What is an APS-C camera? Why this camera spec is a sweet spot for price and quality

Posted by batterymap01 from the Business category at 17 Feb 2025 01:49:15 am.

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APS-C cameras from the Fujifilm X100VI to the Canon EOS R100 still have a lot to offer

Most camera shoppers look at specifications like megapixels, but there’s a feature that can often be even more important: the type of camera sensor. A popular option is APS-C, a sensor size that balances image quality with price. But, to the novice photographer, that camera spec looks like a confusing alphabet soup that inevitably begs the question, what is an APS-C camera?
An APS-C camera is a digital camera that uses a sensor that’s smaller thana full-frame sensorbut larger thanMicro Four Thirds. This mid-size sensor is the Goldilocks of camera sensors – not too small, but not too expensive either.
The term, which stands for Advanced Photo System Type C, originates from photography’s film era but today is more often used to describe a class of digital cameras. The exact size of the APS-C sensor varies slightly by manufacturer but measures roughly 23mm by 15mm.
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The Sony A6700 on the left has an APS-C sensor while the Sony A7c on the right has a larger full-frame sensor
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Most photographers will tell you that the larger the sensor is, the better – and that’s mostly true. A larger sensor will produce less grain and gather more light than a smaller one, among other benefits. But, an APS-C can have some advantages over full frame.
The first is the crop factor. Because APS-C cameras crop the edges off a full frame, the lenses appear to me more “zoomed in” than on a full frame camera. An APS-C camera has a 1.5x crop factor. Many full frame camera lenses will still work on an APS-C camera (provided you purchase the correct mount), but that lens will have a 1.5x cropped view on it when compared to putting that same lens on a full frame camera.
What does that mean? It means that a 50mm lens becomes a 75mm lens on an APS-C camera, which means the photo appears to be taken at a closer distance because those image edges are cropped off. If you are taking pictures of a far away subject, as is often the case with wildlife or sports, that crop factor can actually be an advantage because your lens appears to reach a bit farther.
However, don’t buy a crop sensor camera just for that added reach. Why? Because if you really want that reach, you canuse a full frame camera in crop mode, or crop the images later inLightroomorPhotoshop. You lose some resolution, but by turning the crop mode on a full frame camera on and off you can effectively have the benefits of both full frame and crop sensor from one camera.
The other big advantage of an APS-C camera is the cost. Crop sensor cameras tend to cost less thanfull frame cameras. That’s not always the case, as with entry-level options like thePanasonic Lumix S9compared to the advancedFujifilm X-H2, but for the most part crop sensor cameras cost less.
Another perk? Often APS-C cameras can be more compact than full-frame cameras. Some APS-C cameras with large grips can feel more like full-frame cameras, however.
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Why is full frame better than APS-C?

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