DX 35mm vs FX 50mm Focal Length
I often wondered, "Is the 1.5x crop factor real with "DX" sensors?" I set up a test to find out. Placing my sturdy Manfrotto tripod on our deck, I went about scribbling on half sheets of paper the lens and focal length being used. Here, I used "D" to signify a "DX" lens and the absence of the "D" indicates an "FX" ("full frame" or "film" et cetera) lens. The color images were shot with my Nikon D80 using the same settings as on my N80 throughout the test (I forgot to kick the ISO down to 125, so they are a bit overexposed -- however, exposure or image quality was not the intent of this test). The black and white shots are scans from a contact sheet I made in the darkroom (hence the poor quality). So, in color is a DX sensor and black and white a flim (or FX like a D700, D3 (Nikon) or 5D, 1D (Canon)).
In film days, it was said that the human eye sees the world very close to a 50mm focal point (on a 35mm film camera). In a DX format, the crop factor bumps that number down to around a 35mm focal length, as this comparison loosely illustrates.
DX 35mm vs FX 50mm Focal Length
I often wondered, "Is the 1.5x crop factor real with "DX" sensors?" I set up a test to find out. Placing my sturdy Manfrotto tripod on our deck, I went about scribbling on half sheets of paper the lens and focal length being used. Here, I used "D" to signify a "DX" lens and the absence of the "D" indicates an "FX" ("full frame" or "film" et cetera) lens. The color images were shot with my Nikon D80 using the same settings as on my N80 throughout the test (I forgot to kick the ISO down to 125, so they are a bit overexposed -- however, exposure or image quality was not the intent of this test). The black and white shots are scans from a contact sheet I made in the darkroom (hence the poor quality). So, in color is a DX sensor and black and white a flim (or FX like a D700, D3 (Nikon) or 5D, 1D (Canon)).
In film days, it was said that the human eye sees the world very close to a 50mm focal point (on a 35mm film camera). In a DX format, the crop factor bumps that number down to around a 35mm focal length, as this comparison loosely illustrates.