Common Image Sensor Sizes
In the table below "Type" refers to the commonly used type designation for sensors, "Aspect Ratio" refers to the ratio of width to height, "Dia.
Sensor Sizes
Larger sensors offer lower noise at high ISO settings and are therefore essential for taking pictures in low light conditions.
[edit] Sensor sizes
Sensors (CCD / CMOS) are often referred to with an imperial fraction designation such as 1/1.8" or 2/3", this measurement actually originates back in the 1950s and the time of Vidicon tubes.
Image sensor sizes range from the tiny up to ones as large as a frame of 35mm film called a full frame sensor.
Click to explore the sizes of image sensors.
Canon has three sensor sizes: full frame, 1.3x and 1.6x. Other manufacturers are in the same range, with Olympus being the notable exception, at 2x.
I'm going to explain some of the terminology and then I'm going to use comparison images, a small amount of math and some dialog to demonstrate how different sensor sizes can affect image quality and the practical aspects of photography.
Each of these images was shot with a high quality DSLR with the following sensor sizes: Figure 8 (6 megapixel), Figure 9 (8 megapixel), and Figures 10 and 11 (12.8 megapixels). Each image was shot with a professional grade lens.
With the advent of digital cameras having non-standard sensor sizes there seems to be quite a lot of confusion concerning focal length, field of view and digital multipliers and how they relate.
I’m sure I wasn’t alone in consigning my trusty film SLR camera and collection of manual lenses to the attic a decade ago after moving into the digital world of megapixels, white balance and sensor sizes.
Understanding Pixels and Sensor sizes
Underwater Photography News
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While normal film cameras take 35mm film (it is a standard for the industry) there is much variety between manufacturers on image sensor sizes.
"So a 100mm lens will give two different magnifications on two different cameras with different sensor sizes. However the angle of view never changes. " ...
Initially I made this excel sheet to print out some cheat sheets for my personal use. I have added some more camera crop factor / sensor sizes to the excel file now.
The Excel Spreadsheet has two tabs. Open the Tab I called "Setup" first.
focal length of a lens is sometimes given for cameras using other film formats, and often for digital cameras. This is to give some comparison of the angle of view of lenses between different cameras with different film frame or digital sensor sizes.
In order to project the image onto a smaller sensor, the focal length is shortened by the same proportion. For additional information on sensor sizes and comparisons to 35mm film, you can visit the Photo.net Web site.
ABOVE, LEFT: The RAW image from a 6-megapixel D-SLR opened in Adobe Camera Raw. ABOVE, RIGHT: The same setup photographed with a full-frame, 16-megapixel D-SLR. The focal lengths of the lenses were different to account for the different sensor sizes.
 See also: Camera, Sensor, Image, Photograph, Lens
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