How small can a full-frame camera get without sacrificing image quality?
Asked 1/5/2013
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Using a full-frame camera like the Canon 5D as a reference, how small can a camera body realistically be while still delivering similar image quality? What physical design constraints set the minimum size for the body, and can full-frame lenses be made much smaller as well?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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The Sony Cybershot DSC-RX1 is a demonstration of a full-frame camera in a very compact body. They could made the lenses interchangeable with some effort but it would not add much bulk. If you exclude the lens, the body is less than 1.5" thick.
A camera like the RX1 saves bulk compared to a full-frame DSLR because it can mount the lens much closer to the sensor since there is no mirror in the optical path and no pentaprism to direct an optical image to the viewfinder. So, if all you care about is image quality and neither ergonomics nor an optical viewfinder matters to you, they can make it much smaller than a DSLR, as small as an RX1 at least!
Lenses for a camera like the RX1 are only marginally smaller because the full-frame image circle must still be covered. For this reason, the size advantage is most significant for normal or moderate wide-angle lenses, my guess is between 28 and 75mm. Beyond that, the lens will dominate the camera size.
Now you did not specify a time-frame but technology evolves and while larger sensor always have an advantage based on the laws of physics, smaller sensors keep improving. So today we have APS-C sensors that match the performance of the previous generation of full-frame ones. In a few yours, APS-C sensors can match today's top full-frame models but - of course - by then newer full-frame models will be even better. In other words, within 3 years, I would expect a camera like the Fuji X-E1 to match today's best full-frame cameras.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
13y ago
0
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If the goal is similar image quality from a full-frame sensor, the body can be much smaller than a DSLR, but not infinitely small. The biggest DSLR size penalties are the mirror box and pentaprism needed for an optical viewfinder. Remove those, and a full-frame camera can shrink dramatically; the Sony RX1 is a good example of how compact full-frame can be.
The body still has to fit the sensor, lens mount, battery/power, storage, controls, and a usable grip/layout. So even if electronics are compact, ergonomics and basic usability still set a practical lower limit.
Lenses are harder to shrink. For full-frame, they must still cover the same image circle, and lens speed is limited by physics: a wider maximum aperture requires a larger entrance pupil. That means full-frame lenses, especially fast ones, can only get so small.
So: full-frame image quality does not require DSLR size, but it does require a certain sensor and lens size. Mirrorless designs can make the camera body much smaller; the lenses usually become only somewhat smaller, not dramatically so.
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