Cropped Sensor vs. Full Frame

[soufiej]

Or she'll find the lenses have improved sufficiently to buy new. I'm finding many of my ten year old lens are going to be obsolete after comparing to a few new items. They were great lenses back in their day and I still miss my '72 SS Malibu also - all 10 mpg of it.

"Obsolete" is a by word of modern electronics.

Till then, if she's taking photos with her current camera, then she probably needs a lens that works with that camera.

 

[fjrabon]

There's also another issue at play, generally if you upgrade to a full frame camera, you'll also simply have a better camera. For example, imperfections you didn't notice with a lens on a D5300 might become glaring to you if you upgrade to a D810e. This is why generally people say always buy the best glass you can afford and worry about body upgrades last.

Full frame glass **tends** to just be higher quality as well. Full frame glass on a crop frame tends to be razor sharp, because the crop frame is only using the center of the image, where the image is sharpest.

That all being said, it's not that big of a deal because there's a pretty robust used market for good DX glass. The lenses you've purchased thus far, I think they're all DX lenses, but if you go full frame you'll only lose minimal value on them if you decide to sell.

If you ever do decide to go full frame, then either keep your DX lenses as backups, or sell them to help finance the change over. But don't buy a full frame body and then use mostly DX lenses on it. That kind of defeats the whole purpose of going full frame in the first place.

 

[astroNikon]

... Till then, if she's taking photos with her current camera, then she probably needs a lens that works with that camera.

FX lenses work just fine on DX bodies. I use all my lenses between my d7000 and d600.

It's the other way around using a DX specific lens on a FF body that may have the vignetting. ==> Camera Sensor Crop Factor and Equivalent Lens Focal Length

 

[fjrabon]

Or she'll find the lenses have improved sufficiently to buy new. I'm finding many of my ten year old lens are going to be obsolete after comparing to a few new items. They were great lenses back in their day and I still miss my '72 SS Malibu also - all 10 mpg of it.

"Obsolete" is a by word of modern electronics.

Till then, if she's taking photos with her current camera, then she probably needs a lens that works with that camera.

what 10 year old lenses are obsolete? I can't think of a single lens made in 2005 that is obsolete. I have a lens made in 1998 that's more or less exactly as good as anything that comes out today (Nikon 2 ring 80-200 f/2.8)

 

[lisameowrie]

To be specific, the lenses are:

Tokina 11-16 2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX
Nikon 50 1.8G AF-S FX
Nikon 35 1.8G AF-S DX

I don't plan on upgrading my camera anytime soon, but soufiej is correct - when I do in the future, I just want to know that the lenses I have been purchasing are compatible with full frame bodies also since this is something I am just finding out about.

 

[astroNikon]

To be specific, the lenses are:

Tokina 11-16 2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX
Nikon 50 1.8G AF-S FX
Nikon 35 1.8G AF-S DX

I don't plan on upgrading my camera anytime soon, but soufiej is correct - when I do in the future, I just want to know that the lenses I have been purchasing are compatible with full frame bodies also since this is something I am just finding out about.

which camera body do you have ?

Because if you have a model with an in-body focus motor you can also look at AF/AF-D lenses that will AutoFocus with it. Otherwise you have to use AF-S for AutoFocus

 

[lisameowrie]

which camera body do you have ?
Because if you have a model with an in-body focus motor you can also look at AF/AF-D lenses that will AutoFocus with it. Otherwise you have to use AF-S for AutoFocus

Nikon D5300
I'd be looking to upgrade to one of the pro Nikons in a few years.

 

[fjrabon]

To be specific, the lenses are:

Tokina 11-16 2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX
Nikon 50 1.8G AF-S FX
Nikon 35 1.8G AF-S DX

I don't plan on upgrading my camera anytime soon, but soufiej is correct - when I do in the future, I just want to know that the lenses I have been purchasing are compatible with full frame bodies also since this is something I am just finding out about.

