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Full Frame vs 1-inch

1-inch sensors power premium compacts and many drones. Compared with full frame the difference in area is large, and lens focal lengths on 1-inch cameras look unusually short.

Side by side

Full Frame1-inch
Width × height36 × 24 mm13.2 × 8.8 mm
Diagonal43.3 mm15.9 mm
Area864 mm²116 mm²
Crop factor1.00×2.73×
Aspect ratio3:23:2

1-inch has 87% less sensor area than Full Frame. The same lens frames 2.73× tighter on 1-inch, so 1-inch needs a focal length shorter by that factor for the same view.

Full Frame and 1-inch drawn to scaleFull Frame: 36 × 24 mm1-inch: 13.2 × 8.8 mm10 mm
  • Full Frame 36 × 24 mm
  • 1-inch 13.2 × 8.8 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 Full FrameOn 1-inch
14 mm14.0 mm · 104.3°38.2 mm · 50.5°
24 mm24.0 mm · 73.7°65.5 mm · 30.8°
35 mm35.0 mm · 54.4°95.5 mm · 21.4°
50 mm50.0 mm · 39.6°136.4 mm · 15.0°
85 mm85.0 mm · 23.9°231.8 mm · 8.9°
135 mm135.0 mm · 15.2°368.2 mm · 5.6°
200 mm200.0 mm · 10.3°545.5 mm · 3.8°

Matching the framing

The focal length on 1-inch that gives the same view as a lens on Full Frame.

On Full FrameSame view on 1-inch
14 mm on Full Frame5.1 mm
24 mm on Full Frame8.8 mm
35 mm on Full Frame12.8 mm
50 mm on Full Frame18.3 mm
85 mm on Full Frame31.2 mm
135 mm on Full Frame49.5 mm
200 mm on Full Frame73.3 mm

In practice

  • Compact cameras often print the real focal length on the lens and the full-frame equivalent in the specifications; this calculator converts between them.
  • The 1-inch name refers to an old video-tube size convention, not to any dimension of the sensor.
  • For the same framing and f-number, a 1-inch camera renders far more depth of field than full frame.

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Other comparisons

Sources