FX v DX Mode
- Thread starter mms
- Start date
Disorderly
Senior Member
The only advantage is that the RAW and/or JPEG files will be a whole lot smaller. Which may allow you to shoot faster as well, since the buffer in the camera won't fill quite so quickly.
When I got my D800, I planned to shoot in DX mode. I figured 16 megapixels were file for my purposes, and I got a number of other benefits from upgrading my camera body. That decision lasted about five minutes into my first shoot. Couldn't stand using a small fraction of the viewfinder, so I switched to FX mode and have been using it ever since. My disk and memory requirements are a lot bigger than they were with DX, but all that extra resolution is worth it.
When I got my D800, I planned to shoot in DX mode. I figured 16 megapixels were file for my purposes, and I got a number of other benefits from upgrading my camera body. That decision lasted about five minutes into my first shoot. Couldn't stand using a small fraction of the viewfinder, so I switched to FX mode and have been using it ever since. My disk and memory requirements are a lot bigger than they were with DX, but all that extra resolution is worth it.
of course there is difference, two biggest are DOF and noise. Due to bigger sensor, usually is pixel size also bigger and the noise is smaller on ff. DOF is significantly smaller on ff sensors.
Image sensor format - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Image sensor format - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Why store a 36MP file even when you crop (Lightroom is nondestructive and saves everything)? If you're not sure, use it for all it's worth. If you know you're in a crop situation, save that storage.
Phillydog1958
Senior Member
I understand everyone's points of why one might not want to shoot in DX mode on a FX body, but there is ONE advantage. If you shoot with the D600 in DX mode, it allows you to get closer to the subject. I agree that the reduced frame size is a pain to use, but with the cropping factor of the DX mode, you do get a lot closer, which is great for wildlife photography. The other negative is that the D600 goes from 24mp to 10mp's in the DX mode. You do lose some megapixels.
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
There are a lot of misconceptions in this statement, most of which are clearly explained in this blog post from Nasim. You do not "get closer", you just get pre-cropping. Yes, with a D600 you lose mexapixels, but you gain IQ. I spent a week in FL shooting birds with my D600 and my D7000, swapping my Sigma 150-500mm back and forth. I was far happier with the D600 images I got than the D7000. I shot in FX mode, and in many cases needed to crop to DX sizes or smaller, but the images were amazingly sharp and given that I'm firing at ISO 800-1250 with birds in flight, the difference in noise was beyond significant. I had little to no noise worries, whereas the D7000 at ISO 1000 immediately gives me noise to deal with. 90% of what I shoot will never be shown anywhere but a computer screen, and I can certainly get an 8x10 out of a 10MP image.
If I ever sell one of these to someone who wants a huge print, the money made will help pay for some good upsampling software.
This is the best term I've seen describing this misconception.
I own a D800 and I use the DX mode and/or 1.2x crop feature religiously in both still and video applications. Some may disagree but I love this feature. Not only it saves time for me during post processing, it is also a better management tool with my memory card and hard drive capacities.
I've used DX mode with sports and macro photography. DX mode gives me more Dof when shooting macro since the lens is further away from the subject when I'm framing something. With sports, pre-cropping works for me as well without magnifying any noise at higher ISO.
In video mode, I use my f2.8 zoom lenses such as the 24-70mm f2.8. We all know that this lens doesn't zoom that much on the long end, so, when shooting a video in DX or 1.2x mode, the video adjust to that crop feature. You can't crop video.
Phillydog1958
Senior Member
There are a lot of misconceptions in this statement, most of which are clearly explained in this blog post from Nasim. You do not "get closer", you just get pre-cropping. Yes, with a D600 you lose mexapixels, but you gain IQ. I spent a week in FL shooting birds with my D600 and my D7000, swapping my Sigma 150-500mm back and forth. I was far happier with the D600 images I got than the D7000. I shot in FX mode, and in many cases needed to crop to DX sizes or smaller, but the images were amazingly sharp and given that I'm firing at ISO 800-1250 with birds in flight, the difference in noise was beyond significant. I had little to no noise worries, whereas the D7000 at ISO 1000 immediately gives me noise to deal with. 90% of what I shoot will never be shown anywhere but a computer screen, and I can certainly get an 8x10 out of a 10MP image.
If I ever sell one of these to someone who wants a huge print, the money made will help pay for some good upsampling software.
I used the wrong term. I understand that shooting in DX mode, on an FX body doesn't allow one to get closer, as in zooming. I agree. It's cropping. And, 10 megapixels looks good. I stand corrected on my usage of the phrase, "Get closer."
If you're using the same megapixel sensor in DX and FX mode you get a better zoomed image effectively. I compared the D300 and D700 here as they are both 12.x megapixels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teerecks/sets/72157629889340922/
Look at the letter B images to see the different resolution.
The D800 is an anomaly as it starts with so many pixels, it still like a D7000 after cropping to DX. If you did this test with a D600 and D7100 the latter would produce a bigger image from the same focal length lens at the same distance. This is fact, I tested it myself.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teerecks/sets/72157629889340922/
Look at the letter B images to see the different resolution.
The D800 is an anomaly as it starts with so many pixels, it still like a D7000 after cropping to DX. If you did this test with a D600 and D7100 the latter would produce a bigger image from the same focal length lens at the same distance. This is fact, I tested it myself.