Full frame or 1/6 cropped sensor

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22 Mar 2011 - 9:05 AM

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gary_d (e2 Member)

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22 Mar 2011 - 10:28 AM

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I think the full frame will always be better for landscapes as a wider view is normally prefered, I have the 5D 2 and find it perfect but I find it more limiting for faster action stuff like shoting moving cars or sports, this is where I believe the 7D will come into its own, so horses's for course's I supose.

Rgds. - gary

John_Frid (e2 Member)

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22 Mar 2011 - 11:42 AM

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The 7D is a perfectly good body that is very capable for both landscape and portrait work. I suppose it could be argued that a full frame body will give you a wider view, but there are some good ultra wide angle lenses available for cropped sensors to get around that problem without necessarily neading to upgrade.

As far as portraits are concerned, why not partner trh 7D with a 50mm f1.4 lens, the crop sensor will make this an excellent choice.

What do you think you'll get from a full frame body that you can't get from a cropped sensor? Whilst, in theory, you may get a better image quality, in most situations this probably won't be particularly noticable, and only then to the most critical eye on the largest of prints.

Thincat

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22 Mar 2011 - 4:41 PM

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The difference between the FF and the APS-C (1.6 crop on Canon) is that the FF has better high ISO capability. That's it.

The FF also places higher demands on the lenses than the cropped sensor (we're talking here about the EF lenses not EF-S, obviously) because it has a larger sensor. The smaller sensor eliminates the more oblique angles at the edge of the sensor that tend to be vignetted.

If you're interested in landscapes I'd suggest that high ISO isn't a great priority, so why not try out a crop camera ( e.g. 7D) and see what you think. Ideally you need to try out both an FF and an APS-C camera and see if you can see the difference in quality - I can't. Be aware that the 5DII has an ancient focusing system - which may not be a problem with landscapes but will be for a lot of other things. You need to understand that using an FF camera brings with it much higher requirements of the focusing system than using an APS-C.

LenShepherd

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22 Mar 2011 - 8:52 PM

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If we were discussing Nikon 12 MP although FF can have better high ISO noise there is no difference other than minor nit picking with sometimes the crop sensor winning to 800 ISO (D3s) or 1600 (D3 or D700) in a 20 inch wide print.
20 inch wide prints are the top end of highest resolution in a 20 inch wide print.
Noise performance is improving with each new generation from each manufacturer so we are at the ISO level where for most everyday ISO settings format is no longer a useful benefit.
Format then falls back to size, cost, minimum depth of field v maximum, and maximum angle of view v minimum. Either is best for some shooting situation but either is also about equal for many photographic situations.
A competent photographer should be able to achieve similar landscape and portrait results most of the time with similar MP cameras with a different inbuilt angle of view.

LeftForum

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22 Mar 2011 - 11:49 PM

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Landscapes don't need to be in focus from front to back. It all depends upon the effect you want. But if you want a "traditional" shot with sharp focus from as near as possible right out to the horizon, then you need to set your focus at the hyperfocal distance for the lens and aperture you are using. In the olden days it was easy as all lenses had a "depth of field scale" engraved behind the aperture ring and you simply placed the infinity symbol against the aperture you had selected. As a very rough rule of thumb, use f/16 (shutter speed does not matter if you are using a tripod and cable release) and focus at a distance approximately one-third of the way between the camera position and the horizon. With wide lenses like the 10-20mm that will give you an enormous depth of field.

martinmul

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23 Mar 2011 - 11:34 AM

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the lens is the most important tool.L series are the best on the planet,I bought the 24-70L for my 40d which gives outstanding quality but as a landscape photographer I aspire to the 5dmk11 to achieve the best from my L series lenses which I built up for my eos 1v.The 40d for action and 5dmk2 are a great combination.Cameras lose value but good lenses stay forever.Good luck,you deserve the best as your gallery shots show.

Thincat

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23 Mar 2011 - 4:36 PM

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Quote: The lens is the most important tool.L series are the best on the planet

A good lens is not much good without a decent camera - good sensor, good focus, good geometry, good metering. On the other hand a decent camera can still take a good photo with a bad lens - if it's stopped down enough. Most glass lenses work OK at some aperture, albeit small.

L series are not the best on the planet. They're no better than any other make of lens built to the same tolerances. Most lenses now are designed by computer and outsourced to a limited number of factories (in China, Japan and Taiwan). Their quality is dependent on the materials and tolerances defined by the lens designer. Canon L are no better than Minolta or Sony G for example (or Nikon, Olympus, Zeiss, Leica for that matter). You tend to get what you pay for with lenses and mostly what you're paying for is the ability to work at big aperture.

The 5DII is an old design with an old focus system and an old sensor. Given that the bigger sensor requires very accurate focus I'd wait for the Mk III - or alternatively stick to APS-C which is a better compromise most of the time. The 40D will crop the areas on the 24-70L that don't work with digital sensors.