra out of focus, for inventive impact and to attract robust consideration to the topic.

The rationale for that is that the quantity of depth of area will depend on three various factors: the aperture, the topic distance, and the focal size.

In observe, this implies extensive apertures on full-frame cameras present noticeably extra defocused backgrounds than on APS-C cameras. It is not by a lot – a couple of cease – nevertheless it does make a distinction. If you happen to’re taking pictures a portrait for example, utilizing the identical angle of view, a full-frame digital camera at f/four produces a seemingly comparable quantity of depth of area and background blur to an APS-C digital camera at f/2.eight. 

APS-C cameras are higher, nevertheless, if you wish to maximize depth of area, which has benefits in studio and landscape photography. For instance, when utilizing the identical angle of view, on an APS-C digital camera you’ll get away with utilizing, say, f/11, whereas on a full-frame digital camera you could have to make use of f/16 to make sure your scene is sharp from foreground to background.