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Full Frame vs APS-C

The most common upgrade question in photography. APS-C bodies and lenses are smaller and cheaper; full frame gives a wider view from the same lens and more light-gathering area.

Side by side

Full FrameAPS-C
Width × height36 × 24 mm23.6 × 15.7 mm
Diagonal43.3 mm28.3 mm
Area864 mm²371 mm²
Crop factor1.00×1.53×
Aspect ratio3:23:2

APS-C has 57% less sensor area than Full Frame. The same lens frames 1.53× tighter on APS-C, so APS-C needs a focal length shorter by that factor for the same view.

Full Frame and APS-C (Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm) drawn to scaleFull Frame: 36 × 24 mmAPS-C (Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm): 23.6 × 15.7 mm10 mm
  • Full Frame 36 × 24 mm
  • APS-C (Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm) 23.6 × 15.7 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 APS-C
14 mm14.0 mm · 104.3°21.4 mm · 80.3°
24 mm24.0 mm · 73.7°36.6 mm · 52.4°
35 mm35.0 mm · 54.4°53.4 mm · 37.3°
50 mm50.0 mm · 39.6°76.3 mm · 26.6°
85 mm85.0 mm · 23.9°129.7 mm · 15.8°
135 mm135.0 mm · 15.2°206.1 mm · 10.0°
200 mm200.0 mm · 10.3°305.3 mm · 6.8°

Matching the framing

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

On Full FrameSame view on APS-C
14 mm on Full Frame9.2 mm
24 mm on Full Frame15.7 mm
35 mm on Full Frame22.9 mm
50 mm on Full Frame32.8 mm
85 mm on Full Frame55.7 mm
135 mm on Full Frame88.4 mm
200 mm on Full Frame131.0 mm

In practice

  • An APS-C lens mounted on a full-frame body will usually vignette or force the camera into a crop mode.
  • A full-frame lens works on APS-C, but it frames tighter: a 50 mm behaves like a short telephoto.
  • For the same framing, APS-C needs a shorter focal length, which also gives more depth of field at the same f-number.

Explore

Other comparisons

Sources