A Full Frame vs. Crop Sensor Shootout: Can You Tell the Difference?

Do you think you can tell the difference between full frame and crop sensor photos of the same scene and subject? Photographer Manny Ortiz did a shootout that you can use to test your eyes.

The full frame photos were shot using a Sony a9 and 85mm f/1.4 G Master lens — a kit that costs about $6,300 (a $4,500 camera and a $1,800 lens). The crop sensor photos were shot using a Sony a6500 and a Sonnar 55mm f/1.8 lens, a kit worth $2,400 (a $1,400 camera and a $1,000 lens).

Here are the resulting photos side-by-side — see if you can tell which are full frame and which are crop before seeing the answer below each pair:

Comparison 1

Answer: Crop sensor, full frame.

Comparison 2

Answer: Crop sensor, full frame.

Comparison 3

Answer: Full frame, crop sensor.

Comparison 4

Answer: Crop sensor, full frame.

Comparison 5

Answer: Full frame, crop sensor.

Comparison 6

Answer: Full frame, crop sensor.

Conclusion

Ortiz shot the full frame camera at f/2.8 to capture a similar depth of field to shooting the crop sensor camera at f/1.8 — the exception was the night photos, for which Ortiz used f/1.8 to keep the ISO lower.

“I was able to get nearly identical results from both camera setups,” Ortiz tells PetaPixel. “The message of the video is that there isn’t much difference between the photos coming from both types of cameras and other factors play a bigger role!”

“I hope to inspire many people here to just use your gear and use it to its full potential,” Ortiz concludes in the video, “because you can create amazing work with what you have in your hand.”