The full-frame digital sensor
2002 (Contax N Digital; Canon EOS-1Ds)
Sensors the full size of a 35mm frame, 36 × 24 mm, let film-era lenses see exactly as they did on film. Rare and costly in 2002, full frame became the standard for serious cameras.
How it began
Photographers moving to digital SLRs found their wide-angle lenses no longer looked wide on smaller APS-C sensors. In 2002 the Contax N Digital and Canon’s EOS-1Ds offered sensors the full size of the 35mm frame. Canon’s EOS 5D (2005) brought the price within reach of many more photographers.
How it works
A 36 × 24 mm sensor captures the whole image that a 35mm lens projects, so there is no crop factor: a 24mm lens is as wide as it was on film. The larger area collects more light at a given exposure, which means less noise, and gives shallower depth of field at the same framing and f-number. See formats and crop factor.
Why it mattered
Full frame became the standard for professional and enthusiast cameras, and the term “full frame” is itself a digital-era name for Barnack’s frame. Since 2013 it has been the heart of mirrorless systems from Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic and Leica.
Limits and what replaced it
Full-frame sensors and lenses are bigger, heavier and costlier. Digital medium format (about 44 × 33 mm) goes larger still; for many people, phones and smaller formats are enough.
Today
The standard sensor size for professional and enthusiast mirrorless cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic and Leica.