Camera Sensor Sizes

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The size of the camera sensor can affect

1. the angle of view of the lens (crop factor);

2. noise leve; and

3. dynamic range

Different image sensor size

Medium format – 51x39mm

Full frames (FX) – 36x24mm. e.g.Nikon D3, D700; Canon 1D, 5D

DX format (DX) – 24x16mm for Nikon, 22x15mm for Canon, 21x14mm for Sigma. e.g. Nikon D300, D90; Canon 50D, 450D. Note that Nikon APS-C sensor is the largest of all. 😀

Compact cameras – ~8x6mm.
Sensor Sizes

 


Refer to the charts above, compact camera sensors are about 9 times smaller than the APS-C and 20 times smaller than the full frame format.

In terms of noise performance, the desirable properties of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensor unity gain both scale with the square root of sensor area. Therefore, typical DX and FX DSLRs will have a SNR that is sqrt(9)= 3 times and sqrt(20)= 4.5 times higher than a compact digital camera respectively.

Because of this, DSLRs can offer high-quality pictures even at high ISO, while compact cameras tend to produce grainy images. Typically, noise starts to be noticable for

FX – @ ISO 3200+

DX – @ ISO 1600+

Compact – @ISO 200+

The noise level is also exacerbated by pixel count where higher number of pixels means a higher pixel/mm2 (higher pixel density) and hence noiser image.

Different sensor types

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About Kent Yu

Kent is a professional wedding and portrait photographer based in Queenstown and Wellington, New Zealand. He creates beautiful, natural and story telling wedding photos. Kent has his work published in international magazines and is a regular author to a number of photographic publication. He is fascinated by photographic equipment and enjoys showcasing the gear used in creating his images. You can find him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

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