Sensor information you need to know as a photographer or videographer.
What’s use of the body without a SOUL? They both exist because of each other. Same is the case with camera and it’s sensor. Sensor is the SOUL of camera. Without it, camera is just a toy. Let’s take a deep look at this subject in this post.
We know that lens does the work of concentrating incoming light on the sensor. Mirror and prism assembly lets us see that light. Processor and memory card is ready to work on light. But if there is no sensor in the camera, then how the incoming light will be saved? That’s why sensor holds utmost importance in photography.
Does this mean that ‘it’s possible to not have other parts in the camera?’ If thought on deeply, it is actually like that. Because the word photography itself means ‘A painting drawn with light’. May it be good or bad, it will still be a photograph.
Consider following points for this.
- If there is no lens, light will not be concentrated on sensor, but light will fall on the sensor.
- If there is no mirror and prism assembly, we can’t see what we are taking photo of. But the photo can be taken.
- If there is no image processor in the camera, no issue. RAW data will be available to us, so that we can edit it afterwards.
- If there is no memory card slot, the photo can be directly saved on the computer via cable or on the mobile via wi-fi.
- But if there is NO SENSOR, there is no any information to be worked on. Photo will not be taken.
Thus it’s not wrong to say that, sensor is SOUL of the camera.
Based on the size, there are many types of sensor. These types are used in all gadgets from mobile to professional cameras, according to the need. Let’s see these types in ascending order of their size.
1. SENSORS UP TO 1 INCH
This includes 1/3.2 inch (4.54 x 3.42 mm), 1/2.3 inch (6.17 x .55 mm), 2/3 inch (8.80 x 6.60 mm) and 1 inch (12.80 x 9.60 mm) sensors. These small sensors are used in mobile cameras and compact digital point and shoot cameras and action cameras. Due to their smaller size, they can gather less light details and that’s why they are not suitable for use in low light conditions. If you want to see or buy cameras with these types of sensors, the links are given below. Check them out.
2. MICRO FOUR THIRD SENSOR
Their size is roughly 17.30 x 13.00 mm. These are mainly used in mirrorless camera systems. Some of the popular ones are Panasonic Lumix GH5, Panasonic Lumix G9, Olympus OM-D E-M1, etc. Due to small sensor size, these cameras are very small in size and so are the lenses made for them. This fact makes them perfect cameras for travel photography. If you want to see or buy cameras with this type of sensor, the links are given below. Check them out.
3. CROP SENSOR
These sensors have a size of 24 x 16 mm. The cameras having these sensors are good for beginners because they have most of the settings available in professional cameras, but for cheaper prices. You can find these sensors in all cameras priced up to 1400 USD or 1,00,000 INR. If you want to see or buy cameras with this type of sensor, the links are given below. Check them out.
4. FULL FRAME SENSOR
In old days when the film was being used for photography, that film had a width of 35 mm. This modern sensor also has the size of 36 mm. Thus it is known as FULL FRAME SENSOR. It has the size of 36 x 24 mm. The main advantage of this sensor is it’s bigger size. This allows the user to take photos even in low light situations. Due to their ultimate performance, they are heavily priced. If you want to see or buy cameras with this type of sensor, the links are given below. Check them out.
5. MEDIUM FORMAT SENSOR
This sensor has a size of 53.7 x 40.2 mm, 50% larger than that of full frame sensor. This is the biggest available sensor for cameras. For the same reason, this sensor has unmatched low light performance. But great things come at great prices. Only camera body can cost you about 3 to 4 lakh INR or 5500+ USD. After that comes the lens, for which you have to again break the bank.
Very few people use cameras with this sensor. Because one must think of recovery of the invested money (unless you are a millionaire). Just for reference, link for one of such cameras is given below. Check that out. (Off course you can buy it also, if you want. Best luck.)
This was the information regarding size of the sensor. What about the resolution of sensors? What is the MEGAPIXEL count of these sensor? Every type of sensor can be made to have 10 megapixel or 50 megapixel. Basically, sensor size and megapixel count are not at all dependent on each other. Bigger sized sensors must not necessarily have more number of megapixels. Just remember this point. We will see the reason behind this in some future post.
Sensor size determines few things, like their low light performance, photo quality and mainly price. Then which one is the best sensor? Technically, medium format sensor is best due to it’s bigger size. But not everybody can afford it. Also, for regular use where you don’t need higher megapixels and huge amount of details, this is not suitable. Because higher megapixels directly result in to higher file sizes. That leads to need for memory cards of larger capacity, again escalating the investment. So ‘Bigger is better’ is not the case as camera sensors are considered.
Camera sensor is placed at such a location, where all the light from lens is concentrated. Also in case of bigger sensor, the light has to be concentrated over bigger area. This compels manufacturers to increase the diameters of lenses, increasing overall size and weight of lens. Thus, cameras with 1 inch sensor are smallest and those with medium format sensor are largest.
Another fun fact is, many people wonder ‘If the lens is circular, why we get a rectangular photo?’ The reason behind this is quite simple. In following photo, we can see that to get the whole sensor illuminated, it has to be put inside the image circle made by the lens. The remaining part of the circle other than middle rectangular shape, is always wasted anyways. That is not a part of the photo.
To make sure of this concept, just attach a small diameter lens on a bigger sensor. In this case, the image circle produced by lens is smaller than the sensor size and thus it fits inside the rectangular shape of the sensor. The remaining area around the circle will be shown as black area in photo, as it didn’t get any light. Look at the following photo.
Following photo demonstrates, how a photo looks, if clicked in said setting.
Now you got the reason about photo being rectangular even if the lens is circular in shape.
More interesting sensor information like this is available on the internet. For example, how a sensor works, how it captures photons, what it does to focus on a particular subject, etc. But to grasp this information, you need a deeper understanding of many things.
I am sure, you will get there with time.
- Prasanna Joshi
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'THE MEGAPIXEL TRICK'
How many megapixel do we need?
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