All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
You all know that the size of a camera's sensor changes the effective focal length of a lens, right? But what about its effect on depth-of-field? We know that cameras with smaller sensors we get more depth-of-field (more of the image is in focus), but why? It turns out that it's nothing to do with the sensor, and everything to do with the lenses. To find out exactly why, grab a coffee, sit back and watch this video from LensProToGo in full-screen.
The gist is that, when using a cameras with a smaller sensor, you need to use a wider lens to get the same picture. And wider lenses have more depth-of-field, meaning small-sensor cameras also get more depth-of-field when taking the same picture as a full-frame camera.
That's why full-framers like the Canon 5DMkII and Nikon D700 can more easily throw backgrounds into a fuzzy blur whilst keeping the subject pin-sharp: they can use longer lenses to get the same point-of-view.
Got that? If not, I'm guessing you skipped the video, which shows you how this all works with pictures. So go on: grab a coffee and do what you're told.
DSLR Sensor Sizes [LensProToGo on Vimeo via Andrew Liszewski]
