Full Size Chip or Not ?

Pro Photographer

Pro Photographer

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A pal of mine is using a Nikon with a full frame chip. He reckons it has changed his life ! (slight exageration I think).

What do people think. We use Fuji S5 at the moment, which has a half chip in it.

Should I upgrade ?
 
What are your needs. I made the upgrade for full frame for two reasons.

1. Cleaner results at higher ISO's (most bodies do have better results for a fraction of the price now)
2. Ability to shoot as wide as possible (for car rig photography).

The problem is, I could tell you that my 1D is even better and its the best thing ever invented, without you trying any of them, no one can tell you any different.

Before setting aside that you NEED full frame, have a look at what you shoot mostly or what you enjoy shooting more, post that up and also some sort of budget.

If you enjoy loads of scenery, full frame might be better for you but on UWA, watch out for distortions. If its more sports or wildlife, a crop body (APS-C/APS-H etc) size might be better giving you more reach.
 
Have you tried using a full frame camera and checking out what it can produce?

If no then I think you should because your appreciation of the difference between full frame and cropped sensor should carry more weight than what gets posted here.

If yes then what did you think of the output?
 
Pro Photographer said:
A pal of mine is using a Nikon with a full frame chip. He reckons it has changed his life ! (slight exageration I think).

What do people think. We use Fuji S5 at the moment, which has a half chip in it.

Should I upgrade ?
Click to expand...

Fuji S5 =£420
D700 = £1800
D3 = £2800

plus whatever new glass you need.

It would change your life alright....you'd be skint :lol:
 
How deep is your pocket and how serious are you ? All cameras take pics--If you are happy with what you have already---then thats great.Full frame cameras with corresponding quality lenses can produce superb pics in the right hands----mind you so can a budget cam with a kit lens.The fact that you are asking the question would suggest that you probably dont need full frame.
Pete.
 
If you have a need for full-frame, sure, go ahead - all depends on what you're after from the camera. The S5 is excellent at what it does, and if it meets all your needs, is there any point in changing?
 
As many posters have suggested, It's really what you want. When I converted to a 5D a couple of years ago from 20D I got comments about the improved quality of the images I was submitting. Having said that I still use the 20D and the Mags are happy with that.
 
The D700 doesn't offer significantly improved IQ over the S5 Pro in many respects.

S5 Pro:

+ Better auto WB
+ Better dynamic range
+ Better colours (subjective)

D700:
+ ISO3200 on the D700 looks like ISO1600 on the S5 Pro - with more detail
+ Images are sharper

For IQ, IMHO the S5 Pro offers the best image quality of any current Nikon mount DSLR, apart from the D700 and D3.
 
Frankly, it's the high ISO of Full-Frame that got me moving to the D700; otherwise I would have stuck with my D300 and would have been very happy with it.
 
It was maiunly the extra width available with FF that convinced me to get the D700 but having used it at high ISOs, I'm even happier I made the switch.

May be worth having a look at the DxO comparison, even though their testing may be flawed.

Click Me!
 
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