Camera Labs

Just a bit of fun. Assume you could sell all your camera kit for what you paid for it, and you could only buy into one interchangeable lens system today. What would your sensor size sweet spot be for that system? For the purposes of this question, it doesn't have to be a system that exists, but try to be realistic!

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Personally I'd love a full frame sensor with a high resolution so you can crop the picture quite a lot to get the APS-C crop frame with an acceptable resolution if wanted. The D800 comes very close to that and now I hope for something similar from Canon.
I like the crop for some additional reach with my tele lenses but with full frame sensors you can get a beautiful small depth of field if you want it - a high resolution full frame sensor could do it all.
Alternatively I just like the 1.25x APS-H size sensor which is an acceptable compromise in my opinion. It offers more reach than a FF sensor and more "bokeh" than an APS-C one.

So if I should sell all my stuff, I'd go for the Nikon D800E. At the moment I'm saving my money for whatever Canon will release this year. I'm quite happy with my lenses and I'm buying full frame lenses only so a FF camera is what I'm planning to get in the future.


Yeah, quite confusing stuff written here. Short: I want a high resolution full frame sensor. Voted for: full frame.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

I opt for the medium format. My first camera was with 120mm film making 6X6 frames, and I loved it.
20 years ago, I was using another medium format, a Zeiss Ikon- Ikonta , I think it was a WWII model with a Zeiss Tessar f:3.5 lens and a wonderful Compur leaf shutter (sadly it was stolen from me many years ago) , you know the folder type, and it’s funny to think that I could carry it in my jacket pocket, try that trick with a Hasselblad .
I like the square shape and, of course, the sensor real estate that gives you so much flexibility. I like the idea of the leaf shutter, no limitations with flash synchronizations and the quiet action. And of course the big prints that come with medium format.

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Radu
Canon PowerShot S100
Canon 50D , SIGMA 10-20 f3.5 ,Canon EF 24-105 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 macro Canon EF 50/1.4 ,Canon EF 85 f1.8,Canon EF-S17-85 4-5.6 Old Tamron 28-300 inherited from my Canon Rebel G film camera
Canon580EXII
http://www.errre.net

I quite like the current crop size sensors, for a mug like me aperture of f2.8 for closer work then f4 for medium and 5.6 at 300mm seems to work. Gives me sufficient subject isolation.

I would like the lenses designed around that, FF sensor offers some advantages in low light an dof, but also needs bigger glass. Gets to a point where the lenses get to big. Also gets to the point where the costs go up too much, seems like the crop sensor hits a sweetspot.

Sensor size for me translates into dof, once that criteria is satisfied build the lenses to the minumum size required and the aim then is to improve the high iso ability of the sensor.

But I have not used a FF DSLR only a film SLR, so don`t really know any different.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

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Hmm. I guess as things stand I'd have to vote full frame because of the associated lens systems. I've gone on record before now that APS-C can do the job well enough in terms of DoF provided the available lenses have the same entrance pupil diameter as their full-frame equivalents for the same field of view but typically manufacturers don't offer such lenses for APS-C (or smaller) sensors.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Full frame + theholy trinity of nikkor lenses (35, 50, and 85) or (14-24,24-70,70-200)

Hands down.

Even the worst full frame noisy image still looks usable. I haven't ran a noise reduction on my images since the d700, and I often go past 5000 iSO.

If I had to get dx, no Sony sensors. I feel that nikon sensors tend to handle their strobes much better.

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WHO I AM BLOG, WHAT I DO BLOG
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For me, 4/3 is the Goldilocks of the sensor sizes - not too big (producing a large, heavy system) and not too small (so IQ isn't over-compromised). I shoot mostly street and travel photography and so a large and/or heavy system is out of the question.

I think m4/3 is starting to show real benefits now with regards to IQ, speed, and quality of lenses.

Even if you're looking for extremely shallow DOF, there are three f/0.95 lenses in native mount.

Even my Olympus E520 is collecting dust due to its relative bulk compared to the G3.

Having said all this, why can't manufacturers produce a compact FF camera such as a digital version of the original Olympus OM series?

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/53061745@N02/

Panasonic G3: 9-18mm, 14mm, 20mm, 45mm

an 1.3x APS-H option is missing

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http://www.AnderssonPhoto.com
Cameras: Leica M8, Nikon FE-2, Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 40D
Lenses: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4, Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm 5.6 ASPH II, Nikkor AI-S 28mm 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8L, 85mm 1.2L II, 300mm 2.8L IS, TS-E 45mm 2.8, Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro
Canon 1.4x/2X TC II, Canon 580EX II X2, Gitzo + Manfrotto.
Wishlist: Leica Monochrom, Summilux 50 ASPH, Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 ASPH II

1.5x crop.

Cheaper, and I get to use FX and DX lenses. Also, noise performance nowadays is several stops better and tonal range has improved over what it used to be when I got my first SLR so it's more than good enough for me now.

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Graham
Flickr

I voted for a full frame (1x) camera. Like Jiko said being able to crop quite a lot and the quality of the images is very nice. I'm hoping Canon's new 5D3 will be similar to the D800 because that is the closest thing to a Nikon I have ever wanted

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

While medium-format digital is looking VERY good, in several blogs I have been reading, it seems to be more for studios and tripods. I am neither a professional photographer* nor a dedicated landscape shooter, so medium format digital is probably not best suited for me. Full-frame (35mm) digital is better than cropped, and one of my DSLRs is a 5D1. Cropped (APS-C) is considered perfectly adequate for my work photos, and certainly works well for birds and wildlife.

With my 5D1, and several L lenses, it simply makes the most sense for me to choose FF (1x) for the purposes of the poll, though I will continue to use my 7D and 40D cameras, too.

I am not 100% committed to any one manufacturer; it is possible that if/when I purchase a new pro-level FF camera, it may be a brand other than Canon.

*While it is true I shoot photos at work, for official purposes, with thousands of my personal dollars invested in equipment, and am striving for pro-level images, I consider myself a public/civil servant.

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Canon 7D/5D/40D/1D2N; Nikon F6, FM3A, & Coolpix A; Canon 40mm Pancake, 135L, 50L, 35L, pre-II 50mm 1.8, 100mm 2.8L Macro, 10-22mm EF-S, 28-135 EF, 400mm 5.6L; Nikkor 50mm 1.2 AI-S, 50mm 1.4G, 50mm 1.8D, 16mm 2.8D Fisheye, 180mm 2.8D, 100-300mm 5.6 AI-S; Tokina 17mm & 100mm 2.8 Macro