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Photography vocabulary · Camera Parts & Settings

Crop factor

Meaning in photography, with examples

nounCommon term

In photography, crop factor means: A number that compares a sensor's size with full-frame. Multiplying a lens's focal length by it gives the full-frame equivalent field of view.

In Turkish: kırpma faktörü, crop faktörü, çarpan

How it is used

APS-C sensors have a crop factor of about 1.5 (1.6 on Canon), and Micro Four Thirds has 2. So a 50 mm lens on APS-C frames like a 75 mm on full-frame. The lens's real focal length does not change, only the field of view.

Example sentences

  1. With a 1.5 crop factor, my 200 mm lens frames birds like a 300 mm.

  2. Remember the crop factor when you buy a wide-angle lens for APS-C.

Common collocations

  • 1.5x crop factor
  • apply the crop factor
  • crop sensor
  • full-frame equivalent
  • full-frameDescribes a camera or sensor the same size as a frame of 35 mm film, about 36 × 24 mm. It is the reference size for comparing other sensors.
  • sensorThe light-sensitive chip inside a digital camera that records the image. It does the job that film did in older cameras.
  • focal lengthA lens measurement in millimeters, such as 24 mm or 200 mm, that tells you how wide or how magnified the view will be.
  • cropTo cut away the outer parts of a photo to improve the composition, remove distractions or fit a particular shape.

More terms: Camera Parts & Settings

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