The Tokina and the 35mm will have to use a full frame's crop mode (or be severely distorted and vignetted around the edges). Which means you can use the lens in your hypothetical full frame's crop mode, but it also means that you are negating the benefit of going to full frame if you use those lenses on it.

 

[lisameowrie]

To be specific, the lenses are:

Tokina 11-16 2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX
Nikon 50 1.8G AF-S FX
Nikon 35 1.8G AF-S DX

I don't plan on upgrading my camera anytime soon, but soufiej is correct - when I do in the future, I just want to know that the lenses I have been purchasing are compatible with full frame bodies also since this is something I am just finding out about.

The Tokina and the 35mm will have to use a full frame's crop mode (or be severely distorted and vignetted around the edges). Which means you can use the lens in your hypothetical full frame's crop mode, but it also means that you are negating the benefit of going to full frame if you use those lenses on it.

Thank you! Need to brush up on FX, DX and all that jazz. Just now finding out all these differences as I go along.

 

[Soocom1]

First: If its a Canon, you CANNOT use an EF-s Lens on a Full frame. The focal distance is different. The Lens will stick too far into the camera body and chop the mirror.

The flange focal distance (FFD) is the same for all Canon EF and EF-S DSLRs and lenses - 44.mm.
The common FFD is why Canon EF lenses can be used on Canon EF-S DSLRs.
But EF-S lens bodies do have extra plastic at the back of the lens that protrudes a bit further into the mirror box and will interfere with movement of the main mirror.
But, Canon has designed EF-S lenses so an EF-S lens cannot be mounted on a Canon EF camera body, without modifying the EF-S lens body.
You can indeed use a Canon EF-S lens on a Canon EF camera, if you make a relatively simple change to the EF-S lens by sawing off the plastic piece that interferes with EF camera main mirror movement.
Note that people making that modification do not move the rear lens element and change the focal distance.
EF-S 18-55 3.5-5.6 conversion for EOS 10D

Ergo then, It still applies to my 1Ds.

I have heard of modifications made to certain lenses under diff. circumstances, but I still hold that you really don't want to play the game. (just me. )

But remember that to the initiated, attempting to mount a EF-S and not being able to do so is the safety factor aspect. (Larger bayonet flange on the EF-S)

 

[Derrel]

To be specific, the lenses are:

Tokina 11-16 2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX
Nikon 50 1.8G AF-S FX
Nikon 35 1.8G AF-S DX

I don't plan on upgrading my camera anytime soon, but soufiej is correct - when I do in the future, I just want to know that the lenses I have been purchasing are compatible with full frame bodies also since this is something I am just finding out about.

As I mentioned recently (maybe in this thread, maybe another thread, but like,yesterday...) ALL of Nikon's DX-lenses have the letters DX in their official names, and also on the lenses themselves. Nikon has been making F-mount lenses since 1959, and NONE of their FX-capable lenses have the letters FX anywhere in the name, nor on the lenses. So...the vast majority of Nikkor lenses are full-frame compliant models.

The size of the image circle on a DX lens is I think, 29mm minimum, while a full-format lens needs I think it's 43mm, minimum circle diameter. Buuuuuut, sometimes a zoom lens will have a bigger image circle through part of its focal length range. A good example is the Tokina 12-28mm f/28-DX lens reviewed by K.R. here: Tokina 12-28mm Review

Here's the part you might want to pay attention to: "Not only is the Tokina 12-28mm a fantastic performer on DX and APS-C, it is unique in performing excellently, complete with low distortion, on full-frame at 18mm and longer focal lengths. Its distortion is invisible throughout most of the range on DX and FX, unique among ultrawide zooms."

In my book, an 18mm to 28mm is one heck of a useful lens on FX....I grew up in the era of 20mm being called VERY wide, 17mm was ULTRA-wide, 24mm was wide, and 28mm was the social photography situation wide-angle that eliminated much of the corner distortion that the shorter lenses imprint on their images.

