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Compare digital camera sensor sizes: 1″-Type, 4/3, APS-C, full frame 35mm

Since 2016, a 1-inch Type sensor size has optimized the portability of sharp travel cameras (recommended here). In comparison, cameras using larger APS-C sensors require heftier 11x to 19x optical zoom lenses which struggle to sharpen the edges of the frame. With a sensor smaller than APS-C, Micro Four Thirds systems have lagged behind the competition for sharp images from a generous zoom range in a compact package. Cameras using full-frame sensors restrict zoom range or overburden travelers. Sensors smaller than “1-inch” size can support super zoom ranges but worsen image quality, especially in dim light. Smartphones compensate for tiny cameras via computational power and instantly-shareable images, but can fumble in dim light or telephoto reach.

The archaic inch-sizing of camera light sensors is clarified in the illustration and table below, with relative sizes and millimeters. Legacy sizing labels such as 1/2.5″ Type harken back to antiquated 1950s-1980s Vidicon video camera tubes.

For a given year of technological advance, a camera with physically bigger sensor area tends to capture better image quality by gathering more light, but at the cost of larger-diameter, bulkier lenses. Recent digital sensor advances have shrunk cameras and increased optical zoom ranges while preserving image quality. The top smartphone cameras can potentially make good 18-inch prints and share publishable pictures. Clearly, an evocative image can be created with any decent camera in the hands of a skilled or lucky photographer. For my nature-travel publishing, I prefer a midsized camera with 1-inch Type sensor for superior optical zoom range, good performance in dim light, and sharp prints:

Below, compare sensor sizes for digital cameras:

Sensor size comparisons for digital cameras - PhotoSeek.com
This illustration compares digital camera sensor sizes: full frame 35mm (which is actually 36mm wide), APS-C, Micro Four Thirds, 1-inch, 1/1.7″ and 1/2.5” Type. For new digital cameras, a bigger sensor area captures better quality, but requires larger-diameter, bulkier lenses. As of 2018, 1-inch Type sensors optimize the size of a serious travel camera. “Full-frame 35mm” sensor (36 x 24 mm) is a standard for comparison, with a diagonal field-of-view crop factor = 1.0; in comparison, a pocket camera’s 1/2.5” Type sensor crops the light gathering by 6.0x smaller diagonally (with a surface area 35 times smaller than full frame).

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1″-Type sensor size is now optimal for travel camera portability

I have regularly upgraded my digital cameras every 2 to 5 years because the latest devices keep beating older models. Since 2016, 1″-Type sensors optimize the bulk of serious travel cameras, as in the following which capture excellent dynamic range (bright to dark) with exceptionally fast autofocus.

In 2018, the best & brightest pocketable zoom camera was the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VI (at Amazon) (11 oz, 8x zoom 24–200mm f/2.8-4.5) — my favorite backpacking camera. Upgrading to Sony RX100 VII (2019) focuses even faster. Read my RX100M6 review.

  • Cheaper alternative: Panasonic LUMIX ZS100 camera (Amazon) (2016, 11oz, 10x zoom, 25-250mm equivalent, 20MP). The pocketable ZS100 (read my review) is not as sharp as the 3x-zoom Sony RX100 V, IV or III cameras, but captures close macro at more zoom settings and enormously extends optical telephoto reach 70-250mm, which clearly beats digitally cropping those 3x-zoom rivals.

Since the release of Panasonic ZS100 in 2016 and Sony RX100 VI in 2018, publishable image quality can now come from pocketsize cameras having versatile 10x or 8x zooms. Capturing 20 high-quality megapixels, both the Panasonic ZS100 and superior Sony RX100 version VI rival the daylight image quality of all of my camera systems used over 34 years until 2012 — beating my cameras up to 4 times heavier, up to 11x zoom range, up to 12 megapixels, shot at base ISO 100.

Since 2018, Tom’s main camera has been the Sony RX10 IV (price at Amazon) (37 oz, 25x zoom) — the world’s most versatile midsize camera for on-the-go photographers — read my RX10 IV review.

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV (RX10M4) with 24-600mm equivalent f/2.4-4 stabilized zoom lens.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV (RX10M4) with 24-600mm equivalent f/2.4-4 stabilized zoom lens. 20MP 1″-type stacked CMOS sensor. Phase detection 315-point autofocus. Touchscreen for AF.

