Image Sensor Formats
Sensor sizes are expressed in inches notation because at the time of the popularization of digital image sensors they were used to replace video camera tubes. The common 1" circular video camera tubes have a rectangular photo sensitive area about 16 mm diagonal, so a digital sensor with a 16 mm diagonal size is a 1" video tube equivalent. The name of a 1" digital sensor should more accurately be read as "one inch video camera tube equivalent" sensor. Current digital image sensor size descriptors are the video camera tube equivalency size, not the actual size of the sensor. For example, a 1" sensor has a diagonal measurement of 16 mm.[26][27]
Sizes are often expressed as a fraction of an inch, with a one in the numerator, and a decimal number in the denominator. For example, 1/2.5 converts to 2/5 as a simple fraction, or 0.4 as a decimal number. This "inch" system brings a result approximately 1.5 times the length of the diagonal of the sensor. This "optical format" measure goes back to the way image sizes of video cameras used until the late 1980s were expressed, referring to the outside diameter of the glass envelope of the video camera tube. David Pogue of The New York Times states that "the actual sensor size is much smaller than what the camera companies publish – about one-third smaller." For example, a camera advertising a 1/2.7" sensor does not have a sensor with a diagonal of 0.37"; instead, the diagonal is closer to 0.26".[28][29][30] Instead of "formats", these sensor sizes are often called types, as in "1/2-inch-type CCD."
Due to inch-based sensor formats being not standardized, their exact dimensions may vary, but those listed are typical.[29] The listed sensor areas span more than a factor of 1000 and are proportional to the maximum possible collection of light and image resolution (same lens speed, i.e., minimum F-number), but in practice are not directly proportional to image noise or resolution due to other limitations. See comparisons.[31][32] Film format sizes are included for comparison. The following comparison is with respect to the aspect ratio of 4:3. The application examples of phone or camera may not show the exact sensor sizes.
| Type | Diagonal (mm) | Width (mm) | Height (mm) | Aspect Ratio | Area (mm²) | Stops (area)[33] | Crop factor[ |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Type | Diagonal (mm) | Width (mm) | Height (mm) | Aspect Ratio | Area (mm²) | Stops (area)[33] | Crop factor[34] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/10" | 1.60 | 1.28 | 0.96 | 4:3 | 1.23 | -9.46 | 27.04 |
| 1/8" | 2.00 | 1.60 | 1.20 | 4:3 | 1.92 | -8.81 | 21.65 |
| 1/6" (Panasonic SDR-H20, SDR-H200) | 3.00 | 2.40 | 1.80 | 4:3 | 4.32 | -7.64 | 14.14 |
| 1/4"[35] | 4.50 | 3.60 | 2.70 | 4:3 | 9.72 | -6.47 | 10.81 |
| 1/3.6" (Nokia Lumia 720)[36] | 5.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4:3 | 12.0 | -6.17 | 8.65 |
