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APS-C vs Micro Four Thirds

Both are crop formats, but they are not interchangeable. APS-C is larger and uses a wider 3:2 shape; Micro Four Thirds is 4:3 and noticeably smaller in area.

Side by side

APS-CMicro Four Thirds
Width × height23.6 × 15.7 mm17.3 × 13 mm
Diagonal28.3 mm21.6 mm
Area371 mm²225 mm²
Crop factor1.53×2.00×
Aspect ratio3:24:3

Micro Four Thirds has 39% less sensor area than APS-C. The same lens frames 1.31× tighter on Micro Four Thirds, so Micro Four Thirds needs a focal length shorter by that factor for the same view.

APS-C (Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm) and Micro Four Thirds drawn to scaleAPS-C (Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm): 23.6 × 15.7 mmMicro Four Thirds: 17.3 × 13 mm10 mm
  • APS-C (Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm) 23.6 × 15.7 mm
  • Micro Four Thirds 17.3 × 13 mm

Drawn to scale and centred on the lens axis.

The same lens on both formats

Full-frame equivalent focal length and horizontal field of view for common lenses.

LensOn APS-COn Micro Four Thirds
14 mm21.4 mm · 80.3°28.0 mm · 63.4°
24 mm36.6 mm · 52.4°48.0 mm · 39.6°
35 mm53.4 mm · 37.3°70.0 mm · 27.8°
50 mm76.3 mm · 26.6°100.0 mm · 19.6°
85 mm129.7 mm · 15.8°169.9 mm · 11.6°
135 mm206.1 mm · 10.0°269.9 mm · 7.3°
200 mm305.3 mm · 6.8°399.9 mm · 5.0°

Matching the framing

The focal length on Micro Four Thirds that gives the same view as a lens on APS-C.

On APS-CSame view on Micro Four Thirds
14 mm on APS-C10.7 mm
24 mm on APS-C18.3 mm
35 mm on APS-C26.7 mm
50 mm on APS-C38.2 mm
85 mm on APS-C64.9 mm
135 mm on APS-C103.1 mm
200 mm on APS-C152.7 mm

In practice

  • The difference in crop factor matters most at the wide end, where every millimetre changes the view.
  • Because the aspect ratios differ, a print or crop in the other format's shape discards part of the frame.
  • Canon APS-C is smaller than this APS-C size; compare it separately if you shoot Canon.

Explore

Other comparisons

Sources