What is so special about a full frame camera?

[dlwood]

I currently shoot with a Canon 50D (which I love) and I am considering purchasing a Canon 5D Mark II. Can someone offer some insight on why a full frame is considered a professional camera and the advantage of shooting with a full frame? Thanks:

[Sweetlifephoto]

There is no crop factor, period. The focal lengths of lenses are accurately reproduced especially on the wide angle end.

There are other things that make a 5D mk II a pro camera but they have nothing to do with the sensor size.

[dlambert]

The larger sensor means there's a larger area gathering light, so all things being equal, a full-frame camera will be more sensitive than a crop sensor -- you should see better high-ISO support and I believe you'll see better per-pixel sharpness, too.

[nickbedford]

• Much better low light performance and general increase in image quality.
• Higher resolution (21mp vs 15mp).
• 1:1 crop factor with lenses. This means you can get closer to your subject with the same framing, yielding significantly smaller depth of field for bokeh.
• Your lenses will inherently become "wider" as the field of view is now a factor larger than a crop sensor.
• The 5D Mark II has impressive video capture capabilities compared to a camcorder.
• 100% coverage and larger viewfinder means it's brighter to look through.
• Probably more points but you get the idea.

[RichardTaylor]

I shoot with a 40D & 5D.

The big advantage of full frame is the IQ. It's the first thing you notice, although I do use better lenses with the 5D than when I was only shooting with the 40D..

[SwissJon]

I stuck my 24-70 2.8 on a D700 as a comparison against my D7000 (Yeah, Nikon, but it works the same )

FIRST thing I noticed was the difference in IQ. The D7000 has 16Mpx, the D700 has 12Mpx, and one would have thought that would result in higher definition on the D7000, but not so..

The 12Mpx spread across the FX sensor leaves each individual pixel twice the size. This means that the circle of confusion is relatively smaller compared to the size of the pixel, leading to a sharper image, and less prone to differaction at smaller apertures, and CA at high contrast situations (because the difraction/CA needs to be larger before it spills into the neighbouring pixel)

You also get a more accurate colour rendition, simply because the larger pixels have a greater chance of getting an accurate colour from the larger surface area.

That and everything everyone else has said.

[Biomech]

I would quite like to get a 5D MKII, but it would really mean replacing every single piece of camera kit I own, and I really can't afford that at the moment. In fact, looking at it my car was cheaper than buying a 5D setup :P

[gturner]

I have the 50D and 5D mkii & 1Dmkiii

The 5D mkii has WAY better IQ, and the ISO is 3 stops cleaner. What I mean is that the noise on the 50D at 800ISO is the same as the 5Dmkii at 3200. It is that much better.

Depending on what you shoot, you will miss the frame rate and AF of the 50D. The 5D mkii is NOT an action camera, but it can cope with enough if that is not your main use, as long as you use the centre focus point.

For portraits, landscapes, walk around, nothing beats the 5D.

Just keep in mind your lens investment for the full frame move. No EFS lens in your collection will work.

[graciousness]

It's the difference between this:



and this:



Both cars will take you to your destinations, but how you get there is another story.



*photo credit: pls refer to watermarks."

[dlambert]

Am I the only one who started pixel-peeping the car photos?