APS-C size sensor

Although I prefer the above portable all-in-one solutions for travel convenience, a top APS-C-sensor camera (such as Sony A6300) lets you interchange lenses and capture less noise in dim light at ISO 3200+ sensitivity.

A bulkier DSLR-style camera with APS-C sensor may attract traditionalists wanting a legacy optical viewfinder, improved night photography, and a bounty of lens choices:

Micro Four Thirds Cameras

Panasonic and OM SYSTEM (formerly called Olympus) make excellent Micro Four Thirds sensor systems, which unfortunately haven’t kept up with rival travel cameras from 2012 through 2023.

I’ve oft admired the solid quality of recent Micro Four Thirds cameras such as Olympus (rebranded as OM System in 2022) who made my beloved OM-1N film camera back in the 1980s. But Olympus upgrades have come too late for me, such as their sensor improvement from 16 to 20 megapixels (in Olympus M1 Mark II & III in 2016 & 2020, and in M10 Mark IV in 2020). In comparison, the Sony A6xxx camera series is nearly as compact, yet collects more light onto a physically larger 24mp APS-C sensor. Pricing can also be similar comparing APS-C vs 4/3 when shopping for slightly older versions or used gear. And for zoom ranges larger than 8x, the 1″-sensor Sony RX10M4 and RX10M3 cameras beat all comers anywhere near their weight class (37 oz), with a surprisingly sharp 25x zoom system.

During the past decade, the 16-megapixel sensor and performance of the early models of Olympus M1 (Mark I, introduced in 2013) and M10 (I-III) paled in comparison to the 24-megapixel sensor APS-C systems that I used from 2012-2016 (on Sony A6300 and predecessor NEX-7, using Sony 18-200mm lens, 11x). Consider a Micro Four Thirds system with interchangeable lenses such as the Panasonic GX80 (2016). For the GX80’s weight and expense class, the Sony A6400 or A6300 cameras provide more for the money — 45% larger light-gathering sensor (APS-C), generally better quality images (24MP vs 16MP), better viewfinder, excellent hybrid focus system, and longer battery life (400 versus 290 shots per charge), at a similar weight.

After test trials in 2016, I switched from APS-C to the 20MP 1-inch-sensor Sony RX10M3, which more than doubled my optical zoom to 25x, while equaling or improving overall image quality from edge-to-edge. Upgrading to Sony RX10M4 in 2018 strengthened the deal by speeding autofocus. This sharp 24-600mm f/2.4-4 zoom camera system weighing just 37 ounces has been a game-changer for hiking and general travel photography. Caveat: although it’s one of the most versatile cameras ever invented, Sony RX10M4 isn’t necessarily the most optimal for night photography, wedding photography, or certain other specialties that don’t require a large zoom range.

Consider the Sony RX10M4 camera — to emulate that 25x zoom range with Micro 4/3 lenses is a heavier and pricier proposition, debatably without a commensurate gain in image quality. For example, consider the following high-quality 69+ ounce system with two lenses covering 24-800mm equivalent zoom range mounted on a Micro Four Thirds sensor:

  • Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6.3 Power OIS lens (2016, 35 oz, 72mm filter size, 3.3 x 6.8″), mounted on Panasonic DMC-GX9 mirrorless camera (2018, 14 oz body, 20mp, 260 shots per battery charge CIPA), both weather-sealed.
  • Add 20+ ounces for one or more zoom lenses to cover 24-200mm equivalent.
  • That totals 69 ounces for an impressive 24-800mm equivalent system (14 oz body + 35 oz + 20 oz) using two lenses spanning a 33x zoom range. Although overly hefty for hiking, this system might attract a vehicle-based photographer who considers incremental image quality gains to be more important than the extra system cost, bulk, weight, or inconvenience of swapping lenses.

Full-frame-sensor Cameras

Compared to APS-C, the step up to full-frame-sensor cameras costs extra, adds bulk, and is only needed if you regularly shoot in dim light higher than ISO 6400 (such as for indoor action), or specialize in night photography, or often print images larger than 2 or 3 feet in size (to be viewed closer than their longest dimension by critically sharp eyes). But there’s no need to go overboard. Let’s put this in perspective: huge effective billboards can be printed from small 3-megapixel cameras (read my article).

