What is a crop camera? Compare crop and full frame cameras

Surely those who love photography or digital technology have heard of the concept of crop and full frame cameras. So what is a crop camera? What’s the difference between crop and full frame cameras? Let’s find out with Tnhelearning.edu.vn!

What is a crop camera?

A crop camera is a camera equipped with an APS-C sensor , whose sensor size is smaller than 35mm film , usually (23.6×15.6) mm.

Compare crop cameras and full frame cameras

Depth of field

The depth of field of a crop camera is wider when shooting with the same focal length, same frame than a full frame camera. This means that when shooting close-ups the focus is deeper.

For example, when taking a macro shot with a 90mm lens, if you want to create the same frame, the person holding the crop camera has to step back , which leads to farther from the subject and accordingly a wider depth of field.

Sensor

With the same lens, the full frame sensor always gives a wider viewing angle than the crop sensor. Just as you want to capture detailed portraits with a relatively tight frame relative to the subject, a camera with a full frame sensor can always get closer to the model .

Crop factor

When using a lens on a crop camera, to get an equivalent angle of view on a full frame we have to multiply by a factor of 1.5 , called the crop factor. Due to being multiplied, the crop factor of the crop camera is larger and is capable of shooting further.

Focal distance

Focal length is the biggest difference between these two types of sensors. Full-frame cameras have “ full ” sensors and crop cameras are “ cropped ” ones.

If you use a camera with a crop sensor such as Nikon D5300, D7200, Canon 7D, 70D, Sony A6000, etc., when shooting at the same focal length, the image will have a narrower angle of view than when shooting on a sensor camera. full frame.

Image quality

In poor conditions such as low light, you will see that when increasing the light sensitivity (ISO) , the full frame machine gives details with less noise, clear, clean and sharper image quality than crop a lot.

Price

The biggest disadvantage of a full frame sensor compared to a crop is probably the price, the price can be up to 6 or 20 times different depending on the model.

Comparative Criteria	Crop camera	Full-frame camera
Depth of field	Wide (deeper focus close-ups)	Narrow
Sensor	APS-C (less than 24mm x 36mm)	Full-frame sensor (24mm x 36mm)
Crop factor	1.5 times the multiplier of fullframe	Less
Focal distance	Short	Long
Image quality	Normal	Better
View	Narrow	Wide
Price	Short	High
Body and lens dimensions	Small	Big
Capability to shoot	Distant	Near the
Popularity	Many (due to low cost)	Few (due to high cost)

Should you choose a crop camera or a full frame camera?

In short, each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, and is suitable for different audiences.

Full frame camera for those of you with high demands, more professional . If shooting portraits, the machine will easily give you smoother background removal frames. If shooting landscapes, the machine will give a wider dynamic range (Dynamic Range) . However, full frame cameras are generally much more expensive than crop cameras, both in terms of camera and lens.

Crop camera will be suitable for those who are new to photography , giving a wider depth of field and deeper focus than tiny objects. At the same time, the cost of a crop camera is not too expensive. And of course, their image quality will not be as sharp and clear as full frame cameras.

Above is information about crop cameras that Tnhelearning.edu.vn shares with you. Hope the above information will help you in choosing to buy a camera.