Amateur shutterbugs and professionals alike need gear to suit their needs. Cropped-sensor and full-frame cameras excel at different jobs. Here’s how to choose.
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
When buying a camera for the first time and researching your options, you might’ve heard of cropped-sensor and full-frame cameras. This difference is usually highlighted as a split between affordable, entry-level cameras and expensive, high-end professional models.
If you’re getting into photography for the first time, you probably won’t notice this difference, as most beginner photographers prioritize price over other features. In fact, some don’t recommend getting a full-frame camera for those who are just starting with photography or treat it as a simple hobby. But if you want to level up your craft or plan to go professional, a full-frame camera is something you should seriously consider.
What do these sensor sizes actually mean? Will a more expensive full-frame camera make you a better photographer? Let’s compare the cropped sensor and full-frame camera and see how it affects your workflow, the kind of gear you can use, and the images you take.What is a cropped-sensor camera?
The sensor is the digital camera’s eye. Whether it’s a $5,000 mirrorless camera, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, or a GoPro Hero12 Black, it has a camera sensor. A cropped-sensor camera refers to a camera with a sensor smaller than the standard size of a single film slide of a 35mm film — the most popular type used in old film cameras.
Because of their smaller size, cropped-sensor cameras are usually smaller and lighter. They also require a smaller battery, further reducing their weight. Because they use less material, they’re also usually more affordable. That’s why you’ll find most entry-level and mid-range cameras featuring a cropped sensor.
There are many different cropped sensor types because camera manufacturers make their own standards. For example, Canon, Nikon, and Sony use APS-C sensors for cropped frame cameras. But Canon’s APS-C sensor is marginally smaller than what Nikon and Sony use — 22.3×14.9 mm vs. 23.6×15.6 mm. Other camera makers, like Panasonic and Olympus, use an even smaller sensor size called Micro Four Thirds (or MFT) with a size of 17.3×13 mm. What is a full-frame camera?
A full-frame camera uses sensors about the size of the traditional 35mm film camera, about 36×24 mm. That’s why many photographers still consider full-frame cameras the gold standard for photography, as the images they produce maintain the quality and feel of film photography.
Although this makes full-frame cameras desirable for many, they also have several drawbacks, the biggest being their price.
