The Final Word on Sensors

Derek Smith • 8 August 2022
For me personally a camera with an APS-C sensor is the sweet spot for size, weight, cost, and performance. An APS-C camera usually has a kit lens with a typical focal length of 16-50mm, equating to the 24-70mm typical focal length of a full frame camera kit lens, because the APS-C sensor is smaller than the full frame sensor, the focal length of a lens will be 1.5 times smaller (1.6 times for Canon sensors) to obtain the same field of view. 

For lenses I like to have a zoom lens of approximately 16-50mm, and a telephoto lens of 50-300mm, also I do like my fixed focal length lenses, these are called prime lenses, and a photographer can always use a “nifty fifty” 50mm lens, which in APS-C terms becomes a 35mm focal length, with a wide aperture of f/1.2 – f/2.0 for use in low light situations. Many photographers like a selection of prime lenses a typical trio of prime lenses would be 35mm, 50mm, 85mm in full frame terms, that’s 23mm, 35mm, 56mm in APS-C terms.

Nikon, has three APS-C mirrorless cameras, (which are termed as DX) the Nikon Z30, Z50, and the retro styled Zfc. DX Z mount lenses are as follows: 16-50mm, 18-140mm, 50-250mm, however for prime lenses only full frame are currently available, so not a bad start for a relatively new format. 

Canon has recently introduced the APS-C Canon R7 which appears to be a professional standard camera, and can be purchased with the RF-S 18-45mm, or the RF-S 18-150mm lens, which should be good for travel. Again, currently no dedicated RF-S prime lenses, but the RF 35mm f/1.8 macro, and the RF 50mm f/1.8 can be used on this camera. For wildlife photography the RF 100-400mm could be a good match for this camera. Now that Canon have chosen to introduce an RF mount APS-C camera, questions inevitably arise over the future of the APS-C M mount system of cameras, and lenses.

Sony has three APS-C mirrorless cameras the A6100, A6400, and the A6600. I fervently believe that Sony dropped the ball on their APS-C offering, considering the Sony NEX 7 was introduced in 2011, with the E mount 16-50mm, and the 55-210mm zoom lenses. The basic rangefinder design of the camera has hardly altered in 11 years!!, still not very ergonomic, in fact the NEX 7 had more controls than its A6000 successor. I used the Sony NEX 3N, the A6000, and the A6300 extensively for a number of years, the auto focus was amazing, possibly even bettering some modern cameras, but the lack of lenses, and poor ergonomics led me to leave the brand. Sony APS-C lens development stagnated, with the R&D development budget used to develop the full frame A7 series of cameras, and lenses. Third party manufacturers Sigma, and Tamron filled the gaps in the APS-C lens line-up early on, and only now is Sony beginning to fill the gaps. Placed alongside the A6100 though, the Nikon Z50, the Fuji XT30, and Fuji X-S10 APS-C cameras all represent improved handling and a better range of native lenses at a similar price point.

Fuji, well where do you start? Fuji X-E4, XT30ii, XT4, X-S10, X-H2S, all APS-C cameras plus a full range of native lenses, in my very humble opinion the king of APS-C. 

Images posted with this blog, Nuthatch taken with the Sony A7ii, and with the Olympus E-M5iii. The Bee, and Robin taken with the Fuji XT3.    

Clearly the full frame sensor has greater dynamic range, but photographic skills, use of lighting, and choice of lenses will best any advantage that can be obtained from a larger sensor. 

The answers to the “Summer Fun Quiz” 

A-Monica Olympus O-MD E-M5iii, with Sigma 30mm micro four thirds system at f/5.6
B-Heather Apple iPhone SE
C-Marika Fuji XT20, with XF50mm f/2.0 APS-C system at f/4
D-Ruby Sony A7ii, with Samyang AF 45mm f/1.8 at f/3.5 full frame system

My personal favourite portrait is Ruby, but I don’t believe that this is entirely due to the sensor. Ruby was positioned in the centre of the room, some distance away from an east facing window with net curtains diffusing the light, and the pose strengthens the image. Next favourite is Monica, this time positioned close to the window in full sun, choosing the f/5.6 aperture to control the light, the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens (60mm full frame equivalent) was my lens of choice for portraits on micro four thirds, strangely I never took to the 25mm focal length (50mm full frame equivalent). The portrait of Marika was taken with the Fuji XF 50mm f/2.0 lens (75mm full frame equivalent), this was my first outing with the lens, I enjoy the focal length, better than the 85mm full frame lens, the pose, and lighting could have been improved to create a more stunning image.

