Full Frame Digital Photography

Dodgykeeper

What are the main differences using a full frame Digital camera, I realise the Crop Factor will be gone giving me less reach with my 300mm which was up till now effectively a 450mm, but is this the case, will I not have a better quality image which will be better suited to cropping after the fact!

I am sorry if I am not making sense!

Tactical

Lens quality will be more important than on a crop sensor, especially towards the edges as the whole image as seen by the sensor from the lens will cover the sensor now rather than just a portion from the middle as with the crop sensor.

AnCatDubh

Well for one a full frame is likely to mean that you will have more megapixels. Larger sensor = larger space = more potential megapixels = more potential crop. Hence in theory you should be able to crop down a 1.5 or 1.6 crop factor and end up with something that would resemble what you took with a crop sensor based DSLR.

I dunno, but the view is tremendous when you look into a film SLR presumably the same with full frame DSLR.

Here's a thought and I don't know the answer to although I have an inkling -

the lens is the same, the distance from the optics to the sensor is the same, the sensor is bigger with full frame thus you are getting more image from the 'surrounds'/edges, hence is your 300mm actually going to act in the very same way within its focal range except that you are now getting that which the 1.5 or 1.6 crop factor is eliminating i.e. the outside of middle bit (sorry for the technical term), i.e. will it actually remain the same except you are getting for of the 'surrounds'. So an expectation of a 450mm from a 300mm lens is purely apparent and not real. I'm sure i've made some incorrect assumptions here but i'd love to hear what others interpret it as.

Tactical

Your explanation makes a lot of sense reading it.

So I wonder then if I might add that using your example above and printing the resulting image from a full frame sensor and a crop sensor on the same size print using the same lens (and focal length for taking the shot) say 10 x 8", that the resulting print from the full frame sensor will indeed have more in the print to be seen while the print from the crop sensor will look like an enlarged or zoomed part of the print from the full frame print.

Hope that makes some sort of sense?

Dodgykeeper

I am even more confused now :eek:

AnimalRights

Funnily enough I was reading about the very same thing Fergus on DP photography only last night.
While one of the advantages the D700 has over the 5D II is the AF, the 5D II is far far superior for cropping as it has 21MP vs 12 just for the D700, the professionals over there were saying what you mentioned in your 1st post about what they lost on a crop ala distance they more than made up with it on the 5D II FF because they could crop so much....