Full Frame vs. APS-C Focal Length

See how the same lens frames a scene on full frame and APS-C, or find the APS-C lens needed to match a familiar full-frame field of view. The preset compares a 35mm lens at 1×, 1.5× and 1.6×.

Compare the same lens on full frame and APS-C

Change any focal length or crop factor to compare the resulting field of view.

1.0x 35mm

1.5x 35mm

1.6x 35mm

Example Image:

Focal Length

The bigger this number, the more "zoomed in" your photo will be:

Small numbers (like 24mm) = wide view, good for landscapes
Medium numbers (like 50mm) = normal view, like human eye
Big numbers (like 200mm) = zoomed in, good for far away things

Crop Factor

This depends on your camera's sensor size:

Full Frame cameras = 1x (no crop)
Most mirrorless/DSLR cameras = 1.5x or 1.6x
Micro Four Thirds = 2x

The bigger this number, the more "zoomed in" your photo will look compared to a full frame camera.

Results

Effective Focal Length: 35.0mm

FOV: 54.4° × 37.8°

🚶Normal (travel, documentary)

Focal Length

The bigger this number, the more "zoomed in" your photo will be:

Small numbers (like 24mm) = wide view, good for landscapes
Medium numbers (like 50mm) = normal view, like human eye
Big numbers (like 200mm) = zoomed in, good for far away things

Crop Factor

This depends on your camera's sensor size:

Full Frame cameras = 1x (no crop)
Most mirrorless/DSLR cameras = 1.5x or 1.6x
Micro Four Thirds = 2x

The bigger this number, the more "zoomed in" your photo will look compared to a full frame camera.

Results

Effective Focal Length: 52.5mm

FOV: 37.8° × 25.8°

🚶Normal (travel, documentary)

Focal Length

The bigger this number, the more "zoomed in" your photo will be:

Small numbers (like 24mm) = wide view, good for landscapes
Medium numbers (like 50mm) = normal view, like human eye
Big numbers (like 200mm) = zoomed in, good for far away things

Crop Factor

This depends on your camera's sensor size:

Full Frame cameras = 1x (no crop)
Most mirrorless/DSLR cameras = 1.5x or 1.6x
Micro Four Thirds = 2x

The bigger this number, the more "zoomed in" your photo will look compared to a full frame camera.

Results

Effective Focal Length: 56.0mm

FOV: 35.6° × 24.2°

🚶Normal (travel, documentary)

How the conversion works

Using the same lens, APS-C captures a narrower field of view than full frame. Multiply the lens focal length by 1.5 for most Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm APS-C cameras, or by 1.6 for Canon APS-C.

To match a full-frame field of view on APS-C, divide the full-frame focal length by the crop factor. This reverse conversion is useful when moving between camera systems.

Full-frame focal length ÷ crop factor = APS-C focal length for similar framing

Focal length conversion table

APS-C lens focal lengths that match common full-frame fields of view
Full-frame field of view	APS-C lens at 1.5×	Canon APS-C lens at 1.6×
16mm	10.7mm	10mm
24mm	16mm	15mm
35mm	23.3mm	21.9mm
50mm	33.3mm	31.3mm
85mm	56.7mm	53.1mm
200mm	133.3mm	125mm

The table gives mathematical equivalents. The nearest lens you can buy may use a slightly different standard focal length.

Worked example: matching a 50mm full-frame view

To match a 50mm lens on full frame, use about 33mm on a 1.5× APS-C camera (50 ÷ 1.5 = 33.3) or about 31mm on a Canon 1.6× camera (50 ÷ 1.6 = 31.25). Common 32mm, 33mm or 35mm lenses will give a close—not always exact—match.