Full Frame vs Cropped Sensor Demonstration 2 of 2

Okay, part two of the demonstration. I showed you the perk of the photo quality across different ISO levels between the Nikon D5100 and the Nikon D600. I didn't necessarily touch much on the difference in perspective between a full frame and a cropped sensor in too terribly much detail. There's a lot of good documentation out there on the internet to explain that, but I figured I would give an actual example leading into the second demonstration. Each camera was mounted on a tripod and equipped with a Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 lens. Because the D5100 has a crop factor of 1.5x, this gives it an effective focal length of 127.5mm. The difference is illustrated below:

D5100 @ ISO 800 f/2.8

D600 @ ISO 800 f/2.8

Quite the difference, eh? Now everyone knows the phenomenon of when you zoom into a photo how the image quality deteriorates because you have fewer pixels on the screen. That begs the question: is it better to shoot with the D5100 or the D600 if you are looking for range on a shot? Intuitively, one might say go for the D5100 because of the range. The reality of this question, though, is the D600 has ~24 megapixels on its sensor versus ~16 for the D5100. How convenient!? Exactly 1.5 times the amount. Stands to reason, then, that there shouldn't be that much difference between the two strictly from the pixels utilized perspective, but the D600 has the superior sensor. The following images put it to the test. I cropped the photos down to the same equivalent area, so for the D600 I had to zoom further in (1:1) than on the D5100, where I didn't have to zoom into 1:1.

D5100 @ISO 800 f/2.8

D600 @ISO 800 f/2.8

D5100 @ISO 3200 f/2.8

D600 @ISO 3200 f/2.8

D5100 @ISO 6400 f/2.8

D600 @ISO 6400 f/2.8

As you can see, the noise in the pictures are pretty comparable, as the math predicted. The pictures in the D600, though overall are a bit better because the sensor captures a wider range of color and exposure, making it the ideal choice even when range is desirable. Of course, this may not always be the case for full frame versus cropped sensor in general. A 24 megapixel cropped sensor versus a 6 megapixel full frame will yield a different outcome. The exercise just goes to show the difference and the perils of assuming that the crop factor automatically makes it the best candidate for shooting greater distances.

Full Frame vs Cropped Sensor Demonstration 1 of 2

I wanted to post a demonstration of the difference between a full frame DSLR and a crop sensor DSLR that I had done for a former co-worker when I had gotten my new camera. What I wanted to illustrate in this particular exercise was how the two cameras with approximately same effective focal lengths. The difference in both the sensor technology and the pixel density impact the noise in the photo (diminished photo crispness) vary at various ISO levels. A used a Nikon D600 mounted with 50mm f/1.4 D lens and a Nikon D5100 mounted with 35mm f/1.8G (equivalent 52.5mm focal length with 1.5 crop factor).

I took three shots with each camera mounted on a tripod. The photos were taken at f/2.8, one at ISO 800, one at ISO 3200, and one at ISO 6400. The image crop is set at 100%, and there is just a slight difference due to the 2.5mm different focal lengths.

D5100 @ ISO 800

D600 @ ISO 800

Already you can see the difference in photo quality between the two cameras, but the difference becomes more exaggerated at higher ISO levels as seen below:

Nikon D5100 @ ISO 3200

Nikon D600 @ ISO 3200

Nikon D5100 @ ISO 6400

Nikon D600 @ ISO 6400

It's pretty clear that especially at lower ISO levels at an equivalent focal length, the full frame camera materially outperforms the one with the crop sensor. No one would argue otherwise, but it is easier to understand when there is a visual demonstration of how the cameras are different. Next time I will show the difference between these two cameras with the exact same lens on the camera. I'll explain more why there is a difference between these two cases at that time. Until then, feel free to ask any questions!