What Is Full Frame?

What is full frame?

One of the most important considerations when buying a camera is the sensor. The size of the sensor in particular plays a decisive role in the quality of your photos. Cameras with a full frame sensor are equipped with a sensor with the dimensions of a 'traditional' film negative: 24 x 36 mm. This comes with a number of advantages and disadvantages, which we'll take a closer look at below.

Wide dynamic range

One of the major advantages of a full frame sensor is its wide dynamic range. Simply put, this means there are more nuances between black and white. This comes in particularly handy in situations where the difference between dark and light is significant. Think of winter sports, for example, where the color difference between an athlete and the snow is large. In that case, you want both the snow and the athlete to have a nice level of detail. The athlete should not become a large black shape with blocked-up shadows.

Great results in difficult lighting conditions

Because the full frame sensor is relatively large, the individual pixels on the sensor have more space. The advantage of this is that each pixel can capture more light, meaning you're less likely to experience noise in your photos. An important note here is that a smaller sensor can still have better noise performance, provided the pixels have more space than those on its larger counterpart. A quick comparison between a 24 megapixel full frame sensor and a 12 megapixel crop sensor with a factor of 1.5 shows that the individual pixels on the smaller sensor actually have more space.

• Read also: Full frame vs. crop sensor

Full angle of view is utilized

With a full frame sensor, the full angle of view of a lens is utilized, unlike with a crop sensor. In practice, the smaller sensor results in a crop of the image. This is because the sensor is too small to capture the entire image. This means the lens is not used all the way to the edges, effectively resulting in more zoom. With a full frame camera, this is not the case. A downside of utilizing the full angle of view is that the often lower-quality edges of a lens are also captured in the photo. This can result in lens aberrations such as vignetting, distortion or softness towards the edges.

Shallower depth of field

Depth of field is determined by three factors: focal length, aperture and sensor size. If the focal length and aperture remain the same but the sensor gets larger, the depth of field becomes shallower. In your photos, this shows up as a pleasing blur in front of and behind your subject. This is also known as bokeh. This is especially beautiful in portrait photography, where you can make the eyes even more striking by letting everything else fade into the background.

• Read also: what is aperture? and what is focal length?

Can I use all lenses on a full frame camera?

No, unfortunately this is not possible. Not all lenses can be used on both full frame cameras and crop cameras. This is because the lens mount is different.

When should I choose full frame?

If your budget allows and you need a wide dynamic range and excellent performance in difficult lighting conditions, then the full frame camera is the right choice. The camera performs exceptionally well in low light conditions, meaning you're less likely to experience noise in your photos. On top of that, you'll also stand out with a greater blur (bokeh) in front of and behind your subject. Ideal for portrait photography or weddings, for example.