Will a 23.1×15.4mm sensor look different from a 23.6×15.8mm sensor?

Asked 12/25/2011

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I’m comparing two APS-C-size sensors: 23.1×15.4mm and 23.6×15.8mm. If both cameras are used with the same f/1.4 prime lens, will the difference in sensor size be noticeable in real-world photos? Roughly how much sensor-size change is needed before field of view becomes clearly noticeable?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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The aperture won't matter at all — f/1.4 will be the same in any case. Focal length could be considered to matter if you measure what you can fit in the frame with a ruler, but even then the percent difference due to different sensor sizes stays the same (which is why the concept of "crop factor" works).

This is super-easy to calculate because the difference is directly proportional to focal length. That means you can divide one dimension by the other to get a meaningful value for the difference. In the case you give, 23.6 / 23.1 = about 1.02, or a two-percent difference.

So simply put, the difference in this case is barely noticeable. If you overlaid two images taken from the same location you might be able to tell, but slight differences in position and framing — and variance in labeling of focal length — are going to be a much bigger deal.

You can decide for yourself what you consider a meaningful difference. 10% is probably enough that you can see it but it won't real make much difference. At 20%, you'll probably think, yeah, that matters.

I highly recommend you try the on-paper exercise I lay out in this answer on angle-of-view. In addition to the examples I use, also try the exact measurements for sensor size you want to compare, and this will become directly clear in a way that's going to be more meaningful than thinking about abstract numbers.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

14y ago

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The difference here is very small and usually not noticeable.

With the same lens, sensor size mainly affects field of view. Comparing 23.6mm to 23.1mm gives about 1.02, so the larger sensor is only about 2% wider. The height difference is similarly tiny. In practice, that means framing will be almost the same.

The f/1.4 aperture does not change this comparison. f/1.4 is f/1.4 on either camera; the main visible difference from these sensor sizes is the slight crop change.

So: yes, there is a measurable difference, but it’s barely noticeable in normal use. You might only spot it by carefully overlaying images taken from the same position. Small changes in camera position or framing would be more significant than this sensor-size difference.

As a rule of thumb, differences become noticeable when the crop/size change is much larger than a couple of percent.

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14y ago

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