Will stacking filters vignette less on an APS-C camera than on full frame?

Asked 8/21/2012

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If I use a full-frame lens on an APS-C/crop-sensor body, does the smaller sensor make stacked filters less likely to cause vignetting than they would on full frame? In practice, how significant is the difference, and is there a simple way to estimate it?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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To actually work out a formula would be complicated as it depends on the focal length, but for most full frame lenses in order to vignette when used on an APS-C body, you would probably have to attach so many filters that vignetting would be the least of your worries!

The distance between the corners of a full frame and APS-C sensor is about 8mm. If each filter reduces the image circle by 1mm all round, you would need 8 filters to made their presence felt.

Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1375

14y ago

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Yes—an APS-C sensor uses a smaller central portion of the lens’s image circle, so edge darkening from stacked filters is generally less likely to show up than it would on full frame.

There isn’t a simple universal multiplier, because filter-induced mechanical vignetting depends on lens design and especially focal length. Wide-angle lenses are usually more sensitive than longer lenses.

In practical terms, with most full-frame lenses on APS-C, you would need quite a lot of extra filter thickness before the crop sensor sees the vignette. One answer estimates the corner difference between full frame and APS-C is roughly 8mm diagonally, so if each added filter effectively narrows coverage by about 1mm all around, it could take around 8 stacked filters before it becomes visible on APS-C.

So the basic idea is correct: crop sensors tolerate stacked filters better. But the exact amount is lens-dependent, and for most normal uses the number of filters required would be excessive enough that stacking itself would be a bigger concern than the vignetting.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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