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Full frame lens on crop sensor camera


4 years 9 months ago #649464 by Chase Audate
Am I understanding this correctly, if I have a 24mm full frame lens on my Nikon D7500 (which is crop sensor), it would be like this lens being a 36mm right?

Are there any downsides to using full frame on crop body?
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4 years 9 months ago #649466 by Nikon Shooter
In terms of AoV only, Chase, no other advantage
and as many disadvantages… you're good to go.
Light is free… capturing it is not!
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Chase Audate
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4 years 9 months ago #649471 by garyrhook


Chase Audate wrote: Am I understanding this correctly, if I have a 24mm full frame lens on my Nikon D7500 (which is crop sensor), it would be like this lens being a 36mm right?

Are there any downsides to using full frame on crop body?


I'll make this simple (for both questions):

No. And no.

The only difference between a "DX" lens and an "FX" lens is the size of the rendered image (aside from IQ and price and what-not... let's ignore all that). Since a crop sensor is smaller, the image area from a DX lens only has to be big enough for the sensor it's expected to work with.

However, if you us an FX lens, the image area is large enough for a full-frame sensor. Your DX sensor, however, will only see the central part of that. The rest is ignored/wasted/pointless. You gain perhaps some IQ, and an upgrade path.

Therefore: nothing changes the physical characteristics of a lens. Nothing. The only difference is, as pointed out above, the angle of view. It's a rather simple geometry thing, and nothing more. The manufacturers thought it would be helpful to attempt to give folks a reference point for understanding how smaller sensors would work. What they didn't count on was the fact that only a small portion of those crop sensor customers had any frame of reference from 35mm. And despite their lame attempts to describe the angle of view, sometimes it just got converted to "equivalent". Which is not true.

Therefore: suggest to stop trying to over-analyze. There is no 100% equivalence between sensor sizes, so find a focal length you like and shoot.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Chase Audate
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4 years 9 months ago #649478 by Chase Audate
Just to clarify, was I right about the 24mm being like a 36mm?
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4 years 9 months ago #649480 by Nikon Shooter
Not really… focal lengths do have given characteristics
and one of them is the AoV. So the 24 on a crop sensor
will have the same AoV as a 36mm… but nothing else.
Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 9 months ago #649485 by Rudy Sosa

Nikon Shooter wrote: Not really… focal lengths do have given characteristics
and one of them is the AoV. So the 24 on a crop sensor
will have the same AoV as a 36mm… but nothing else.


Yup, and to add to that for the OP, here you go:  http://www.marshall-usa.com/blog/2018/05/01/camera-focal-lengths-and-angle-of-view-aov-explained/
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4 years 9 months ago #649508 by garyrhook

Chase Audate wrote: Just to clarify, was I right about the 24mm being like a 36mm?


I thought I was clear.

No, the 24 will not act like a 36 on a crop sensor.

(Again) as stated above, it has the same angle of view as a 36, but that's it. In no other way will it act like a 36.

Here: Hold your arms straight out at 45 degrees (on each side). See what you can view between your hands? Now move your arms inward until they both stick straight forward. Your hands should now be shoulder width apart.

See how much you can see between your hands? That's the change in angle of view. Notice that nothing else about the scene changed. That's my point: what the lens does will not change, only what you can capture on a crop sensor.

Is that any more helpful?
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4 years 9 months ago #649603 by fmw
OP. to simplify things for you, any lens of any focal length will behave the same on any camera with any sensor.  If you put a 24mm lens that was intended for a full frame camera on a camera with a smaller sensor, it will behave exactly the same except that the camera won't capture the entire field of view.  It will "crop" it in a sense.  Camera bodies don't affect lens performance in any way.  They just record the light.  You could get the same image by using the full frame camera and cropping the image in an editing program.
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4 years 9 months ago #649606 by Chase Audate
OK, I now get it.  Sorry for being so slow about this.  I'm realizing there is SO MUCH to learn with photography and some of this just requires some super simple break downs.  Actually the arm in front of you example really helped out.  

So is it bad to use a full frame lens on a crop sensor camera?  
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4 years 9 months ago #649612 by fmw
No not at all.  I do it all the time.
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4 years 9 months ago #649613 by Nikon Shooter

fmw wrote: No not at all.  I do it all the time.



Correct, it's the other way around that's not a good thing!
Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 9 months ago #649621 by garyrhook

Chase Audate wrote: OK, I now get it.  Sorry for being so slow about this.  I'm realizing there is SO MUCH to learn with photography and some of this just requires some super simple break downs.  Actually the arm in front of you example really helped out.  

So is it bad to use a full frame lens on a crop sensor camera?  


No worries; we're here to help. My apologies if I was unclear on anything.

Yes, lots to learn.

The arm idea just came to mind. as I wrote that up. It seems an excellent illustration, if I say so myself.

I quickly moved past a kit lens to a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 on my first camera, a D5100. Never regretted the investment, and still have the lens. But I knew enough to make that decision (not exactly new to photography). I would caution any true newbie to use the kit lens first, and learn about exposure, composition, and method. Figure out how you see things before investing in more equipment.
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4 years 9 months ago #649783 by Chase Audate
I'll take that advice. Seriously all of you on this board have been so helpful. I'm happy I signed up here. I feel my learning curve has been reduced.

Thanks again!
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