How to compare cameras

  • My CAMERAS article updates Light Travel camera recommendations several times per year.
  • If possible, compare cameras shot side-by-side under a variety of actual field conditions — which I do just before selling a former camera to confirm the quality of the new replacement camera. I like to “pixel-peep” a side-by-side comparison of two different cameras capturing the same subject under same lighting conditions. Be sure to mentally or digitally normalize any two given shots to compare their fine detail as if printed with equal overall image size.
  • Judge image quality and resolution at 100% pixel enlargement at the authoritative dpreview.com (owned by Amazon since 2007) and handy Comparometer at imaging-resource.com, using standardized studio test views for many cameras.
  • Side-by-side telephoto zoom comparisons between different camera systems are usually unavailable online, so I compare them myself, within the return policy window.

Yearly advances of 2014-16 put the sweet spot for serious travel cameras between 1”-Type and APS-C size sensors. Then from 2016-2022, camera designs using 1”-Type sensors surpassed the portability of APS-C models for capturing publishable images within a wider zoom range.

Most cheaper compact cameras have smaller but noisier sensors such as 1/2.3″ Type (6.17 x 4.56 mm) — tiny enough to miniaturize a superzoom lens, but poor for capturing dim light or for enlarging prints much beyond 12-18 inches.

Smartphones can have even tinier sensors, such as 1/3.0″ Type (4.8 mm x 3.6 mm) in Apple iPhone versions 5S through 8. Remarkably, top smartphone cameras have improved miniature sensors to the point where citizen journalists can capture newsworthy photos with image quality good enough for fast sharing and quick international publication. The latest Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, and Apple iPhones include great cameras, especially the pro models. My former Samsung Note5 smartphone (same camera as in S6 & S7 with 1/2.6″ sensor) captures sunny 16-megapixel images sufficient to make a sharp 18-inch print, virtually indistinguishable from that taken by a larger camera.

Smartphone tips: To better isolate subjects at a distance, update your model with a bigger telephoto camera, such as on the latest iPhone Pro Max or Pro models. Better yet, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and S23 Ultra include an impressive 10x optical zoom, which works great, Tom can attest! A 2x power tele on a smartphone resembles the field of view of a 50mm-equivalent lens, 3x resembles 75mm, and the extremely useful 10x resembles 260mm. Tiny subjects can be enlarged biggest at close focus using the telephoto lens (like a macro lens). Avoid the digital zoom on smartphones, which records extra pixels without adding quality — instead, move closer before shooting, or crop at editing time.

Read this pointed perspective on how far image quality has progressed from early DSLR to 2014 smartphone cameras. Historically, evocative images can certainly be captured regardless of camera size or modernity. But for a given year of technological advance, tiny-sensor cameras can have severe limitations compared to physically larger cameras in terms of print enlargement, autofocus speed, blurred performance in dim/indoor light, and so forth. That being said, the “best” travel camera is the one that you are willing to carry.

More details:

The non-standardized fractional-inch sensor sizing labels such as 1/2.5-inch Type and 1/1.7″ Type confusingly refer to antiquated 1950s-1980s Vidicon video camera tubes. When you see those archaic “inch” size labels, instead look up the actual length and width in millimeters reported in the specifications for each camera:

Table of camera sensor size, area, and diagonal crop factor relative to 35mm full-frame

(Turn your mobile device sideways to see the full width of the following table.)

