Some inquisitive looks come my way when I tell people that my wedding kit consists of a D750 and a D7200. The D750 is spoken highly of in forums and photography groups, with most Nikon photographers I know either dual wield D750s or use it as a backup to their D5, D4s, or D810. While on the other hand, my D7200, although crop camera, allows me to keep my kit small with just three lenses while having the “look” of six lenses – sort of.
The focal length and aperture remain the same regardless if a lens is attached to a Full Frame camera or an APS-C one. An APS-C camera provides the field of view that is 1.5x the focal length of the lens attached – or a “crop” view. In other words, an 85mm lens at f/1.8 will look sort of like a 135mm at f/2.8. Photographer Ilko Alexandroff created a video comparison showing the differences between his Canon 70D (APS-C) body and Canon 1DX (full frame), using 85mm and 135mm lenses.
[REWIND: MMCALC | THE EASY CROP FACTOR CALCULATOR]
While the conversion of Crop vs Full Frame has to be the most heated (if not beaten to death) topic in forums and Facebook groups, it comes down how you use your gear. When people say “Crop for the enthusiasts, full frame for the pros” it is no longer the case; some APS-C cameras out perform and out feature the full-frame competitors. Its seems like every week there are stories about professional photographers ‘defecting’ to a crop sensor mirrorless system.
Lenses like Fujifilm’s 56mm f/1.2 rival the sharpness of the 85mm f/1.8 lenses offered by the likes of Canon and Nikon, while retaining a smaller size. In Alexandroff’s video, while limited to only Canon, shows similar results can be obtained from a crop sensor camera, with a shorter focal length lens, as on a full frame camera, with a longer focal length lens.
If you are shooting on a crop sensor camera and what to know that the similar field of view would be on a full frame, Joe Scotto created an excellent online app called mmCalc that will not only multiply the focal length but aperture as well.
