What crop factor does the Nikon D3000 use, and how do I compare lens focal lengths to 35mm/full-frame?
Asked 12/8/2011
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I use a Nikon D3000 and want to understand 35mm/full-frame equivalent focal lengths. If I want the same field of view as a 50mm lens on a 35mm film or full-frame camera, what focal length should I use on the D3000? Also, when a lens is labeled 70-300mm, is that the lens's actual focal length, with the full-frame equivalent field of view found by applying the crop factor?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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What is the factor, and how is it derived?
The factor (also commonly called a 'crop factor') is a measurement of how much larger a full-frame image sensor is than the sensor in your camera. People say the D3000's crop factor is 1.5 because a full-frame sensor is 1.5x larger than the D3000 sensor.
A full-frame sensor is 36mm x 24 mm. The sensor in the Nikon D3000 is 23.6mm x 15.8mm.
Comparing the sensor sizes along each dimension:
36mm / 23.6mm = 1.52 (approximately)
24mm / 15.8mm = 1.52 (approximately)
You can see how the full-frame sensor is around 1.5x the size of the D3000 sensor, hence the 1.5x crop factor.
Originally by user6999. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6999
15y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The Nikon D3000 uses Nikon’s DX/APS-C sensor, which has a 1.5× crop factor compared with 35mm/full-frame.
That factor comes from the sensor size difference: full-frame is 36×24mm, while the D3000 sensor is about 23.6×15.8mm, so full-frame is roughly 1.5× larger in each dimension.
Important: focal length is a property of the lens, not the camera. So a lens marked 70-300mm is truly a 70-300mm lens. What changes on the D3000 is the field of view: it appears narrower, like a longer lens would on full-frame.
To get the 35mm/full-frame equivalent field of view, multiply the lens focal length by 1.5:
- 50mm on D3000 ≈ 75mm equivalent
- 70-300mm on D3000 ≈ 105-450mm equivalent
Going the other way, if you want the same field of view as a 50mm lens on full-frame, divide by 1.5:
- 50 ÷ 1.5 ≈ 33mm
So on your D3000, a lens around 35mm gives a field of view close to a classic 50mm lens on 35mm/full-frame.
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