Louth Photographic Society

by Derek Smith • 15 October 2026
Last night, Steve West gave a fascinating illustrated presentation on the long history of cinema, and stage plays in Louth. In the late 1890s some films were shown at various locations, in 1910 a “tent” cinema was showing films on Westgate Fields. During 1913 a site was purchased of 2 retail units, on Eastgate, the retail units were demolished, and the Palace cinema / theatre was constructed on the site ready for opening in 1914. During the interwar years many plays were staged at the Palace, and Steve has collected many of the original programs from this era. The current Playhouse was constructed in Canon Street in 1921 in the “art deco” style, some poor quality housing was demolished to make way for this new cinema. The Playhouse, and the Palace both continued in operation until 1960 when the Palace was sold, and the building was converted into a Fine Fare supermarket. During the 1970s when Bingo became popular, part of the Playhouse was used as a Bingo hall, with the reception area restyled to suit the new usage. The Playhouse was converted into a multi-screen cinema when purchased by the Parkway Cinema group in the mid 1990s. Louth is extremely fortunate to have retained a viable cinema in the town, many thanks to Steve West for a very polished presentation.
by Graham Harrison • 11 October 2026
Good Morning All Sand racing starts again this week at Mablethorpe, this Sunday is practice day, times are on their website. Last week at the club we held a local competition, with the categories of: "Straight out of the camera" and "Open", there was a very good entry in each subject with Tony Gaskins having the task of judging the unedited ones and Robin Begley judging the Open. There is a full report on our website but well done to Harry for first place in the Straight out of the camera and Keith Rossington for first place in the Open. This week, Wednesday 14th, Steve West will be our speaker, talking and showing PDI's on the subject of the Louth cinema. The following week will be a print competition, with the categories of "Mono" and "Open", you need to bring your prints in this week and send an email to Dave Turner with your titles. Regards Graham
by Derek Smith • 8 October 2026
At our meeting last night we held a PDI (printed digital image) competition, with the categories of "Local Unedited", and "Open". As this was a members competition one of our members judged the competition, Tony Gaskins was our first judge for the "Local Unedited" category, these were .jpg images taken straight from the camera, without any editing, apart from the resizing for projection. Presenting an image such as this in a competition is quite a difficult task, the photographer has to ensure that the correct exposure is chosen, the composition, and subject matter has to be precise, everything done in camera. Normally for competition entries, a degree of post processing would be involved, simple edits like toning down highlights, or even removing extraneous objects from a scene, emphasising a moody sky, all not allowed. Tony Gaskins did an excellent job with his judging, providing clear and concise critique of the images presented, he "held back" 8 images for further consideration, awarding higher points, and finally choosing the top three placements. After the break it was Robin Begley's turn to judge the "Open" category, as these were post process edited images the standard was higher than the unedited images, but surprisingly not markedly so. Robin is potentially hoping to become a N&EMPF approved judge, and he had a different style, able to suggest edits that could have improved an image, again his critique was clear and concise communicating well with members. Robin chose 8 images for further consideration, awarding higher points, and finally selecting the top three placements. It was a fabulous, and interesting competition with excellent images, many thanks to both our judges, it's not an easy job, probably nearly as bad as being a referee in a football match!! Many thanks to both our judges, well done.
by Graham Harrison • 4 October 2026
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by Derek Smith • 3 October 2026
Roger Hance Memorial Lecture 16th October
by Derek Smith • 1 October 2026
Last night Lee Dixon from Cleethorpes Camera Club gave his first ever presentation to a camera club, which we were privileged to view. His presentation consisted of portraiture, creative, and his genre of choice; wildlife. Lee is an extremely talented photographer, with a highly creative portfolio, his portraits are quite atmospheric, unusual, and capture the essence of the model, and scene. For Lee’s creative work, he buys props from charity shops, often very cheaply, reusing those props in various scenes. For his composite work he will often take one of his photos of a room, and blend it with a subject in Photoshop using “blend” modes. For wildlife he visited Lake Kerkini in Greece to photograph the Pelicans, if the sky is a little on the bland side, Lee will often over expose the image resulting in a striking white background to the subject. On safari in Africa Lee showed us some amazing images of the wildlife, the close-up images of elephants, the wildebeest migration, and this stunning image of a cheetah. Lee was ably assisted by Mike Bennett. More of Lee’s work can be found on his website: https://leedixonphoto.co.uk/ Lee his kindly given permission for his images to be used in this post. Many thanks to Lee, and Mike for an amazing evening.
by Graham Harrison • 27 September 2026
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held our monthly PDI competition, with the categories of "Objects in the Air" and "Open", there was a very high-quality entry in both competitions and judge Mike Bennett had quite a job on his hands scoring the entries. Well, done to Dave Turner for first place in the Objects in the Air and Tony Gaskins for first place in the Open. All the results are on our website. This week, Wednesday 30th September, our speaker will be Lee Dixon from Cleethorpes Camera Club showing us his natural history, Creative and many other photographs he has taken. It will be the first time Lee has shown his photographs at our club. If anyone else wants to enter PDI's in the 2027 N&EMPF Exhibition, the deadline is this Wednesday at midnight. Harry is still taking entries for the PDI competition, with the categories of "Local Straight from Camera" (unedited .jpg), and "Open", to be held on Wednesday 7th October. Regards Graham
by Derek Smith • 24 September 2026
At the meeting last night Mike Bennett judged our competition with the categories of “Objects in the Air”, and “Open”. The standard of entries was excellent, and it gave Mike a tough task of judging the images, Mike gave some very good critique of the images displayed, the feedback helps members to develop compositional skills. Dave Turner was awarded first place for his image of the “Tiger Club Display Team” in the “Objects in the Air” category. Tony Gaskins was awarded first place for his image of the “Spectacular Rustgill” in the “Open” category.
by Graham Harrison • 20 September 2026
Good Morning All, Last week at the club we watched the N&EMPF PDI Exhibition for 2026, it was a very good evening viewing very high standard images from all over the East Midlands. Dave Turner and I did manage to get images accepted; there is a full report on our website. This week, Wednesday 23rd September, we will hold our monthly PDI competition, with the categories of "Objects in the Air" and "Open", please send entries to Harry by midnight tonight. Harry is also accepting images for the PDI competition, with the categories of "Local Straight out of the Camera (only resizing permitted)" and "Open". Regards Graham
by Derek Smith • 17 September 2026
Members were shown the 2026 N&EMPF PDI Exhibition video last night with all of the accepted PDI images in the first part, and after the break the awarded PDI images. There were some stunning images on view, and Louth was successful in having 3 PDI images accepted, Graham Harrison with his image of a Stonechat, and Dave Turner with his portrait of Paul Rudd, and his monochrome image of Kings Cross railway station "Going Down". Overall it was a good inspirational evening.