Understand your sensor – hidden insights into your shots
It sounds technical, but the size of the image sensor in your camera can effect your shot. If you are thinking of buying lenses or a new DSLR you should know what you are buying. The sensor size in a digital camera can affect how you frame a picture, its relative size compared to other cameras, its noise levels and the depth of field capabilities.
Lenses are usually measured in terms of focal length. Actually, a 50mm focal length lens on one camera may not be able to take the same picture on another camera. The focal lengths of lenses are measured against a standard 35mm sensor – that is a legacy from the days of 35mm film. Today, different companies have various technologies and have created varying sizes of sensors. The impact of this is that your sensor may not see the same as a camera with a different sensor – even though the same lens is used.
Below is a video that explains in simple terms all about sensor sizes. It also looks at other ways the shot is affected by sensor size. The video is 7.5 minutes and aimed at non-technical photographers.
I have inserted a chart overlay below of the various sensor sizes. You can check the sensor size of your camera in the technical specification of your camera manual.
Diagram showing the comparitive sensor sizes of various cameras. (Source: Wikipedia)
Image Sensor Format
(technical information)