Tutorials |What is crop factor in photography?

What is crop factor in photography?

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‘What is crop factor?’ is probably the most commonly asked question in photography. In this quick guide we’ll explain everything you need to know about focal length magnification in photography.

Because photographers shot on 35mm film for so many years, and because full-frame cameras boast a sensor that’s the same size as a 35mm frame of film, lens focal length is often talked about in terms of 35mm equivalence.

This can be a little confusing at first, but in short, all you have to remember about crop factor is that it’s the ratio of a camera’s sensor size to a 35mm frame of film. Once you get your head around it, you’ll find it starts to make sense. Here’s how it works in practice…

What is focal length magnification?

A lens designed for a full-frame camera produces an image circle that is slightly larger than the sensor. When you mount this same lens on an APS-C-format camera, the image circle will be much larger than the sensor, so the image looks like a cropped version of the full-frame picture, or like a longer lens has been used on the larger sensor.

This is why a camera with a sensor that’s smaller than full-frame is typically called a ‘crop’ or ‘focal length magnification’ factor.

Crop factor for Nikon & Canon

With Canon APS-C format DSLRs this crop factor 1.6x. Nikon DX-format cameras have a crop factor of 1.5x. In real terms, this means that if you were to mount a 100mm full-frame lens on a Nikon APS-C format camera it will produce images that look like those you captured at 150mm on a full-frame camera.

Of course, the lens’s actual focal length is 100mm, but when you’re using it on that Nikon camera with a smaller APS-C-size sensor its effective focal length then becomes 150mm. Likewise, the Canon would be 160mm.

Crop factor for Fuji & Sony

Like Nikon, Fuji and Sony APS-C format cameras will produce around a 1.5x crop factor. So your Fuji XF 18mm f/2 lens – and what a beauty it is – would be the equivalent of 27mm.

Crop factor for Micro Four Thirds

Micro Four Thirds cameras have a focal length magnification factor of 2x. And if you’re quick with your maths, you’ve already realised that your 100mm lens has just become a 200mm optic!

In the early days of DSLRs, there were few lenses with short enough focal lengths to make their effective focal length wide or super-wide on APS-C format. Happily this is not an issue today.

The focal length magnification factor of APS-C and Micro Four Thirds cameras is often seen as an advantage because it enables you to frame subjects more closely without the expense – or weight – of long telephoto lenses.

In particular, it’s advantageous to sport and wildlife photographers who may not be able to get very close to their subjects.

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Common focal lengths and their crop factors

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