But this is not necessarily the case with all cameras, so its best to avoid the issue altogether and only buy properly rated lenses (when in doubt, reviews on Amazon provide really good insight). Some full frame cameras are now able to adjust for this via internal processing, but they often simply crop the image to reduce the resolution of the photo to fit the exposed parts of the sensor (per the image above). When put on a bigger camera the light will not reach the edges of the full frame sensor and produce some distortions on the image. These lenses are designed to be smaller to let in just enough light to cover a crop sensor and produce an image. On the flip side, however, you often cannot use a crop sensor lens on a full frame camera for the very same reason. The only negative is the lens is likely going to be bulkier, heavier, and likely more expensive than those designed purely for crop cameras (but sometimes you take what you can get if its the best fit for you). These can be used on crop sensor cameras because the lens is larger than what the crop sensor needs.

I mentioned that you can use full frame-rated lenses on crop sensor bodies (if compatible for brand and mount, of course), but I did not really explain why that is (and why the reverse is not inherently true).įull frame rated lenses are often much larger than those designed for crop cameras as they have to let in more light (by cross-sectional area) to produce images on the larger sensor. In the above discussion, I mentioned the physical size of the sensors and how that relates to the crop factor in a body-to-body discussion.

There is one caveat to all of this I feel compelled to mention, and that is in regards to usability. You May Not Be Able to Use Crop Lenses on Full Frame Cameras That is all! The lens sees what the lens sees, and it is the sensor that records the image. (Or in reverse, if a lens review shows a picture from a full frame body at 30 mm, and I wanted to recreate it at the exact same spot with my crop sensor, I'd shoot at 20mm). Using a 20mm lens on a full frame camera will actually produce a much wider image (by a factor of 1.5), so instead I should look at a lens with 30mm instead to get the same exact result in the frame. Say I want to upgrade my camera in the future from a crop sensor to a full frame sensor, and I like what the viewing area is at 20mm for my shooting style (wide vistas). The factor only comes in to play when you want to make an apples-to-apples comparison on cameras in terms of the images actually shot. The reason being that the larger sensor collects more of a scene than on a crop sensor, so you'll need to shoot at a larger focal length to fill in the same area.īut why the confusion? I feel like a lot of people think that the rating on the lens means the crop factor is applied when using full frame lenses on a crop body. To recreate that exact same photo on a full frame camera (framed at the exact scale), you'll need to take a photo at 36mm. So let's say you take an image on my Sony a6000 at 24mm. The 1.5 crop factor rating is how we convert. How do we calculate the difference? With crop factors. What they capture at 24mm is actually a lot more of the scene (or, if keeping it in camera vernacular, ‘wider').

Full frame cameras, on the other hand, can capture a larger scene due to the larger sensor size. A 24mm rated photo on my camera captures a scene proportional to what the camera's sensor allows. My Sony a6000 has an APS-C sensor with a crop factor of 1.5. If comparing a full frame rated lens with a crop sensor lens on the same crop sensor camera body, the main difference is this: nothing. Even I have to admit being messed up on it for quite some time (hence this post). The confusion comes in to play in what kind of image these two lenses will produce at comparable focal lengths, as the discussion of camera “crop factors” is often used interchangebly with lenses as much as they are for sensors. There is a lot of confusion on the performance difference between lenses if used on a specific camera body, especially with regards to using full frame lenses on crop sensor cameras (like the Sony a6000, my camera, which uses a “crop” APS-C sensor).Ĭameras like mine take lenses designed for crop sensors (naturally), but also take lenses that are rated for full frame cameras (like the Sony a7iii). Listed prices and attraction details may have changed since our visit and initial publication. Please check out our Terms and Conditions for more information. Disclaimers: Our site uses demographic data, email opt-ins, display advertising, and affiliate links.

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