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In yesterday’s article, we didn’t mention “sensor size”, and I didn’t expect that there would be so many misconceptions…
How Big is 1 Inch Actually?
Due to some historical issues*, whether in cameras or smartphones, the “1 inch” in the diagonal length of the sensor is not 25.4mm.
* This involves vacuum tubes, which I won’t elaborate on here; it’s somewhat similar to how the width of railway tracks was determined.
To avoid misunderstandings, a more precise way to write it is “Type 1.0” or “1.0型”. Moreover, when the sensor size is smaller than 1/2型, 1型 = 18mm; and when the sensor size is greater than or equal to 1/2型, 1型 = 16mm. Therefore, the diagonal length of a 1/2型 sensor is 8mm, and that of a 1/2.51型 sensor is 7.17mm, with the latter being about 20% smaller than the former (not nearly 40% as it might appear).
* The actual length of the sensor diagonal has nothing to do with “half circumference”!!!
What is Medium Format?
Full-frame is smaller than medium format; this is obvious. The 44×33 medium format is about 68% larger than the 36×24 full-frame.
How Big is Super35?
Super35 covers a wide range of sizes. For cameras, this size is basically equivalent to a 16:9 crop of the APS-C format, which is smaller than APS-C; for film cameras, many Super35 formats have a width far greater than the 23.5mm of APS-C.
What Exactly is M4/3?
M4/3 is neither a sensor size nor a sensor ratio. It is the earliest mirrorless system and a type of camera mount. Therefore, there is no such thing as “M4/3 format” — to describe the sensor size of most M4/3 cameras, it should be written as 4/3型 (inches) or 1.33型 (inches).
A direct example: the JVC GY-LS300 film camera has a 16:9 size Super35 sensor mounted in the M4/3 mount. (The sensor size of Panasonic GH1/GH2/GH5S also exceeds 4/3 inches).
Is the “1 inch” on Phones the Same as Cameras?
I don’t know why some people think phones are “taking shortcuts”; in fact, the “1 inch” on phones from Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO, and Huawei is actually larger than the “1 inch” on Sony, Nikon, and Canon cameras (about 10%).
On one hand, the sensors in current phones like the Sony IMX989 and LYT-900 have an actual size of 1.02型 (or 1/0.98型), with a diagonal length of 16.38mm (equivalent coefficient of about 2.64); while the sensor diagonal of a 1 inch camera is 15.86mm (equivalent coefficient of about 2.73). On the other hand, phones use a 4:3 ratio, while cameras use a 3:2 ratio. Even with the same diagonal length, the phone sensor is slightly larger than the camera sensor.
* Regarding the ratio, it is generally believed that the 3:2 of full-frame and APS-C inherits from the film ratio (44×33 medium format corresponds to 645 film), while the 4:3 of phones and compact cameras inherits from vacuum tubes (the predecessors of CCD/CMOS).
Appendix: Mobile Devices Using “1 Inch” Sensors
1.02型 4:3 approximately 50MP sensor (IMX989/LYT-900):
– Xiaomi 12S Ultra, 13 Pro, 13 Ultra, 14 Ultra
– Vivo X90 Pro, X90 Pro+, X100 Pro (and the upcoming X100S Pro, X100 Ultra)
– OPPO Find X6 Pro, Find X7 Ultra
– Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
– Sharp AQUOS R7, R8 Pro, Leitz Phone 2 (using about 94% of the full sensor)
– DJI Pocket 3 (using about 94% of the full sensor)
1.0型 3:2 approximately 20MP sensor
– Panasonic CM1/CM10
– DJI Air 2S
– Sharp AQUOS R6, Leitz Phone 1
– Sony Xperia Pro-I (using about 60% of the full sensor)
– Insta360 ONE R Leica Edition (using about 94% of the full sensor)
~ Thank you for reading to the end ~
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