Sensor Type Diagonal (mm) Width (mm) Height (mm) Sensor Area (in square millimeters) Full frame sensor area is x times bigger Diagonal crop factor* versus full frame
1/3.2″ (Apple iPhone 5 smartphone 2012) 5.68 4.54 3.42 15.50 55 7.6
1/3.0″ (Apple iPhone 8, 7, 6, 5S smartphone) 6.00 4.80 3.60 17.30 50 7.2
1/2.6″ Type (Samsung Galaxy S9, Note9, S8, S7, S6, Note5) 6.86 5.5 4.1 22.55 38 6.3
1/2.5″ Type 7.18 5.76 4.29 24.70 35 6.0
1/2.3″ Type (Canon PowerShot SX280HS, Olympus Tough TG-2) 7.66 6.17 4.56 28.07 31 5.6
1/1.7″ (Canon PowerShot S95, S100, S110, S120) 9.30 7.44 5.58 41.51 21 4.7
1/1.7″ (Pentax Q7) 9.50 7.60 5.70 43.30 20 4.6
2/3″ (Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone with 41MP camera; Fujifilm X-S1, X20, XF1) 11.00 8.80 6.60 58.10 15 3.9
Standard 16mm Film Frame 12.7 10.26 7.49 76.85 11 3.4
1” Type (Sony RX100 & RX10, Nikon CX, Panasonic ZS100, ZS200, FZ1000) 15.86 13.20 8.80 116 7.4 2.7
Micro Four Thirds, 4/3 21.60 17.30 13 225 3.8 2.0
APS-C: Canon EF-S 26.70 22.20 14.80 329 2.6 1.6
APS-C: Nikon DX, Sony NEX/Alpha DT, Pentax K 28.2 – 28.4 23.6 – 23.7 15.60 368 – 370 2.3 1.52 – 1.54
35mm full-frame (Nikon FX, Sony Alpha/Alpha FE, Canon EF) 43.2 – 43.3 36 23.9 – 24.3 860 – 864 1.0 1.0
Kodak KAF 39000 CCD Medium Format 61.30 49 36.80 1803 0.48 0.71
Hasselblad H5D-60 Medium Format 67.08 53.7 40.2 2159 0.40 0.65
Phase One P 65+, IQ160, IQ180 67.40 53.90 40.40 2178 0.39 0.64
IMAX Film Frame 87.91 70.41 52.63 3706 0.23 0.49

* Crop Factor: Note that a “full frame 35mm” sensor/film size (about 36 x 24 mm) is a common standard for comparison, having a diagonal field of view crop factor of 1.0. The debatable term crop factor comes from an attempt by 35mm-film users to understand how much the angle of view of their existing full-frame lenses would narrow (increase in telephoto power) when mounted on digital SLR (DSLR) cameras which had sensor sizes (such as APS-C) which are smaller than 35mm.

With early DSLR cameras, many photographers were concerned about the loss of image quality or resolution by using a digital sensor with a light-gathering area smaller than 35mm film. However, for my publishing needs, APS-C-size sensor improvements easily surpassed my scanning of 35mm film by 2009.

An interesting number for comparing cameras is “Full frame sensor area is x times bigger” in the above table.

  • In comparison to full a frame sensor, a pocket camera’s 1/2.5-inch Type sensor crops the light gathering surface 6.0 times smaller diagonally, or 35 times smaller in area.
  • An APS-C size sensor gathers about 15 times more light (area) than a 1/2.5” Type sensor and 2.4 times less than full frame.
    • APS-C sensors in Nikon DX, Pentax, and Sony E have 1.5x diagonal field of view crop factor.
    • APS-C sensors in Canon EF-S DSLRs have 1.6x diagonal field of view crop factor.
  • 1 stop is a doubling or halving of the amount of gathered light. Doubling a sensor’s area theoretically gathers one stop more light, but depends upon lens design.

Lens quality & diameter also affect image quality

For improving image quality, the quality and diameter of the lens can rival the importance of having a physically larger sensor area. Prime (non-zoom) lenses usually are sharpest for larger prints, but zoom lenses are more versatile and recommended for travelers.

A small sensor can beat larger with newer design (BSI) plus faster optics:

In my side-by-side field tests, the sharp, bright 25x zoom of Sony RX10 III (read my version IV review) resoundingly beats the resolution of 11x SEL18200 lens on APS-C Sony A6300 at 90+ mm equivalent telephoto, even as high as ISO 6400. (Wider angle zoom settings show little quality difference.) Apparently RX10’s faster f/2.4-4 lens plus backside illumination (BSI) technology magically compensate for the sensor size difference, 1″-Type versus APS-C. Like most APS-C-sensor cameras in 2016, A6300 lacks BSI. Surprisingly little noise affects RX10’s image quality at high ISO 6400 in dim light. Its larger lens diameter gathering more light also helps in this comparison (72mm filter size of RX10 III versus 67mm SEL18200 on A6300).

Larger lens diameter can help dim light photography:

In my field tests, the sharpness of Sony’s high-quality SEL1670Z 3x zoom f/4 lens on A6300 is only about 5% better than Sony RX10 III f/2.4-4 in bright light in the wider half of its 24-105mm equivalent range, but no better in dim light. I expect that RX10’s catch-up in quality under dim light is due to superior light sensitivity of BSI sensor plus larger lens diameter gathering more light, 72mm versus 55mm.

