small sensor vs full frame EOS 40D?

<p>This probably is a question that I should know the answer to already but please forgive..I don't. I have a Canon EOS 40D, frankly it's smarter than I am. I'm confused about full-frame cameras vs small sensor. I don't know which the 40D is, full frame or small sensor? Can anyone explain simply, what it means.<br>

Thanks so much for any help</p>

<p>Your 40D has an APS-C (or crop frame) sensor, with dimensions of 22.2 x 14.8mm. Full frame sensors are 36 x 24mm. The sensors in point and shoots are much smaller than APS-C.</p>

<p>Generally speaking, the larger the sensor is, the better the image quality it delivers.</p>

<p>The Canon EOS 40D is an APS-C sized sensor, also known as a "crop sensor". The sensor is physically smaller than a "full frame" sensor.</p>

<p>The sensors in our DSLRs are the single most costly part in the camera. The main reason that a Canon 5DMark II is so much more expensive than a 40D or 50D is the full-frame sensor in the 5D Mark II.</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_sensor_format">Wikipedia Article on Image Sensors</a></p>

<p>Full frame means the sensor is the same size as a full frame of 35mm film (24mm x 36mm). "Small sensor" I guess would refer to the much smaller sensors used in point and shoot cameras.</p>

<p>Full-frame just means that the sensor/frame has the same physical size of the standard 35mm/135 film. Crop-factor dSLRs have a sensor only half as large, equivalent to the short-lived APS-C film format. Four-third (M43) cameras have a sensor that is again only half as large as APS-C (a quarter of the area of a full-frame sensor), making these cameras also quite smaller (at the expense of image quality). All other digicams and bridge cameras have much, much smaller sensors than any of theses formats, resulting in a number of undesirable characteristics (poor dynamic range, lots of noise, huge depth-of-field, less details etc.).</p>

<p>So, full-frame cameras are pretty much equivalent in image size and build size to regular 35mm film cameras. Usually they deliver superior image quality to smaller format cameras, but there are also professional cameras available with larger-than-full-frame sensors (digital medium format, e.g., Hasselbald H4D, Pentax 645D, Mamiya ZD and DM series). However, Canon's system has the least expensive full-frame dSLR option -- an EOS 5D from the used market.</p>

<p>Also the APS-c sensor has a 1.6 crop factor, which means its 1.6 times smaller. Don'r forget the focal lenght on your lenses are true for full frame, so to obtain the right focal lenght on a crop sensor you multiply the focal lenght by 1.6. So a 100mm lens becomes a 160mm lens.</p>

<p>Hopefully a visual will add to your understanding. As said before, the 40D has an APS-C sensor, which is smaller than a full frame sensor, which is the same size as a piece of 35mm film. Here is the comparison. (I hope Bob doesn't mind that I'm posting a photo that isn't mine (especially since its his), but its for educational purposes and its not really a photo. I'll post the link as well)</p>

<p>The gray area represents the image projection that the lens projects to the back of the camera where the sensor records the image. Since the APS-C sensor takes in less of the projection, it results in a smaller field of view, or a "zoomed in" effect.</p><div></div>

<p>here's another example where there is a photo shown in the comparison so you can see what exactly would be seen through a FF camera and through an APS-C camera.</p><div></div>

<p>Yevette,<br>

O.K., now you've got the body, and in your last post you already had some EF lenses, . . . "So lets get some of your images in that PN Portfolio!"</p>

<p>Kidding, but also somewhat serious!<br>

You already have film experience, so don't let the 40D overwhelm you with the features & details found on a digital body. You may or may not use most of them anyway!</p>

<p>You indicate you have an interest in Macro. I think many here that shoot either macro or wildlife (including myself) prefer the 1.6 crop factor. The biggest noticible difference for you will be that your EF28-105 will not appear as wide as it did on your film body. Your EF28-105 now becomes 45-168mm in focal length.<br>

The other main difference is that now you need to be aware of some of the current lenses that are specifically designed for the crop sensor bodies. They will be designated as EF-s lenses. The only concern with those is that they will not work on your film body or a full frame body.</p>

<p>Did you get a user's manual with your 40D purchase? If not let us know and I or someone will provide you a link to an online manual in .pdf that you can download.<br>

So, . . . get with it! Take some photo's and enjoy the "digital world," you can now "cost effectively" simply delete the one's you don't like!<br>

Have some fun!</p>