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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Dx & Fx Difference Please
Sam Santilli, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Philippi | WV | USA | Posted: 4:11 PM on 07.25.09 |
| ->> OK, I am an ignorant, and in a bit of a rush, so......what is the difference in Dx & Fx modes in the Nikon D700 body? For seroius answers, thanks. For smart arse answers, wait 'til the serious ones come in, then give it to me full blast. Thanks, sam |
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John Strohsacker, Photographer
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 4:43 PM on 07.25.09 |
->> DX mode just uses the center part of the frame, about 5 or 6 megapixels and is designed for when your using a DX lens which does not project a full 35mm image circle.
Rather than have an image with lots of black around you'd have to crop out, the camera can automatically just use the center image portion making it give the framing and angle of view of a DX camera like the D300, though with less pixels.
Some people also like using DX mode for really distant subjects where your not going to fill the frame. Since you'd have to crop them all down anyways, shooting in DX mode gives you that crop and extra "reach" already, which does work well enough for web presentation.
Also I belive that in DX mode some models can achieve a higher FPS rate |
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John Strohsacker, Photographer
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Centereach | NY | USA | Posted: 10:28 PM on 07.25.09 |
| ->> Caveat Emptor...The difference is noticeable. It's a hell of a lot of pixels to throw away when needing the reach... 12 down to 5 MP. But, as Jeff said, if needing to get the shot and/or the shot is not intended for anything more than web presentation or basic prints, then the crop factor gives you more flexibility. |
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Steve Ueckert, Photographer
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Houston | TX | | Posted: 9:15 AM on 07.26.09 |
->> The DX crop factor is 1.5X, that is a 300mm effectively becomes a 450mm.
Since less of the sensor is being used, smaller files result. The camera can cycle faster and more files saved to a card. |
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Sam Santilli, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Philippi | WV | USA | Posted: 6:22 PM on 07.26.09 |
| ->> Thanks for the all of the comments, I am no longer ignorant! I am shooting a rather important tournament this week, and wanted to cut the learning curve down, thanks to all. |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 7:23 PM on 07.26.09 |
->> "The DX crop factor is 1.5X, that is a 300mm effectively becomes a 450mm."
NO!!
Wikipedia Explains Well:
The 1/3 smaller diagonal size of the DX format amounts to a 1/3 narrower angle of view than would be achieved with the 135 film format, using a lens of the same focal length. Strictly in angle-of-view terms, the effect is equivalent to increasing focal length by 50% on a 135 film camera, and so is often described as a 1.5× focal length multiplier. Note that the magnification factor of the lens remains unchanged; using a 200mm lens on a DX body does not give the same magnification as a 300mm lens. Rather a smaller part of the scene is captured.
I would shoot with a 400mm on a FX camera most any day over a 300mm on a DX! |
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 9:41 PM on 07.26.09 |
->> What I think people mean, but not say, is that the field of view is the same.
Take shooting homeplate from the outfield. I've got a D3, 400mm and a 1.4x but I still can't fill the frame very well. Once I crop my image down I'm left with about a 5 or 6 meg file.
So I'd bring my D300 (Enjoy it Paul) and throw that on and with its 1.5x crop factor, I'm getting all 12megs packed into that smaller FOV so it is effectively giving me extra reach. I'd have to get a 600mm for my D3 if I wanted to get that framing and resolution. D300 is a lot cheaper than a 600mm f4.
It didn't make my lens any longer but in that specific case it did prove very useful. However, I find it really only is a big help shooting very distant subjects.
Shooting a 300mm on a DX and a 400mm on a FX give a very different look because the tele compression and DOF of a 400mm is different than a 300mm, even though the 400mm is giving the effective FOV of a 450mm. |
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