| 1/3.2" (iPhone 5)[37] | 5.68 | 4.54 | 3.42 | 4:3 | 15.50 | -5.80 | 7.61 |
| 1/3.09" Sony EXMOR IMX351[38] | 5.82 | 4.66 | 3.5 | 4:3 | 16.3 | -5.73 | 7.43 |
| Standard 8 mm film frame | 5.94 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 11:8 | 16.8 | -5.68 | 7.28 |
| 1/3" (iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, LG G3[39]) | 6.00 | 4.80 | 3.60 | 4:3 | 17.30 | -5.64 | 7.21 |
| 1/2.9" Sony EXMOR IMX322[40] | 6.23 | 4.98 | 3.74 | 4:3 | 18.63 | -5.54 | 6.92 |
| 1/2.7" | 6.72 | 5.37 | 4.04 | 4:3 | 21.70 | -5.32 | 6.44 |
| Super 8 mm film frame | 7.04 | 5.79 | 4.01 | 13:9 | 23.22 | -5.22 | 6.15 |
| 1/2.5" (Nokia Lumia 1520, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5, iPhone XS[41]) | 7.18 | 5.76 | 4.29 | 4:3 | 24.70 | -5.13 | 6.02 |
| 1/2.3" (Pentax Q, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W330, GoPro HERO3, Panasonic HX-A500, Google Pixel/Pixel+, DJI Phantom 3[42]/Mavic 2 Zoom[43]), Nikon P1000/P900 | 7.66 | 6.17 | 4.55 | 4:3 | 28.50 | -4.94 | 5.64 |
| 1/2.3" Sony Exmor IMX220[44] | 7.87 | 6.30 | 4.72 | 4:3 | 29.73 | -4.86 | 5.49 |
| 1/2" (Fujifilm HS30EXR, Xiaomi Mi 9, OnePlus 7, Espros EPC 660, DJI Mavic Air 2) | 8.00 | 6.40 | 4.80 | 4:3 | 30.70 | -4.81 | 5.41 |
| 1/1.8" (Nokia N8) (Olympus C-5050, C-5060, C-7070) | 8.93 | 7.18 | 5.32 | 4:3 | 38.20 | -4.50 | 4.84 |
| 1/1.7" (Pentax Q7, Canon G10, G15, Huawei P20 Pro, Huawei P30 Pro, Huawei Mate 20 Pro) | 9.50 | 7.60 | 5.70 | 4:3 | 43.30 | -4.32 | 4.55 |
| 1/1.6" (Fujifilm f200exr [2]) | 10.07 | 8.08 | 6.01 | 4:3 | 48.56 | -4.15 | 4.30 |
| 2/3" (Nokia Lumia 1020, Fujifilm X-S1, X20, XF1) | 11.00 | 8.80 | 6.60 | 4:3 | 58.10 | -3.89 | 3.93 |
| 1/1.33" (Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra)[45] | 12 | 9.6 | 7.2 | 4:3 | 69.12 | -3.64 | 3.58 |
| Standard 16 mm film frame | 12.70 | 10.26 | 7.49 | 11:8 | 76.85 | -3.49 | 3.41 |
| 1/1.2" (Nokia 808 PureView) | 13.33 | 10.67 | 8.00 | 4:3 | 85.33 | -3.34 | 3.24 |
| Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera & Blackmagic Studio Camera | 14.32 | 12.48 | 7.02 | 16:9 | 87.6 | -3.30 | 3.02 |
| Super 16 mm film frame | 14.54 | 12.52 | 7.41 | 5:3 | 92.80 | -3.22 | 2.97 |
| 1" Nikon CX, Sony RX100 and RX10, Samsung NX Mini | 15.86 | 13.20 | 8.80 | 3:2 | 116 | -2.89 | 2.72 |
| 1" Digital Bolex d16 | 16.00 | 12.80 | 9.60 | 4:3 | 123 | -2.81 | 2.70 |
| 1.1" Sony IMX253[46] | 17.46 | 14.10 | 10.30 | 11:8 | 145 | -2.57 | 2.47 |
| Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF | 18.13 | 15.81 | 8.88 | 16:9 | 140 | -2.62 | 2.38 |
| Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K | 21.44 | 18.96 | 10 | 19:10 | 190 | -2.19 | 2.01 |
| Four Thirds, Micro Four Thirds ("4/3", "m4/3") | 21.60 | 17.30 | 13 | 4:3 | 225 | -1.94 | 2.00 |
| Blackmagic Production Camera/URSA/URSA Mini 4K | 24.23 | 21.12 | 11.88 | 16:9 | 251 | -1.78 | 1.79 |
