Category Archives: Tests

Format Size Comparison Data

The following charts summarize various data that are useful when comparing formats, either film or digital. (Not all possible comparisons are shown.) Some additional background regarding some of the traditional film formats known as “medium format” is found at the end of this post.

Basic Formats Data

Comparisons Normalized to Full Frame Format

Comparisons Normalized to miniMF 33×44 Format

Comparisons Normalized to 645 Medium Format Film

Comparisons Normalized to Full Frame at 4:3 Crop

Comparisons of Square Formats Normalized to 6×6 Medium Format Film

Comparions Normalized to 6×17 “Panoramic” Medium Format Film

Visual Comparison

The following illustration shows the relative sizes of some common digital and film formats. (Not all variations are shown.) The leftmost group includes common digital formats. The next group — indicated in yellow — includes common traditional formats collectively known as “medium format” film. At the far right is 4×5 “large format” film.

A chart showing the relative sizes of several digital and film photography formats ranging from micro-four-thirds to 4x5 film
A chart showing the relative sizes of several digital and film photography formats ranging from micro-four-thirds to 4×5 film

Notes on this illustration:

  • 645 film is shown in both the “landscape” and “portrait” orientations in order to make clear that it shares the 56mm dimension with the other types of medium format film. (The portrait version is partially hidden the landscape version.)
  • There are multiple variations on “large format film.” Shown here is the most common 4″ x 5″ size, the smallest of the large format film formats typically still in use.

About Medium Format Film

While those of us who have “done photography” for a long time are familiar with the traditional “medium formats,” those without that perspective may be less (or not at all) familiar with the meaning of the term. Medium format” traditionally (for many decades) referred to film formats using (primarily) 120/220 film with a 6cm (60mm) physical width. While details of these formats are included in the tables above, here is a brief contextual overview:

  • 645 format (1) is the smallest of the traditional common film medium formats. It is named based on “6cm x 4.5cm.” In actual use the frame size is slightly smaller than the 6cm film width at about 56mm. (This is typical of film medium formats — the “6” always refers to the physical film width, not the smaller actual image size.)
  • 6×6 format produces a square image of approximately 56mm x 56mm, and is the next larger film medium format above 645.
  • 6×7 format uses the 56mm width-determined dimension for its shorter side, and thus has a larger area than 6×6. (It approximately replicates the 5:4 aspect ratio of LF film.)
  • 6×9 format also keeps the 56mm dimension its shorter side, but expands the longer dimension to produce a 3:2 aspect ratio – like 35mm film and full frame digital.
  • 6×17 format (also known as “panoramic format”) is the largest common medium format. It also uses the 56mm dimension for its short side but greatly extends the long dimension to produce a 3:1 aspect ratio.

(1) While Pentax names its miniMF digital cameras using the “645” term, they do not use 645 format sensors. They use 33mm x 44mm sensors, just like Fujifilm, Hasselblad, and others. Additional note: On a few occasions, Fujifilm has referred to 33mm x 44mm format as “super full frame.”

(For comparison purposes, note that the dimension that is 56mm on 645 film format is 44mm on miniMF. When comparing to the other medium formats, the analogous comparison is between 56mm and 33mm.)


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | FacebookEmail

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Some Camera Format Numbers

I created the following little spreadsheet last night. I think it provides an interesting way to think about comparisons among various camera formats. It uses the familiar concept of “crop factor,” but it moves the baseline to two other format besides just full frame.

I won’t say more at this point, but you might be able to draw some inferences about various format options if you spend some time considering these numbers. (If the chart is hard to read, click it to open full size.)

Formats Compared Via Normalized Crop Factors
Film and digital camera formats using crop factors normalize to full frame, mini MF, and 645 medium format film.


See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

A Small Test: Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless and Active Subjects

I want to share the results of a little informal test I did today using my Fujifilm X-Pro2 (B&H | Adorama) mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and a Fujifilm zoom lens to photograph an active subject. First, here is an unremarkable photograph, aside from the fact that I would probably not have used my previous mirrorless camera to photograph this subject.

Fujifilm X-Pro2, ISO 400, f/8, 50-140mm lens at 140mm, handheld
Fujifilm X-Pro2, ISO 400, f/8, 50-140mm lens at 140mm, handheld

Read on to find out why I photographed this and what I learned from it.

Background

I first used a mirrorless digital camera way back before the 21st century began — before there were DSLRs there were a number of early digital cameras, and my first was an Apple QuickTake! I used several others from a range of manufacturers before I acquired my first DSLR in about 2003.

As a group, mirrorless cameras have had some problems. One of the most glaring has long been slow autofocus (AF) speeds. Those very early cameras were often just plain awful in this regard, but they got better over the years.

Until recently I used a Fujifilm X-E1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, and it was my primary camera for travel and street photography for about 3 1/2 years. Its AF was fine for most things, but I also had to learn to adapt to slow AF in low light and with low contrast subjects — and the issue was more acute with some lenses than with others. For this reason — and a few others, including electronic viewfinder (EVF) display latency — I would never have thought to use that camera for photograph active subjects. Continue reading A Small Test: Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless and Active Subjects

The Canon 5Ds R — Autofocus ‘Torture’ Test

OK, “torture test” might be overstating things just a bit, but I’ve been meaning to check out a few things related to the capabilities of the autofocus system of my new Canon EOS 5DS R. A few years ago birds, especially winter migratory birds, became one of my photographic passions. While this camera is not really optimized for this sort of photography, I plan to use it for this purpose, as I did my 5DII.

The Landing
A brown pelican joins the flock on a rock along the Pacific coast of California

Most often when I photograph birds I use the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens. It usually provides enough reach for my purposes, it focuses accurately and quite quickly, it is sharp, and its flexibility fits my style of photography. (I often pause while photographing the birds and use the lens to photograph landscapes.)  It was my understanding that the 5Ds R added the capability to autofocus (AF) at smaller apertures down to f/8. This means that I should be able to add my Canon Extender EF 1.4x III tele-extender to get 560mm at f/8 from this lens.

A few days ago I was doing landscape/seascape photography along the Central California coast between lower Big Sur and San Francisco. On the final afternoon as we drove north we passed a small island where scores of brown pelicans had landed. Continue reading The Canon 5Ds R — Autofocus ‘Torture’ Test