Crop sensor performance vs 1.4X teleconverter

11 years 2 weeks ago #275972 by Gammill
They say you get 1.5x greater reach with a crop sensor camera vs full frame right? Then if you pick up a 1.4X teleconverter for an example, you are going to lose 1.4 stops of light for that performance. So are you losing 1.5 stops of light just having a crop sensor camera?


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11 years 2 weeks ago #276003 by John Landolfi
No. You lose aperture with a converter because you are putting extra glass between the light and the sensor. The crop sensor just gives you a smaller, central portion of the image a full crop would produce, so will have no effect on aperture, all else being equal. The converter may also raise some sharpness isues, which is why choosing the best you can afford is recommended. Not much sense in putting the image produced by a first rate lens through an inferior add-on. :cheers:


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11 years 2 weeks ago #276012 by Joves

John Landolfi wrote: No. You lose aperture with a converter because you are putting extra glass between the light and the sensor. The crop sensor just gives you a smaller, central portion of the image a full crop would produce, so will have no effect on aperture, all else being equal. The converter may also raise some sharpness isues, which is why choosing the best you can afford is recommended. Not much sense in putting the image produced by a first rate lens through an inferior add-on. :cheers:

:agree:
Also they are not the same one does so through optics, the other does so through cropping the field. You do not get more reach with the crop sensor, say you are using a 400mm lens, the lens is still 400mm with the exact same magnification on both formats, the difference is that the 1.5x give you an apparent field of a 600mm, not the magnification. Crop sensors only crop the field that is why they are called crop cameras. Some marketing people made up the magnification BS, and it has been perpetuated since then. The 1.4x TC will degrade the image as said but it actually lengthens the focal length, therefore increasing the magnification.


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11 years 2 weeks ago #276017 by John Landolfi
One more point. I wasn't implying that the images of a crop sensor vs those of a converter are necessarily better. To bring the crop sensor image to the same size as a full crop+converter image, you'd be essentially blowing up a portion of the full crop image, with all that that implies for sharpness and IQ. :cheers:


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11 years 2 weeks ago #276040 by Number 7
Interesting topic, now doesn't the new higher end DSLR's have choice from crop to full frame built into them?


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11 years 2 weeks ago #276042 by garyrhook
I believe most, if not all, will work in crop mode. This provides compatibility with crop-mode lenses (DX lenses for Nikon, e.g.) and avoids vignetting.


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11 years 2 weeks ago - 11 years 2 weeks ago #276104 by Joves
Well I read somewhere I think it was on Nikons site that you can use the newer FX cameras in crop mode with an FX lens. It was in the specs for the new 80-400. But to me this would seem stupid because of the newer cameras pixel density. Which means you can crop a whole lot more without a loss of IQ.


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11 years 2 weeks ago #276164 by Garbo

garyrhook wrote: I believe most, if not all, will work in crop mode. This provides compatibility with crop-mode lenses (DX lenses for Nikon, e.g.) and avoids vignetting.


:agree:

Nikon D300: 24-70 2.8 | 70-200 2.8 VR |Sigma 150 2.8 | 50 1.4 | SB-800
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11 years 2 weeks ago - 11 years 2 weeks ago #276170 by hghlndr6

Joves wrote: Well I read somewhere I think it was on Nikons site that you can use the newer FX cameras in crop mode with an FX lens. It was in the specs for the new 80-400. But to me this would seem stupid because of the newer cameras pixel density. Which means you can crop a whole lot more without a loss of IQ.


That's correct. On the D600, the FX image is 6,016 x 4,016, or 24.2 mp. You can set it to shoot in DX mode using an FX lens but the image will be recorded only on the 23.5 mm x 15.7 mm area at the center of the sensor, producing an image that's 3,936 x 2,624, or 10.3 mp. There is no benefit to doing so that I can see. Essentially, it's just an in-camera crop.

The benefit of the camera's ability to shoot in both modes accrues to shooters moving from DX to FX in that they can continue to use their existing DX lenses. The camera can automatically switch to DX mode when it senses that a DX lens is attached. However, the real value of that "benefit" is questionable since it involves not using 57% of the sensor.
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