what will happen when you take a "for digital" lens and put it on a full frame cam?

[ryan112ryan]

So all the companies have their version of the "for digital" nikon its DX, sigma has some name for it etc.


whats going to happen when a "for digital" lens which have smaller opening on the backs, designed for the smaller sensor sizes gets put on a full frame camera?

Eventually most DSLR will shift this way, mabye not all of them. But people are going to buy a new body with full frame and try to use their old lenses

[Rhys]

That depends on the lens. Some lenses such as the Canon EF-S lenses potrude inside the body of the camera a little and hence the mirror is liable to whack the back of the lens. Not good for either. I don't know how Nikon gets around that one.

[BBPhoto]

If one were to do what you mention, significant vignetting would be visible in the frame. I would not be so quick to count out cropped sensor DSLR cameras though. The crop factor gives a lot of extra reach which is great for those who need it such as nature photographers, among others. I don't see all DSLR owners jumping to full frame just because it's available. Maybe those more specialized in landscape photography.

There is also the point that even if you buy a 'full frame' lens and use it with good results on a cropped sensor camera, you might not get good results with the same lens on a full frame camera. This is because the cropped frame camera will use the 'sweet spot' on the lens but a full frame camera is more likely to show the lenses weaknesses. This is to say that buying lenses for a full frame DSLR will generally be more expensive because better optics are required. That might be another reason for people to stick with cropped sensor cameras.

[DonSchap]

So all the companies have their version of the "for digital" nikon its DX, sigma has some name for it etc.


whats going to happen when a "for digital" lens which have smaller opening on the backs, designed for the smaller sensor sizes gets put on a full frame camera?

Eventually most DSLR will shift this way, mabye not all of them. But people are going to buy a new body with full frame and try to use their old lenses

More "for digital" lenses are lenses that include sub-28mm focal length. They need the WIDER focal length because of the APS-C digital cropping factor. To get the same relative image of a 28mm lens on a full-frame or 35-mm-film body, you have to have an 18mm lens. Chances are, most of this extra-wide lensing will provide severe distortion and vignetting when attached to a full-frame. The fact is, you can't even do this with Canon EF-S lenses, as their mounting is specifically designed NOT to work on full-frame camera bodies.

The companies made these "for digital" lenses for one major reason ... THEY DID NOT NEED TO USE AS MUCH LENS GLASS TO PRODUCE THEM. Costs per lens drop enormously ... when the inner elements are smaller. An 18mm lens ... for a full frame camera body cost nearly three times to make versus the cost of the 18mm APS-C lens. So figure it out.

I see "for digital" lenses as a band-aid, not a solution. I'd recommend seriously restricting your purchasing of these lenses if you are planning to go full-frame, in the future. Better yet, sell them as a package when you sell your APS-C camera, too, because you won't be using them on the FF-rig.