confusion re: FX & DX lenses

tom beard

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I'm planning to buy a Nikon DX body and two kit lenses 18-105mm and 70-300mm. I loved my Canon SLR 28mm lens and tried to look it up to find the Field of View (FOV). I couldn't find my particular lens but learned the FOV on a 28mm lens was about 76 degrees. That part I understand. Then there was a Nikkor 28mm non zoom that had a maximum of 53 degrees and a Minimum of 74 degrees. I got lost there. Then there is the FX and DX formats. I understand that the FX format is the same size as a 35mm frame, and the DX is smaller. In the lens descriptions, the DX 18-105 zoom equates to an FX (or SLR) 28 to more than 105. Same shift for the 70-300 zoom. This is a little like a Japanese assembly instruction guide. "See Part A and Part 2. Part A is on pg 16 and part 2, page 38 (for FX models, and page56 ((subsection D)) for DX models." Damn, I lost my engineering degree somewhere, but I vaguely understand this.

Question: Is there anywhere that I could see a photo of an FX and DX sensor side by side; and, is there a conversion chart where I can make a side by side comparison between the FX and DX lens actual fields of view that a non-engineer could understand? I'm presuming that one can't fit an FX lens onto a DX body and vice-versa?? I also can't think in millimeters, centimeters and meters. Just too American I guess. I AM visually oriented...Talent is another question. Any guidance you can steer me to would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks as always, Tom Beard
 
FX lenses kind of work on DX bodies and DX lenses kind of work on FX bodies.

The difference is that on a DX sensor your only shooting in the middle section. If you use a DX lens on a full frame sensor you'll need to switch to DX mode or have dark edges.

If you use an FX fisheye on a DX body you won't get the full effect since it will only capture the middle portion on the sensor.

I hope I got that right :lol:
 
Question: Is there anywhere that I could see a photo of an FX and DX sensor side by side; and, is there a conversion chart where I can make a side by side comparison between the FX and DX lens actual fields of view that a non-engineer could understand?
Does this help?

Black = FX
Yellow = DX

full-frame-crop-factor.jpg
 
Tharmsen,
Thanks, that does it! I understand. My concern about lenses is that with the wide angel (18-105), is that although my old 28mm was very good for interiors, a few degrees wider for tight spaces might be nice, but I could always add that later. with fixed focus glass. The FX-DX photo bumps up my education.
Thanks again, Tom
 

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