Cropped vs. Full Frame CCD Sensor Cameras . . .

[tarczy]

eh . . . I'm really bored today . . . so I thought I'd get some convos going on this board.

Recently, Jonathan and I got into a discussion as to the merits of shooting a full frame CCD sensor digital camera vs. a cropped sensor camera. You can read some of the discussion here . . . http://www.uwphotochat.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2043&postcount=5 (http://www.uwphotochat.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2043&postcount=5)

That got me to thinking. Well . . . what does everybody else think about this topic? Hence . . . the start of this thread.

I really like the full frame sensor. I get 12 megapixels packed into a very generously sized piece of real estate - the 35mm size CCD sensor. So what does this mean? For one thing, the individual pixel sensors are not squished as close together on a full frame sensor camera as they are on a cropped sensor camera. This gives your photos much more dynamic range and much less tendency to bloom.

On the other hand, one has to be VERY careful when shooting full frame cameras. The lenses one can use have to be the very best ("L" quality for Canon shooters) and one can only open the lens up to a maximum 4 aperture, otherwise your pics will suffer from wicked chromatic aberration (CA) and vignetting. Additionally, zoom lenses don't seem to work as well as prime lenses on full frame sensors.

Nevertheless, I like the richness and the quality of the images shot with my full frame sensor camera. My cropped sensor camera (Canon 20D) delivers more of a rough, punchy kind of image.

So, that's my opinion on full frame sensors vs. cropped sensor cameras. Anybody else care to weigh in on the subject? :confused:

[Olmen]

Hi. This is my first post on this forum :D

I have been thinking about this quite a lot when I was upgrading from my previous Canon 10D. I was thinking along the lines of the Canon 5D and there's a lot going for the a full frame CMOS sensor vs. an APS sized CCD.

- For one, you get none of that annoying crop factor (or zoom factor) when suing kino standard lenses. If you're into a lot of paparazzi style zoom photography then this is only a pro. But if you're like me and like extreme wide angle, then this can be a serious problem.
- Another pro with the 5D (and CMOS technology in general) is that it's virtually noise-less up to 800 and very clean at 1600 and 3200 (compared to Nikon).
- Another, not so obvious pro with the 5D is that it's viewfinder is much larger than the APS counterparts - which if you're like me and earing thick glasses is a huge plus ;)

On the downside of full frame cameras like the 5D are factors like:
- prize: the 5D costs a small fortune!
- you need some serious lenses. None of those under 1000 € lenses will be optically wise to use.
- more dust on the sensor since it's larger

I don't know about this supposed increased dynamic range, though. There was a lot of talk about it on DPreview when the 5D hit the streets and the conclusion as I can remember it was that the 5D only produced a slightly better dynamic range than previous models (about 0.5f stop). Anyways - if you want dynamic range I'd recommend you stick to some HDRI technique since that will produce marvelous images!

Turns out I actually switched camp and bought a Nikon D200 which is an exceptional camera and definitely beats then Canon rivals in that price segment. It also has a larger-than-APS sensor which makes for a factor of 1.5 (instead of canons 1.6) which when it comes to wide angle makes quite a lot of difference. And for those wide angle shots I use a Sigma 10-20mm which is just awesome!

Well - here are my two cents. I'd personally spend the extra 2000 euros you'd get from sticking with APS size on better lenses and other neat gadgets. At least for now ;)

And please, guys... no Nikon vs. Canon flame war because that's simply to lame :D

[Jonathan Bird]

You have however completely ignored the incredible benefits of the better depth of field of the smaller sensor cameras and the advantage that gives with zooms underwater and sharpness in dome ports!

[Olmen]

You have however completely ignored the incredible benefits of the better depth of field of the smaller sensor cameras and the advantage that gives with zooms underwater and sharpness in dome ports!

I don't think you can talk about "better" DOF. It's larger of course and that is more often a drawback than not. If you're using a wide angle lens, the DOF will be large anyhoo and you'll have no problem. When taking closeups and macro, most of the times I want the farther away stuff to form a blurry background to the thing I'm shooting. This can sometimes be difficult with APS sized sensors and all but impossible with pocket digital cameras.

So I'd definitely put this in the CON list for APS sized sensors... :)