Cropped Sensor or Full Frame?

Hi,

I am very new to wet pixel and have only asked a couple of questions. I was considering purchasing a d700 full frame camera and housing system but after reading lots on wetpixel I am totally confused as to the best system to get.

I do not own a dslr at present, athough I have in the past, so can start with Canon or Nikon, cropped or full frame. I thought full frame would be the way to go as I only want to purchase this system once and have it for the next 5 years at

least before I have to upgrade. I also enjoy topside landscape photography and thought full frame would be an advantage for this.

Can anyone/everyone give me their thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages for both please. I am wanting to set this system up for wide angle firstly.

I have previously had a film slr Nikon 801 in a Nexus housing, also have had an Olympus 5060 (but flooded that one) and now at present am shooting with a Sea & Sea dx2g with twin Sea & Sea 110a strobes with the Sea & Sea wide angle lens.

Thanks for any information.

Deb

Hi Deb. I have gone from a crop sensor to a full frame sensor in the last year, although I have not housed it yet, I am sure that I have made a good decision in respect of landscape photography topside. If you are going to be doing a lot of topside landscape then I am sure it will be the right choice for you. Most of my UW photography for the next few years will all be wide angle which is why I opted for the full frame.

I know that a few guys on here are shooting with the camera you are interested in and I am sure they will be along to give you all the pro's and cons.

Stew

Hi Deb

If you have a look through a few posts the general view seems to be that for u/w use there is not a huge advantage to FF - and the choice of lenses can be narrower for FF compared to DX. Housing FF certainly seems to cost more.

Topside? I guess most of are used to FF if we grew up on standard 35mm. But, gotta say, I have gone through the D100, D200 and now D300 evolution and havn't honestly felt the lack of FF. The agency that takes my topside stuff never seems to have a problem with DX-based images. I wonder if they even realise (or care?).

I keep mulling over a D700 especially for its low light, topside capability. But do I really want to upgrade my D300 housing - for which I have two bodies? Naah.

The future? Does DX have a limited shelf-life which makes FF a better long-term investment? Dunno!

I'm happy with DX but I'm sure lots of Wetpixelers will make good arguments for FF.

Hi,

 

I am very new to wet pixel and have only asked a couple of questions. I was considering purchasing a d700 full frame camera and housing system but after reading lots on wetpixel I am totally confused as to the best system to get.

 

I do not own a dslr at present, athough I have in the past, so can start with Canon or Nikon, cropped or full frame. I thought full frame would be the way to go as I only want to purchase this system once and have it for the next 5 years at

least before I have to upgrade. I also enjoy topside landscape photography and thought full frame would be an advantage for this.

 

Can anyone/everyone give me their thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages for both please. I am wanting to set this system up for wide angle firstly.

 

I have previously had a film slr Nikon 801 in a Nexus housing, also have had an Olympus 5060 (but flooded that one) and now at present am shooting with a Sea & Sea dx2g with twin Sea & Sea 110a strobes with the Sea & Sea wide angle lens.

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Deb

A lot depends on what type of things you like to shoot and how much money you have. If you are in to macro then cropped sensors give you a bit more apparent focal length than full frame. Additionally the Tokina 10-17 is one of the most well regarded lenses now on offer and it is designed for cropped sensors. You can use it with a tele on a ff camera and get great shots but it means more gear. On the other hand, the quality, particularly at high ISO of the full frame sensors can't be beat. If you look at the DXO rankings the top 16 cameras are all full frame or larger. A lot depends also on the lenses you use. At full frame, you need really good glass if the corners of your photos need to look good. Full frame sensors typically have larger photosites so they have better low light or high iso capabilities but they cost more, are bigger and heavier. I have both, and shoot cropped UW mostly because the pics I take are good enough and moving to the full frame UW has not really made the images look that much better.

Bill

Hi All,

Thanks for your postings. It is great to get other peoples point of view. As I only want to get one system and I do just as much topside landscape I am fairly sure I will stay with my choice to go with FF.

Anyone else's comments are welcome.

Deb

Hi Deb

I doubt you will regret that decision. if you go with DX chances are you are always going to be asking yourself if you should have gone FF!

Enjoy the new gear when you get it.