Sensor Size Sweet Spot is APS-C and not Full Frame, Claim These Industry Insiders

The Ideal Sensor Size

Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s stir up the spirits, and for one more glorious time, jump fully into the sensor size debate.

The trigger?

And article by DL Cade form Petapixel, who had a talk with Richard Butler (DPR) and Bill Claff (Photons to Photos), about:

  • Why Full Frame is perceived as the “serious” format
  • What is the “ideal” sensor size

The first can be answered with the popularity of 35mm in the film era.

But in modern digital times, is full frame really the sweet spot? DL Cade, Richard and Bill answer the following in this article:

DL Cade goes for APS-C:

I still believe there is a best sensor for “most people” and that this sensor is not full-frame. This sensor is APS-C. […] the performance to size to cost ratio falls into a sweet spot that neither Micro Four Thirds nor full-frame can match.

take the Fuji X-T3, which is a bit closer in price and weight to the a7 III, selling for only $500 less and weighing only 0.25lbs less. In the video department, the Fuji can already record 4K/60p 4:2:0 10-bit internally; Sony can’t even do that over HDMI. And it, too, shoots at a faster 11fps in 14-bit RAW, can capture up to 30fps electronically with an additional 1.25x crop, and benefits from a large selection of high-quality, compact lenses designed for APS-C.”

Richard Butler says:

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DPReview Fujifilm Managers Interview: “No Need to Open X Mount, AI and Global Shutter are the Future, GFX100 Within End of June”

DPReview interviewed Toshi Iida, Makoto Oishi and Shin Udono. Here are the main points (full interview at dpreview here):

Medium Format

  • Full Frame and Medium Format will coexist
  • GFX 50R sales look very promising
  • FF is 1/3 of market in terms of value, slightly growing
  • MF was 1%, but doubled after GFX introduction
  • 70% of MF buyers were coming from other brands, mainly DSLR, and the GFX is their additional system
  • 20% of GFX users are professionals, 80% non-professionals (especially GFX 50R users)
  • Fujifilm wants to increase professional base, also thanks to Capture One support and with future GFX 100
  • Fujifilm GFX 100 should show the potential of medium format
  • FF can reach 70-80 Megapixel
  • GFX lenses designed for 100MP resolution
  • Fujifilm GFX100 will be available before the end of June
  • Fujifilm GFX100 target is commercial photographers, fashion, landscapes, but also more general purpos
  • GFX 100 will shoot at 16bit RAW. Benefit noticeable mostly at low ISO and deep shadow detail. 4 times the amount of data, 14 bit lets you shoot faster, which is appropriate for APS-C

APS-C vs Full Frame

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