| 1.5" Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II | 23.36 | 18.70 | 14 | 4:3 | 262 | -1.72 | 1.85 |
| "35mm" 2 Perf Techniscope | 23.85 | 21.95 | 9.35 | 7:3 | 205.23 | -2.07 | 1.81 |
| original Sigma Foveon X3 | 24.90 | 20.70 | 13.80 | 3:2 | 286 | -1.60 | 1.74 |
| RED DRAGON 4.5K (RAVEN) | 25.50 | 23.00 | 10.80 | 19:9 | 248.4 | -1.80 | 1.66 |
| "Super 35mm" 2 Perf | 26.58 | 24.89 | 9.35 | 8:3 | 232.7 | -1.89 | 1.62 |
| Canon EF-S, APS-C | 26.82 | 22.30 | 14.90 | 3:2 | 332 | -1.38 | 1.61 |
| Standard 35 mm film frame (movie) | 27.20 | 22.0 | 16.0 | 11:8 | 352 | -1.30 | 1.59 |
| Blackmagic URSA Mini/Pro 4.6K | 29 | 25.34 | 14.25 | 16:9 | 361 | -1.26 | 1.49 |
| APS-C (Sony α, Sony E, Nikon DX, Pentax K, Samsung NX, Fuji X) | 28.2–28.4 | 23.6–23.7 | 15.60 | 3:2 | 368–370 | -1.23 to -1.22 | 1.52–1.54 |
| Super 35 mm film 3 perf | 28.48 | 24.89 | 13.86 | 9:5 | 344.97 | -1.32 | 1.51 |
| RED DRAGON 5K S35 | 28.9 | 25.6 | 13.5 | 17:9 | 345.6 | -1.32 | 1.49 |
| Super 35mm film 4 perf | 31.11 | 24.89 | 18.66 | 4:3 | 464 | -0.90 | 1.39 |
| Canon APS-H | 33.50 | 27.90 | 18.60 | 3:2 | 519 | -0.74 | 1.29 |
| ARRI ALEV III (ALEXA SXT, ALEXA MINI, AMIRA), RED HELIUM 8K S35 | 33.80 | 29.90 | 15.77 | 17:9 | 471.52 | -0.87 | 1.28 |
| RED DRAGON 6K S35 | 34.50 | 30.7 | 15.8 | 35:18 | 485.06 | -0.83 | 1.25 |
| 35 mm film full-frame, (Canon EF, Nikon FX, Pentax K-1, Sony α, Sony FE, Leica M) | 43.1–43.3 | 35.8–36 | 23.9–24 | 3:2 | 856–864 | 0 | 1.0 |
| ARRI ALEXA LF | 44.71 | 36.70 | 25.54 | 13:9 | 937.32 | +0.12 | 0.96 |
| RED MONSTRO 8K | 46.31 | 40.96 | 21.60 | 17:9 | 884.74 | +0.03 | 0.93 |
| Leica S | 54 | 45 | 30 | 3:2 | 1350 | +0.64 | 0.80 |
| Pentax 645D, Hasselblad X1D-50c, CFV-50c, Fuji GFX 50S | 55 | 44 | 33 | 4:3 | 1452 | +0.75 | 0.78 |
| Standard 65 mm film frame | 57.30 | 52.48 | 23.01 | 7:3 | 1208 | +0.48 | 0.76 |
| ARRI ALEXA 65 | 59.86 | 54.12 | 25.58 | 19:9 | 1384.39 | +0.68 | 0.72 |
| Kodak KAF 39000 CCD[47] | 61.30 | 49 | 36.80 | 4:3 | 1803 | +1.06 | 0.71 |
| Leaf AFi 10 | 66.57 | 56 | 36 | 14:9 | 2016 | +1.22 | 0.65 |
| Medium-format (Hasselblad H5D-60)[48] | 67.08 | 53.7 | 40.2 | 4:3 | 2159 | +1.32 | 0.65 |
| Phase One P 65+, IQ160, IQ180 | 67.40 | 53.90 | 40.40 | 4:3 | 2178 | +1.33 | 0.64 |
| Medium-format 6×4.5 cm (also called 645 format) | 70 | 42 | 56 | 3:4 | 2352 | +1.44 | 0.614 |
| Medium-format 6×6 cm | 79 | 56 | 56 | 1:1 | 3136 | +1.86 | 0.538 |
| IMAX film frame | 87.91 | 70.41 | 52.63 | 4:3 | 3706 | +2.10 | 0.49 |
| Medium-format 6×7 cm | 89.6 | 70 | 56 | 5:4 | 3920 | +2.18 | 0.469 |
| Medium-format 6×8 cm | 94.4 | 76 | 56 | 3:4 | 4256 | +2.30 | 0.458 |
| Medium-format 6×9 cm | 101 | 84 | 56 | 3:2 | 4704 | +2.44 | 0.43 |
| Large-format film 4×5 inch | 150 | 121 | 97 | 5:4 | 11737 | +3.76 | 0.29 |
| Large-format film 5×7 inch | 210 | 178 | 127 | 7:5 | 22606 | +4.71 | 0.238 |
| Large-format film 8×10 inch | 300 | 254 | 203 | 5:4 | 51562 | +5.90 | 0.143 |