Does Sensor Size Matter in Dental Photography?

The sensor is one of the most essential elements in every camera. Camera sensor size is something to consider when purchasing a camera for Dental Photography.

Let’s start with some basics. What is a camera sensor?

A camera sensor is a piece of hardware inside the camera that captures light and converts it into signals that result in an image. Sensors consist of millions of photosites, or light-sensitive spots, that record what is being seen through the lens. The size of the camera’s sensor determines how much of this light is used to create the image.
A camera’s sensor dictates the quality of the images it can produce—the larger the sensor, the higher the image quality. Bigger image sensors have bigger pixels, which means better low-light performance, reduced noise, good dynamic range, and the ability to obtain more information.

What does it mean in practice? Take a look at the graphics below.

If you put a 21-megapixel full-frame sensor next to a 21-megapixel APS-C sensor, both are going to have the same amount of photoreceptors or pixels, but because the full-frame sensor is larger, the pixels are going to be larger.

Keep in mind that camera sensor formats are not standardized across the different brands or models. Dimensions may vary slightly from the figures.

Different brands of camera bodies have different crop factors.  For instance, Canon has a 1.6x crop sensor, while Nikon, Sony, Sigma, and Pentax have a multiplier of 1.5x, and Panasonic and Olympus are 2x.

Now, having that explained, let’s move on to our online lesson and topics we’d like to explore!

• Where did the digital sensor come from?
• Camera sensor’s main functions
• Praktyczna demonstarcja Comparison of two Canon cameras with different sensor sizes
• Does full-frame give better quality?
• How does sensor size affect your shot?

Register and watch the first episode now for free! DENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY FUNDAMENTALS: DIGITAL SENSOR SIZE