# FX "Full Frame" vs DX "Crop Senor"



## paulraymond (Mar 11, 2012)

Hey Guys,

I don't have a camera yet but I'm really close to purchasing one.

Anyways, I have chosen the D7000.
The only characteristic that kind of bothers me is that it has a 24mmx16mm senor, it's not a full frame 35mm sensor.
Now, the camera is going to be used for taking photo's of my favorite soccer players for my new blog at From The Stands.

Now, because the D7000 is not a "full frame sensor" but what I would like to call a "Crop Sensor", is this the camera I should be investing in.
From what I've read so far about the difference in the two (35mm vs 24mm) is that it could work to my advantage because I'll be in the stands zooming into my object which would give me an additional 1.5 on my focal length. 

I've read that when you look into the view finder of a camera that has a "crop sensor", I'm automatically getting a x1.5 adjusted view.
should I be worried about this??

I have a feeling I should be worried about it when I'm at the top of the stadium and want to shoot down at the event, that is where I could have a problem.
but at the same time, I don't think it's that much of a justifiable excuse to purchase the full frame.

Let me know..


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## 2WheelPhoto (Mar 11, 2012)

hi, why not google it or search the forum


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## Trever1t (Mar 11, 2012)

the D7000 is a crop sensor body. What you see in the viewfinder is relative to what is recorded. Good camera, enjoy!


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## SCraig (Mar 11, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:


> hi, why not google it or search the forum


What he said.  Since I started here in November I've seen a half dozen posts on the same subject.

Personally I have 3 APS-C cameras, Nikon D60, D90, and D7000, and love them.  For what I shoot the crop sensor is an advantage so I'm pleased with my decision.


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## Rhodes454 (Mar 11, 2012)

paulraymond said:


> From what I've read so far about the difference in the two (35mm vs 24mm) is that it could work to my advantage because I'll be in the stands zooming into my object which would give me an additional 1.5 on my focal length.


   Just to be clear, you know that there is no increase in magnification, right? 300mm is still 300mm, you just get less of the scene to look at (cropped).


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## Netskimmer (Mar 11, 2012)

Rhodes454 said:


> paulraymond said:
> 
> 
> > From what I've read so far about the difference in the two (35mm vs 24mm) is that it could work to my advantage because I'll be in the stands zooming into my object which would give me an additional 1.5 on my focal length.
> ...



It's not quite that simple, for starters, cropping a full frame camera to equal what you would see from a crop sensor would sacrifice pixels. There are other differences too but I am literally heading out the door so I don't have time to get into them.


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## Derrel (Mar 11, 2012)

For shooting from stadium stands, I **prefer** my crop-bodied Nikons, and like the 80-400 VR Nikkor for its long focal length and relatively light weight. The D7000 ought to do pretty well for you. It has a TOP-level crop sensor,made by Sony.


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## greybeard (Mar 12, 2012)

Full Frame vs Crop Frame is a topic that has been cussed and discussed  to death.  In certain situations but not all,  a Full Frame camera will give better results than a crop frame.  The bodies and lenses for a FF cost at least double what they do for a crop frame.  Pay your money and take your chances......lol


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## FocusDave (Mar 13, 2012)

Here's my attempt at explaining this visually. This is how I understand crop factors and crop modes. Please let me know if I'm missing something, because this is how I visualize it.




As you see, using an FX lens on an APS-C body gives you the appearance of having zoomed in more, when really all you're doing is throwing away part of your field of view. Similarly, a DX lens will work just fine on a full frame body, but a portion of the sensor goes unused, which is why you see numbers like 16 megapixels in DX crop mode on the D800.


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## zamanakhan (Mar 13, 2012)

diffrence is getting less and less prominent with the dslrs out today. D7000 is great and if you dont know what you are missing with a full frame sensor you wont need it.


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## matthewo (Mar 13, 2012)

I think the two main things you should think about when picking full frame vs crop for sports is.  Increase in reach of the lens on a crop body and high iso ability.  Depending on you lens selection both bodies will work great.  Obviously the full frame will give you the abilitly for higher iso and in turn higher shutter speeds at lower light, but will require more expensive lenses to reach as far as a crop sensor body.

Example.

A d3s with a $500 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 may take as good or better pictures vs a d7000 with a 70-200 f2.8 .  The d3s probably can make up a few stops over the d7000 due to it full frame sensor.  Of  coarse the best would be a full frame and 2.8 glass


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## ghache (Mar 13, 2012)

Dave, stick to photography, not drawing.


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## ghache (Mar 13, 2012)




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## FocusDave (Mar 13, 2012)

ghache said:


> Dave, stick to photography, not drawing.



Is that about the content of the drawing, or the super high quality image produced by MS Paint? I would like to know if something there isn't actually correct.


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## mjhoward (Mar 13, 2012)

Rhodes454 said:


> paulraymond said:
> 
> 
> > From what I've read so far about the difference in the two (35mm vs 24mm) is that it could work to my advantage because I'll be in the stands zooming into my object which would give me an additional 1.5 on my focal length.
> ...



Just to be extra uber clear... focal length != magnification.


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## Redeyejedi (Mar 13, 2012)

mjhoward said:


> Rhodes454 said:
> 
> 
> > paulraymond said:
> ...



not exactly.
longer focal length lenses have longer minimum focus distances than shorter focal length lenses. longer focal lenght lenses are used for shooting from farther away not magnification.
 Magnification is a function of the view angle and the focus distance.  There are two ways to get higher magnification: decrease the view angle or decrease the focus distance.
Focal length determines the view angle of a lens.  Longer focal length means a narrower view angle. Focus distance is how close the plane of sharp focus is to the camera  sensor.  Minimum focus distance is the closest distance that a given  lens can focus.


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## Trever1t (Mar 13, 2012)

I think they were claifying the DX Vs. FX FOV


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## mjhoward (Mar 13, 2012)

Redeyejedi said:


> mjhoward said:
> 
> 
> > Rhodes454 said:
> ...



A LOT of misinformation in that post, but like I said, focal length != magnification.

As an example my 100mm macro can achieve a very wide range of magnifications, all still at 100mm.


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