Full format sensor
Full -frame sensor ( English full-frame sensor , abbreviation: FF, at Nikon FX format ) is a general marketing term for an electronic image sensor contained in digital cameras . It describes an image format that corresponds to that of 35 mm film , i.e. about 24 mm × 36 mm. Digital camera manufacturers use this term to classify a corresponding image sensor size of their products and differentiate them from smaller image formats such as the APS-C format.
history
The 35mm format had established itself as a quasi-standard for photo cameras for color or negative film for decades . In the development of digital SLR cameras for large-scale production, however, initially only image sensors of significantly smaller size were available for cost reasons. Cameras with a format factor of 1.5 to 1.6 became the standard. Factor 1.3 was reserved for higher quality models. These smaller sensor sizes are known as APS-C or APS-H sensors. It was not until 2000 that sensor sizes with sensors in a format that roughly corresponded to the 35mm format of analog photography became more widespread.
It was not until the beginning of the 2000s that image sensors with full 35mm format were offered as standard, which were marketed as full frame sensors or full format sensors to distinguish them from their smaller predecessors . Today there are digital image sensors with sizes that go far beyond the full format (see medium format camera ).
Properties of the sensors
Full-frame sensors are more expensive to manufacture compared to smaller sensors. The signal-to-noise ratio of a sensor, i.e. the intensity ratio of the image signal to the usually disturbing image noise , is reduced on the one hand by the electrical or solid-state physical characteristics of the sensor and on the other hand by the amount of light falling on the individual pixels. The greater this amount of light, the better the signal-to-noise ratio with a constant noise amplitude. Whether a full-format sensor receives a larger amount of light than a smaller-format sensor with the same total number of pixels and a larger sensor area depends on the conditions under which the sensors are exposed.
Lenses
When using lenses, which were designed before the digitization of photography, on cameras with higher-resolution image sensors, weaknesses often come to light.
If lenses that were designed for full-frame cameras are used on cameras with a smaller image sensor, the angle of view changes . The focal length associated with the angle of view appears to be extended by the format factor. Only the central area of the image is captured by the lens. Any weaknesses on the edge of the image are masked out (sharpness drop, vignetting , chromatic aberration ).
Camera overview
The following overview lists cameras in which different full-format image sensors are installed. The list is not complete.