Using sweet spot of full-frame lenses on APS-C may not improve quality:

In principle, you might expect a slightly sharper image on an APS-C sensor when using the sweet spot of a lens designed for a full frame (which has a larger imaging circle), but results actually vary, especially when using older film-optimized lenses. In fact, a lens which is designed and optimized specially “for digital, for APS-C” can equal or exceed the quality of an equivalent full-frame lens on the same sensor, while also reducing bulk and weight (as in the Sony E-mount example further below).

Theoretically, new full-frame lenses “designed for digital” (using image-space telecentric design) may perform better on a digital sensor than would older lenses designed for film:

  • Unlike film, digital sensors receive light best when struck squarely rather than at a grazing angle.
  • Digital cameras perform best with lenses optimized specially “for digital”, using image-space telecentric designs, in which all the rays land squarely on the sensor (as opposed to having incoming rays emerge at the same angle as they entered, as in a pinhole camera). The light buckets (sensels) on digital sensors require light rays to be more parallel than with film (to enter at close to a 90 degree angle to the sensor).
  • Film can record light at more grazing angles than a digital sensor. Because older film-optimized lenses bend light to hit the sensor at more of a glancing angle, they reduce light-gathering efficiency and cause more vignetting around the edges (which is somewhat mitigated by the image circle being cropped by the APS-C sensor, which uses just the center part of the full-frame lens).
Side-by-side testing works better than theory to distinguish lenses:

Compare the following two Sony E-mount zoom lenses, full-frame versus APS-C:

  1. 2015 full-frame “Sony E-mount FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS” lens (27.5 oz, 36-360mm equivalent).
  2. 2010 APS-C “Sony E-mount 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS (silver SEL-18200)” lens (18.5 oz, 27-300mm equiv).

Both lenses are optimized for digital, yet the APS-C lens is much lighter weight and performs equal to or better than the full-frame lens. Side-by-side comparisons and also DxOMark tests on a Sony A6000 camera show that while they are about equally sharp, the Sony 24-240 has more distortion, vignetting and chromatic aberration than the 18-200mm.

Raw format

Cameras rarely capture pictures the way we perceive. Think of all those shots where the sky is too bright or the foreground is too dark, losing crucial detail — irrecoverably in a lossy JPEG file. Reshooting to adjust the exposure is often helpful, but usually isn’t enough to properly portray the range of light from dark to bright. We must compensate through editing to restore images to what our eyes saw in the field.

For tonal editing, camera raw file format allows 16 times more leeway than default JPEG files. Tom highly recommends recording and editing images using your advanced camera’s raw file format (except in smartphones, where the default HDR-generated JPEG files may make raw irrelevant). Editing raw format can magically recover several stops of highlight and shadow detail which would be lost (truncated) in JPEG file format (if overexposed or underexposed).

Despite advanced circuitry, cameras are not smart enough to know which subjects are supposed to be white, black, or midtone in brightness. By default, all cameras underexpose scenes where white tones (such as snow) predominate, and overexpose highlights in scenes where black tones predominate. IMPORTANT TIP: To correctly expose for all tones, you need to lock exposure upon a perceived midtone (such as a gray card; or on a line halfway between light and shadow) in the same light as your framed subject.

For greatest editing flexibility, rather than shooting JPEG format, serious photographers should record and edit images in raw format, which is supported in advanced cameras (but often not in small-sensor devices). Editing raw format fully recovers badly-exposed images − allowing you to “point and shoot” more freely than with JPEG. Even so, I carefully shoot to expose each histogram to the far right while avoiding truncation of highlights, in order to capture the highest signal-to-noise ratio in each scene. Try to stay close to base ISO 100 or 200. I typically first shoot a test shot on automatic Aperture-preferred priority, inspect the histogram, check any blinking highlight warnings, then compensate subsequent shots using Manual Exposure (or temporary Exposure Lock grabbed from the scene). Tonal editing of JPEGs can quickly truncate color channels or accumulate round-off errors, often making the image appear pasty, pixelated, or posterized. White Balance (Color Balance) is easily adjustable after shooting raw files, but tonal editing often skews colors oddly in JPEG. 12-bit Raw format has 16 times the tonal editing headroom and color accuracy compared to JPEG (which has only 8 bits per pixel per red, green, or blue color channel). In their favor, automatic point-and-shoot JPEG camera exposure modes get smarter every year, making advanced larger cameras less necessary for many people.

