Most popular = best?
Which is your favorite sensor format? That was the question I posed to camera lovers on TechRadar’s WhatsApp channel . I knew which format would come out on top, but I’ll admit that the size of the victory surprised me.
From five options, full-frame took an incredible 82% of the entire vote, that’s 714 out of 872 votes. That’s over twelve times more than APS-C, the second most popular choice. Put simply, the result was a landslide.
So what gives? The quick answer is that full-frame continues to strike a healthy balance of professional image quality and high-speed performance.
Full-frame is also the focus for Sony and Canon’s camera departments – two of the biggest names in photo and video – plus Nikon, Leica and others too. That means superb new cameras and lenses are regularly launched.
The best full-frame cameras are also becoming increasingly affordable (besides Leica), meaning enthusiasts and even ambitious beginners are jumping on board, as well as pros.
I’d hardly call the poll a litmus test, however. It simply asked for a favorite sensor format, plus participants could only vote once. Going one step further, therefore, I asked seasoned photographers in the TechRadar team which sensor format is their favorite and why. Popular mightn’t always mean best.Actually, APS-C is the real sweet spot
My first candidate was Mark Wilson, TechRadar’s News Editor and former Cameras Editor. Here’s what he said:
„While I’ve often been tempted to switch to full-frame, I still find APS-C to be the sensor sweet spot for my preferred kinds of photography. I tend to switch between landscape, travel, street and portraits, and the Fujifilm X-series still offers a great blend of image quality and size for those – particularly with the option of its little f/2 ‚Fujicron‘ primes.
„There’s sometimes more noise than I’d like when shooting at high ISOs, but today’s AI-powered denoising makes that less of a factor these days. Plus, APS-C cameras are just the most fun around, in my opinion – and a camera that makes you want to shoot is more important than pixel peeping.“
Fujifilm is one of few leading camera makers to shun full-frame altogether, yet the popularity of its cameras such as the X100VI premium compact confirm Mark’s opinion that user experience is key. Personally, I really rate my Ricoh GR IIIx compact camera, which is also APS-C, for similar reasons.
