Practically every modern person faced a difficult situation when choosing a digital camera. How to choose it to get high-quality pictures? What determines the physical quality of the image? We will try to answer these questions without delving into the subtleties. The artistic value of photography in this article will not be considered.
The defining characteristics of a digital camera are the number of megapixels and the size of the camera's sensor
What is a pixel and matrices? A matrix (synonymous with a sensor) is a rectangular flat element that replaced the film in an old camera and converts the image that entered it through the lens into electrical signals. After digitization, the processor of the device writes this information to the memory card in the form of a file. Pixels are located on the matrix - basic elements or dots (microscopic photocells-transistors) from which a digital image is formed. A megapixel is a million pixels. Most buyers focus on this parameter. It is much cheaper for a digital device manufacturer to install a new matrix with an increased number of megapixels in their device and put it into production thanto recycle almost the entire camera device and provide it with a large matrix. Therefore, in the store, the seller focuses the buyer's attention on the parameter that reflects the number of megapixels, and modestly ignores the size of the camera's matrix.
What are the sizes of sensors in cameras of different prices?
The larger the pixel size and (as a result) the matrix, the better the picture. A large pixel size perceives light better and detects color more accurately. The smaller the pixel and matrix sizes, the more interference (noise) in the image. Therefore, a lot of megapixels does not mean at all that the image quality will be excellent. The size of the matrix is the parameter that determines the quality of the image and the cost of the device. The image below shows the matrix of a reflex camera. It is cleaned using a special program that is installed in the camera. Touching the matrix with hands and any objects is absolutely unacceptable. This is a direct path to its failure.
What are the sizes of camera sensors, in which cameras are they installed?
The answer to this question is below.
Camera sensor sizes: table
|
Format or inches diagonals |
Physical size, mm | Device example |
| FF (FullFrame), full frame | 36 × 24 | Expensive professional cameras. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica |
| APS-C | 23, 5 × 15, 6 | Nikon wide range DSLRs,Canon, Sony |
| APS-C | 22, 3 × 14, 9 | Wide range DSLRs Canon, Sony, advanced mirrorless |
| 4/3" or Micro 4/3 | 17, 3 × 13, 0 | Mirrorless wide price range Panasonic, Olympus |
| 1" | 12, 8 × 9, 6 | Nikon, Samsung and advanced compact cameras |
| 1/2, 3" | 6, 16 × 4, 62 | The vast majority of soap dishes |
| 1/3" | 4, 69 × 3, 52 | Smartphone cameras |
Camera tips
If you choose a camera from several devices by the number of megapixels, then it is reasonable to make the final conclusion after you find out what size matrices are installed in them. The choice should be made in favor of the camera in which the largest sensor is installed.
If you want to shoot on a camera with a large sensor, you have to put up with its large size and weight. After analyzing the market for cameras, it becomes clear that there are no small and cheap full-frame cameras yet. And mass mobile photographic equipment is severely limited by the small size of the matrix.
If you don't intend to be a professional photographer, then you shouldn't spend money on an expensive camera with a large sensor. Ordinary digital cheap cameras (modern soap dishes) will cope with this task not much worse than fancy ones. DSLRs and will please you with decent shots.
Do not forget that the cameras in modern smartphones also have good parameters, which are enough to quickly create a good picture.
In conclusion, we note that many factors affect the quality of the picture. The most important of them is the professionalism of the photographer. And the conventional wisdom that a cool camera is the key to great pictures is just as far from the truth as the fact that an artist’s expensive brush is a guarantee of creating masterpieces. The camera is just a tool. The person takes the picture, not the camera. Nevertheless, it is difficult to find a cheap soap dish in the arsenals of famous photo artists. The choice is yours.