For a given year of technological advance, cameras with larger sensors typically capture a wider dynamic range of brightness values from bright to dark per image than smaller sensors, with less noise. In 2016, Sony’s 1″-Type backside illumination (BSI) sensors capture sufficient dynamic range for my publishing needs.

Using HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging lets any size of sensor greatly increase an image’s dynamic range by combining multiple exposures — as done in modern smartphones, camera firmware, or PC imaging apps. On cameras larger than smartphones, HDR techniques are usually unnecessary due to the great dynamic range of a single raw file from 1″-Type BSI or APS-C sensors, or larger.

When using camera raw file format, to maximize dynamic range of brightness values from bright to dark, use base ISO (around ISO 100 or 200 in most digital still cameras), rather than higher ISO settings, which amplify noise (blotchiness at the pixel level, most-visibly in shadows). However, using the latest full-frame sensors at high ISO values 6400+ can capture unprecedentedly low noise and open new possibilities for dim-light action photography at hand-held shutter speeds, indoors or at night.

Without the help of a flash on nearby subjects, night and dim indoor photography is best with a full-frame sensor to gather more light with less noise. Low-noise night photography is usually best shot on a tripod at slow shutter speeds in raw format between ISO 100 and 800 (or as high as 1600-3200 on the latest large sensors). The latest top smartphones have made impressive leaps in automatic night modes.

Large sensors versus small

For a given field of view, cameras with larger sensors can achieve a shallower depth of field than smaller sensors, a feature which movie makers and portrait photographers like to use for blurring the background (at brightest aperture setting, smallest F number value) to draw more attention to the focused subject. Conversely, smaller-sensor cameras like the Sony RX10 III and RX100 III tend to be much better at capturing close-focus (macro) shots with great depth of field (especially at wide angle), at ISO up to 800. But the macro advantages of small-sensor cameras can diminish in dim light or when shooting at ISO higher than 800.

Landscape photographers often prefer to capture a deep depth of field, which can be achieved with both small and large sensor cameras. Optimal edge-to-edge sharpness usually occurs when stopping down the aperture once or twice from brightest opening, such as between f/4 to f/5.6 on 1-inch Type sensor, or between f/5.6 to f/8 on APS-C or full-frame (which also helps diminish chromatic aberrations). Stopping down further with f/numbers larger than this increases depth of field, but worsens diffraction through the smaller pupil opening (such as at f/11-f/16 on 1″ sensor or f/22 on APS-C), noticeably softening detail. Fast, high-quality lenses on full-frame sensors may be sharpest at two to three stops down from brightest aperture — check your lens on review charts. Avoid f/16, f/22, and f/32 on most cameras, unless you don’t mind the extra fuzziness.

Detailed full-frame comparison of low-light Sony A7S 12MP versus A7R 36MP

How can we distinguish the image quality captured by different cameras? Images are best compared at a normalized pixel level (with fine detail examined on a monitor as if printed with equal overall image size) after shooting side-by-side in the field with comparable lens and shutter speed settings. Consider two sibling full-frame-sensor cameras:

  1. Sony Alpha A7S (12MP of large-bucket photosites optimized for high ISO, low light, and videography plus stills, new in 2015) versus
  2. Sony Alpha A7R (36 megapixels of smaller-bucket photosites optimized for high resolution, new in 2014)

Despite its tinier but denser photosite buckets (also called sensels or pixel wells for catching light photons), the 36MP Sony Alpha A7R beats the dynamic range of 12MP Sony Alpha A7S in a normalized comparison of raw files (see dpreview article). While both cameras spread their photosites across the same surface area of a full-frame sensor, the 36MP A7R trumps the 12MP A7S for exposure latitude flexibility in raw post-processing at ISO 100 through 6400. Overall image quality of the 12MP A7S doesn’t beat the A7R until ISO 12,800 and higher (but only in the shadows through midtones under low-light conditions). Sony A7S is better for low-light videographers, whereas A7R is better for low-light landscape photographers who value high resolution and dynamic range.

