CROP (APS-C) vs FULL FRAME: An In-Depth Analysis

Hey guys welcome back! sorry for the extreme delay for my new post as i was really busy with exams and all.

So yeah welcome to BucketUrPhotos! This is a blog about photography and i post contents about it and also give tips and tricks on improving or 'see from a wider perspective'

To address one of the reader's questions.......

"Can you explain what is the difference between a crop body and full frame body and what are the differences?"

So in this post i shall compare the two and ALSO give a more elaborated view on what sizes of image sensors are being used in our daily life

CROP vs FULL FRAME - What's that?

If you are a DSLR user you might have heard the word 'crop body' and 'full frame' before. So what is that?

(body = a DSLR but without the lens, hence the word body as it is literally just a body without the lens)

Basically a crop body is a camera body that uses an APS-C sensor and a full frame body is a camera body with a 35mm image sensor!

Hold your thoughts, I'm gonna explain what's all that about

You see, back in the days film was used and the 35mm format was known as the small format. As we ushered the era of digital photography, the 35mm format was then known as 'full frame' and was kept but was just too expensive due to its sensor size, thus the birth of smaller digital sensors such as APS-C and so on.

as shown in the pic, this is the comparison of the sizes (cr: http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/fullframe/image_circle.jpg)

types of canon DSLRs series that are

•   'crop bodies' (the '*' is denoted as the numbers you see on the body)

1. -****D series, (eg 1000D)
2. ***D series(eg 750D)
3. **D series (eg 60D)
4. 7D and 7D Mk II, which is an exception in the '*D' series 

• full frame bodies

1. 5D series ( mark I,II,III,s and SR)
2. 6D
3. 1Ds mk II, 1Ds mk III and the famous powerhouse the 1D-X

Okay but still what is the difference?

Well for starters, the crop factor

Crop Factor

To Explain crop factor, let's think of a scenario now

Imagine you are using a small rectangular hole to see what's on the other side and you can relatively see what is on the other side right? (equate hole to Full Frame)

Now, imagine that the rectangular hole just got smaller (equate to APS-C)

Can you see as wide as before?

That is what crop factor is about. In the example just now you realised APS-C is more 'cropped' (thus the name crop body') and has a limited Field Of View (FOV) unlike the Full Frame which has a wider view.

An example is shown here (cr:http://myfirstdslr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/APS-C.jpg)

This further explains the definition of crop factor.

the crop factor for canon APS-C sensor is 1.6x and Nikon has a crop factor of 1.5x. this is applied by multiplying the crop factor to the focal length of your lens. (focal length is the number on your lens ,eg: 18-135mm, 50mm, 35mm. )

we shall take an example of the FOV of both bodies using a Canon 24-105mm f/4 'L' lens

On a full frame: 24-105mm

On APS-C (for Nikon) : (24-105mm) x 1.5 = 36-157.5mm equivalent ^

On APS-C (for Canon) : (24-105mm) x 1.6 = 38.4-168mm equivalent

^note: canon lenses do not fit Nikon bodies unless you have an adapter to do so

the calculations is made to determine the actual FOV on a full frame. Meaning 105mm on APS-C is as same as 157.5mm (Nikon) or 168mm (for Canon) on a full frame.

If you think about it, crop factor can be essential at some instances. For wildlife and sports you definitely need the crop factor to shoot even further without moving closer to the subject (especially wildlife- You wouldn't wanna go close to a lion right?)

Crop factor can also help if you want to shoot the moon. for example if you are using a Tamron 150-600mm lens, the crop factor allows you to shoot even further and up close to the moon (600 x 1.6 = 960mm) compared to full frame which can only be shot at a max focal length of 600mm.

But there is one more main factor that differentiates APS-C and full frame......

NOISE PERFORMANCE

Noise performance in APS-C is generally poorer than full frame. Full frame is better if you're shooting in low light as the noise would not affect as much as how it does on an APS-C sensor. Full frame has a bigger sensor so it isn't as dense as an APS-C sensor and therefore photos when shot on low light is not as 'grainy' as a shot from an APS-C camera

here is a photo as an example (cr: http://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2011/02/5d_vs_7d_images1.jpg )

As you can see the photos taken on the 5D mk II is not as grainy as the ones taken using a 7D. Due to the smaller sensor, the noise is more 'packed' and therefore more evident compared to full frame, as mentioned having a larger sensor and reducing this problem.

TYPE OF BODY

With exception to 7D series and maybe old discontinued models,  all APS-C DSLRs by canon is all plastic body and is not weather-sealed meaning if you are going to shoot in the cold or under tough weather conditions, it is not advisable to do so. 7D series uses magnesium alloy construct and is the only APS-C camera in the canon lineups that is able to withstand the tough weather.

Full Frame bodies are all constructed using magnesium alloy, except 6D which is a 50-50 on plastic and magnesium alloy.

All APS-C cameras have a built in popup flash while full frame does not have that (After all, Full frame is for the pros! They would use external flashgun and all instead of a pop up flash)

Now comes the ultimate question:

''Who are the target audience for both types of cameras?"

The answer is pretty obvious and simple. 

If you are just a beginner and on a tighter budget, you might want to start out with an APS-C DSLR and learn the fundamentals first. If you are taking it to the professional level, shooting in tough weather and require better noise performance and so on, full frame is advisable. (although 7D mk II kind of bridges the gap and relatively cheaper)