To go full frame or not to go full frame? What a problem!
According to my catalogue of pictures in Adobe Lightroom I took my first digital picture in 2001 using a Sony Cybershot. I am not too sure what the sensor size in the Cybershot was, but I am quite sure that it would not have been half-frame/APS-C. It was most likely something more like an eighth or tenth frame—in relative size.
Over the years I gradually worked my way up to half frame, the first of which was probably the Pentax K10D in 2006; and I have stuck with half frame/APS-C ever since.
But lately I have been thinking more and more about making that huge leap to full frame. This is problem that us keen photographers mull over from time to time. It is problem that never goes away.
The three main reasons I can think of for me to make such a move are:
- Better performance in low light—less digital noise; or at least an improved ability to reduce digital noise is post processing.
- Improved dynamic range.
- More 'room' for cropping.
Another less compelling reason to go full frame is to be able to produce amazing large prints. Unless, that is, you want to do lots of large prints—in which case cross out the 'less' from the previous sentence.
While the new Sony a7r Mk3 is just a little too expensive, there are some amazing deals now on the superseded a7r Mk2.
Hmmmmm.