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67 thoughts on “Compare digital camera sensor sizes: 1″-Type, 4/3, APS-C, full frame 35mm”

  1. Tom, …Im looking for a point and shoot camera that can capture as clear detail as possible in the background of the shot (with obstacles), that the shots be easily enlargeable, in lower light (dusk) settings. …The camera i am using now is an Insignia 12 mp. It is decent but i want to try to push the detail up a tad more. And no, im not some creeper…im a paranormal investigator. But i need a slightly better equivalent to the insignia use…they are a great camera but no longer manufactured. I know you might not be a believer, but if you can suggest one. The insignia 12 says on tge lens 5.0-20.2mm EQ 29 — 110mm 1:2.8-6.3 and i believe (not sure) the sensor is a 1/2.3 type. …the Insignia NS-DSC1112 was a great little camera if only a little clunky and slow (However with the sony dsc-w800 i had, i got some decent shots…it also caught some anomalies but the photos were kind of gray overall. The little panasonic lumix dmc-fh24 is a noisy mess of speckled garbage…useless for what I do.) Thanks for allowing me to pick your brain. Sincerely, Kirsten K.

    1. A good next camera for what you describe would be Panasonic FZ1000 or more recent FZ2500. Or if it must fit in a pocket, then try the Panasonic ZS100. These cameras greatly increase your telephoto reach while providing a larger sensor (“1-inch Type”) for sharper details with less noise. Since the flash on most cameras such as these don’t reach beyond 25 to 45 feet or so, you could also consider a larger system with interchangeable lenses and flash mount for more power. Depends on your budget and desire for portability. From the photos shown on your (private) link, I see your camera capturing noisy, smudged detail which has been overly enlarged so the pixels are visible in some cases. The image becomes a Rorschach, open to imagination. We humans look for patterns and naturally anthropomorphize our perceptions. The more detail you capture, possibly the less mysterious the subjects become. Your current camera has served your needs to capture blurred patterns at the limits of its sensor, lens and flash capabilities, but a better camera will extend your range of shooting conditions.

    1. The number of megapixels is much less important than the following:

      1. Look for most recent year of sensor design or camera production, such as 2015 or 2016, in order to make larger, sharper prints for a given camera size. Look especially for stacked Backside Illumination (BSI) sensor technology, which gathers light much more efficiently by moving wiring to the back so as not to block the light collection buckets (sensels).
      2. A larger physical surface area size of the sensor usually beats smaller ones: APS-C sensors capture more light than Four Thirds type; and 4/3 type captures more surface area of light than 1″ Type.
      3. However, a lens with fast maximum aperture (such as f/2.4) and larger diameter glass (such as 72mm) with high quality can sometimes beat larger-sensor cameras, as with my 25x zoom Sony RX10 III with 1″ sensor beating the 11x zoom lens on a flagship APS-C camera at most zoom and ISO settings (such as on my Sony A6300, or on 11x-15x zooms on Nikon or Canon DSLRs), especially at telephoto, despite RX10’s smaller 20 megapixels versus 24 mp on APS-C.

      Due to many factors, one-on-one field tests under constant conditions are required to distinguish camera quality (or else use the above guidelines). When tiny sensors such as 1/2.5″ type first started to exceed about 8 megapixels, adding more megapixels such as 12 or 16 at first did not increase quality (unless used with a larger lens diameter). As sensor sensitivity improved in later years around 2013-2016, megapixel count again became relevant for making larger, sharper prints in pocket cameras (especially for cameras using new Sony 1-inch Type 20mp sensors). Image quality sometimes roughly coincides with megapixel count for a given physical sensor size, for example: My Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note 5 smartphones with identical 16 megapixel cameras capture images superior to rival Apple iPhone 6s which has 12mp, which in turn is superior to the 8mp camera in earlier iPhone 6. But in general, don’t choose cameras by megapixel count alone.

