I understand the difference between the two sensors but I want to see how many wildlife shooters prefer the cropped sensor over the full frame. My experience with the Full frame as been great and I find it difficult to give up the sharpness of it to get the reach of the cropped sensor.
I had always thought most photographers wanted to use a full frame sensor but I now realize that there are some who prefer the cropped. So tell me, if you shoot wildlife and you have access to both types of sensors which one do you grab and why?
I was an advocate of the cropped frame when I had the D300 and 300s. When I got the D800, it was so amazing on ALL levels (except the crappy FPS, which is less than the 300s) I have never looked back.
With it's high MP, you are essentially cropping the frame yourself, the way YOU choose, when you post-process, and still have all the advantages of full frame.
I use a full frame for all my photography these days, it provides me with many more options and advantages! I use a Nikon D2X and a D800E and don't care to use a cropped sensor.
Posted by Myer Bornstein on November 30, 2013 at 12:19 PM
I felt the same as Sandy except I added the D7100 to my cameras along with the D800. Now the D00 in crop mode is only 16 MP while the D7100 is 24 MP so I utilize the D7100 for animal most of the time and the D800 for other type of photography, Not that i do not interchange them. Both do have the problem of lower FPS but it is livable
Posted by Howard Cheek on November 30, 2013 at 12:58 PM
"My experience with the Full frame as been great and I find it difficult to give up the sharpness of it to get the reach of the cropped sensor." You're comparing apples & oranges IMO Christine. Each sensor has it's distinct pros/cons.
It will mostly depend on what you're using it for.
Posted by John Reed on November 30, 2013 at 1:32 PM
I have a Canon 5D Mark III full frame, 1D Mark IV 1.3 crop factor, 7D 1.6 crop factor and have found that my preferred body for wildlife is actually the 1D Mark IV with the 1.3. It all depends on the situation and the light. When I absolutely need all the reach I can get, the 7D on my 500 gives totally acceptable results even with the 1.4 extender when needed. Mountain goats in Yellowstone last September were a prime example. So so tiny on full frame. The 1D Mark IV is lightning fast even with RAW and that little extra reach makes a difference at times. I have been fiddling more lately with the full frame 5D Mark III, 500, and 1.4 extender and it's working well but I have to be disciplined with the shutter because those large files fill the buffer quickly. Sadly, as always, no universal answer. It all depends on subject, light, distance, etc etc. It's nice to feel good about lots of megapixels but as with everything else in photography, it's what you do with them! :-)
Sandy, that's where I'm at now. I had a d300s and upgraded to a D800 and it seems to me that even in postprocessing (depending on the situation) I consistently get better results by cropping after the fact than using my D300s. Sorry Howard, but I probably should have said resolution as opposed to sharpness, it has been a while since I've been on the forum.
The reason for me posting the topic was because of a conversation I had with an individual in Yellowstone this last September (we were shooting a grizz near Lamar). The gist of the conversation was he was shooting with a D300 because it was a cropped sensor and it sounded like he wouldn't be switching to full frame any time soon because of that. At the time I thought that comment strange based on what I know of the newer full frame bodies vs the D300.
Myer it sounds like you have the setup I want!
I think I ended up doing a 50/50 split on using the cropped vs the full frame shooting wildlife, just to see how it would work.
Posted by Max Waugh on December 1, 2013 at 4:26 PM
I don't miss the extra "reach" of a cropped sensor, even though we're basically talking the same amount of pixels when you compare some of the bodies (I understand that certain bodies like the D800 or 5DIII carry a lot more pixels of course). The benefits of my full frame 1DX in terms of high ISO capability alone make it my preferred body over my 1D Mark IV (1.3x) or 7D (1.6x).
That said, there are three specific moments I can think of from one trip this year when being closer would've helped a great deal... so I guess there still isn't a perfect body for every scenario.
Discussion
7 repliesI had always thought most photographers wanted to use a full frame sensor but I now realize that there are some who prefer the cropped. So tell me, if you shoot wildlife and you have access to both types of sensors which one do you grab and why?
With it's high MP, you are essentially cropping the frame yourself, the way YOU choose, when you post-process, and still have all the advantages of full frame.
Sandy
It will mostly depend on what you're using it for.
The reason for me posting the topic was because of a conversation I had with an individual in Yellowstone this last September (we were shooting a grizz near Lamar). The gist of the conversation was he was shooting with a D300 because it was a cropped sensor and it sounded like he wouldn't be switching to full frame any time soon because of that. At the time I thought that comment strange based on what I know of the newer full frame bodies vs the D300.
Myer it sounds like you have the setup I want!
I think I ended up doing a 50/50 split on using the cropped vs the full frame shooting wildlife, just to see how it would work.
That said, there are three specific moments I can think of from one trip this year when being closer would've helped a great deal... so I guess there still isn't a perfect body for every scenario.
Max