 

[480sparky]

Canon

AFD – Arc-Form Drive

AL – Aspheric Lens

CA – Circular Aperture

CaF2 – Fluorite Element

DO – Diffractive optics

ED - Extra-low Dispersion

EF - Electronic Focus

EF-S Electronic Focus with "Short back focus"

E-M – Electronic Manual Focusing

FT-M – Full time manual focus

IF – Inner Focus

I/R – Internal or Rear Group Focusing

IS – Image Stabilization

L – Luxury

MP-E – Macro Photo Electronic

Super UD – Super Ultra-Low Dispersion glass

T/S (TS-E) – Tilt/Shift

UD – Ultra-Low Dispersion Glass

USM – Ultrasonic Motor





Nikon

AF-I – Internal Autofocus

AF-S - Focusing is driven by a "Silent Wave" motor

A/M mode – Autofocus Priority with Manual override

A-M switch – Automatic – Manual focus switch

AS - Aspherical lens elements

ASP - Aspherical lens elements

CRC - Close-Range Correction system

D - The lens provides Distance information to the camera electronically for more accurate light metering (All G lenses are also D lenses)

DC - Defocus Control

DX - The lens is specifically designed for use on Nikon digital ASP-C DSLR cameras.

ED - Extra-low Dispersion

G – “Gelded”, lens has no aperture ring

IF - Internal Focus

M/A - Manual/Automatic focus mode

ML - Meniscus Protective Lens

N - Nano Crystal Coat

RD – Rounded Diaphragm

RF – Rear Focusing

SIC - Super Integrated Coating

SWM - Silent Wave Motor

VR - Vibration Reduction



Tamron

AD - A lens with Anomalous Dispersion

ASL - Aspherical Lens Elements

Di – Designed for full-frame or 35mm film cameras

Di II - Designed for crop sensor or APS-C format cameras

HID - High Index High Dispersion Glass element

IF - Inner Focus

LD - Low Dispersion elements

MACRO – A lens designed to prove close-focusing ability

SP - Super Performance

USD – motor

VC – Vibration Compensation

XR - High refraction index glass elements

ZL – Zoom Lock




Sigma

ASP (Aspherical Lens)

APO – Apochromatic lens element

CONV – Converter adaptable (can use a teleconverter)

DC - Designed for crop sensor or APS-C format cameras

DF - Dual Focus

DG – Designed for full-frame or 35mm film cameras

EX – Used to denote a higher grade of finish

HF – Helical Focusing

HSM - Hyper-Sonic Motor

IF – Internal Focus

OS – Optical Stabilization

RF – Rear Focus

US – Ultra Compact





Tokina

AS – Aspherical

AT-X – Advanced Technology eXtra

D – Digitally optimized coatings

DX - Designed for crop sensor or APS-C format cameras

F&R – Front and rear aspherical elements

FC – Focus clutch

FE – Floating element

HLD - High refraction, low dispersion

IF-S – Motor

IRF – Internal rear focusing

PRO – Hardened with Alumite (Armalite)

SD – Super low dispersion

 

[soufiej]

what 10 year old lenses are obsolete? I can't think of a single lens made in 2005 that is obsolete. I have a lens made in 1998 that's more or less exactly as good as anything that comes out today (Nikon 2 ring 80-200 f/2.8)

Several of the older, existing lenses are today no better than less expensive lenses I can buy. Or the new lens has qualities I would prefer to have over the old lens. Or a new lens has been added to the line which does more of what I'm looking for. That doesn't necessarily make the old lens totally obsolete but they have far less use to me today than they did ten years ago. The new lens will take the place of the old lens in my bag and the old lens will be "effectively" obsolete except for the few occasions where it might best serve the purpose. You don't have lenses that have replaced others? If that's the case, I'd say you are the rarity in this hobby.

I use a Rebel body and have for decades since I find the Rebel line offers good value at a reasonable price. I don't invest in the absolute top o'the line lenses for the Rebel so there's always room for trickle down technology to raise the quality level after ten years or so. Like so much of electronics, technology simply becomes less expensive over time.