  2. Hi Tom,
    Many thanks for this amazing article gives a lot of insight. I do birding and am always contemplating between far reach of a small sensor vs a larger sensor with BIF [Bird in Flight] / low-light capabilities. What I want to know is, if there a simple matrix ( I know its theory and practical results can be varied) for comparison and conversion. Example: My current kit is a Nikon P900 with its massive zoom and superb IS. Now if I were to say get a 1inch with 400mm micro 4/3 with a 300mm or an APS-C with a 400/500mm. Considering all of them are same MP cameras and F stop is same at the tele end. What would yield a better picture ? Cropping the image to their respective crop factors obviously and consider good light. My experience has always been contrary to what most of “large sensor lovers” mention. This is strictly for super zoom good light pictures. If there were a ready calculator where one can punch in sensor size, lens reach, fstop, ISO etc. and get a “quality” number vs others it would be fantastic, just like graphics and cpu benchmarks. Every time one travels there is a compromise between weight / size, cost and zoom reach, but with so many new cameras coming out its always an effort to find the best fit option.

    1. The next step up in quality from your Nikon P900 would be Panasonic FZ2500 (or earlier FZ1000). Beyond that, for serious bird or wildlife photography on a budget, nothing beats Sony RX10 III (read my review), which is currently my favorite travel camera. Its incredible weather-sealed 25x zoom is sharp across the frame, from wide angle to wildlife telephoto. Its stacked Exmor RS CMOS backside illumination BSI 1-inch-size sensor technology, plus a big 72mm-diameter lens, elevates image quality to rival a larger-sensor flagship APS-C system, even in dim light, as proven in my field tests. APS-C cameras don’t yet offer the advanced BSI technology that is found on Sony’s latest 1″ sensor (which is built into my list of best portable cameras). This stacked BSI technology efficiently moves sensor wiring to the back, away from blocking the newly enlarged light buckets (sensels). [Interestingly, evolution also designed human eyes in quick and dirty fashion with wiring (blood supply) partially blocking the light sensing retina tissue, like most sensors before BSI design.]

      By the way, my telephoto article also addresses the birders’ search for the best portable superzoom camera: “BEST TELEPHOTO ZOOM LENS 300mm+ for wildlife: Sony RX10 III vs APS-C, 4/3 cameras

      Image quality is most improved as follows (most important shown first):
      1. Improving creative photographic skills.
      2. Upgrading to the latest sensor technology every 3 to 4 years.
      3. Optimizing sensor size between 1″, Four Thirds, or APS-C, to make the camera portable enough to carry everywhere so you don’t miss shots. (But sensors smaller than 1″-Type suffer too much noise in light dimmer than bright sunshine).
      4. Using a top lens in terms of large diameter, effective stabilization (IS, VR, OIS, etc or tripod), zoom range, bright/fast aperture and good glass.

      No reliable formula exists to predict the quality of camera systems, especially at the telephoto end, due to too many variables [such as different surface-area-size sensors, ever-improving technology, sensor processing, sensor design, lens design (zoom range, brightest aperture, light-gathering diameter, sharp glass, low distortion), image stabilization and many other factors, such as critical user skills]. The best way to compare cameras is side by side in the field, capturing the same subjects in the same lighting with similar practical settings (as I do when changing to a new system, just before selling the old camera). Tests typically shown on camera web sites usually just compare wide angle settings using prime lenses, and hardly ever compare cameras at telephoto reach, side-by-side. Here’s a useful telephoto test:

      My field tests of the pocketable 10x zoom Panasonic ZS100 reveal that it is definitely not as sharp as my little Sony RX100 III camera throughout the Sony’s measly 3x zoom; but the Panasonic captures close macro at more zoom settings and more importantly, enormously extends optical telephoto reach from 70-250mm, which overwhelmingly beats digital cropping of the RX100. Both have the same Sony BSI 1″ sensor, albeit different processing software.

      Also, for sensors having larger surface-area sizes, a given F stop (such as f/4) will have shallower depth of field, affecting image quality; for example portrait photographers and videographers may like very shallow depth of field with subjectively-attractive bokeh. The “equivalent F stop” in terms of comparable depth of field is proportional to crop factor. For example, my Sony RX10 III (37 oz) has a 1″-Type sensor, with 2.7 crop factor compared to full frame. So its f/2.4-4 zoom lens has a “full-frame-equivalent” brightest aperture of f/6.5 at wide angle to f/10.8 (starting at 100mm equivalent) (making it a f/6.5-10.8 equivalent, 24-600mm equivalent lens), giving much greater depth of field than larger-sensor cameras for a given F stop, for potentially sharper bird photography.

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