DX / FX Lenses

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fsbcyp

Senior Member
So, I am currently looking at some lenses, however they all seem to be of the DX format.

I don't see lenses stating for the FX camera so am a little confused. If a DX lens is used on an FX camera, does it only use the centre portion of the lens??

Can one of our resident experts explain please.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
fsbcyp said:
So, I am currently looking at some lenses, however they all seem to be of the DX format.

I don't see lenses stating for the FX camera so am a little confused. If a DX lens is used on an FX camera, does it only use the centre portion of the lens??

Can one of our resident experts explain please.
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An FX lens creates a much larger circle of light than a DX lens; in fact the circle of light of an FX lens is larger than the DX sensor itself. Because of this, DX shooters get the "sweet spot", the center most portion of an FX lenses circle of light.

Reversing this, and putting a DX lens on an FX body, means the circle of light created by the lens is smaller than the sensor. This creates a strong vignette on your shots because the sensor is larger than the circle of light it's receiving from the lens.

02_ImageCircle_DX_FX.jpg

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Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Retro said:
If you only had an FX body, is there a DX lens you would still want to use with it?
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Any DX lens I would *WANT* to use on an FX body? No.

There are some DX lenses I could get by with, assuming I had to, but that would be the extent of my enthusiasm for the idea.

In anticipation of the next logical question, DX lenses I could cope with on an FX body would probably be... *thinking about this*... The Nikon 35mm f/1.8G, the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX or the Nikon 12-24 f/4 DX. Beyond that, I'm pretty much drawing a blank.
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Retro

Senior Member
If you were just getting into photography, or transitioning from film to digital, what would you buy for your first body, a D7200 or a D750? Having both, and buying lenses for both, is extremely expensive.

I hope to buy my first digital body in Feb. or March. I would love a full frame, but I will go birding with whatever I buy just for practice with the camera, not that I'm really into birding.
 
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RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Retro said:
If you were just getting into photography, or transitioning from film to digital, what would you buy for your first body, a D7200 or a D750? Having both, and buying lenses for both, is extremely expensive.

I hope to buy my first digital body in Feb. or March. I would love a full frame, but I will go birding with whatever I buy just for practice with the camera, not that I'm really into birding.
Click to expand...

Your film lenses would typically work fine on either the D750 or the D7200, since both bodies have the built in autofocus motor that the lower end models leave out.

If you want the exact same field of view out both cameras, then I would go from film to FX, but depending on what subjects you shoot the crop factor in DX can be a benefit.

There is no single "right" answer to this question. I say get yourself a D7200 and me a D750, then all the bases are covered. ;)


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