What is the crop factor of the Canon 50D?

The Canon EOS 50D is equipped with an APS-C sensor, whose diagonal measures 26.8mm. The sensor has a crop factor (or format factor, or focal length multiplier) of 1.6.

The crop factor is defined as the ratio of the 35mm full-frame film diagonal to the diagonal of a digital sensor. This number indicates how a lens behaves in relation to the size of the image sensor.

Sensor size comparison with a film slide

With a crop factor of 1.6, the sensor in the Canon 50D is smaller than the receptor area of a 35mm film slide or negative. As a result, a lens that is attached to the Canon 50D will offer a narrower angle of view and provide deeper depth of field than a lens of similar focal length and aperture on a film camera. The equivalent focal length is obtained by multiplying the actual focal length of the lens with the crop factor. For example, a 31mm lens on the Canon 50D will provide the same angle of view and depth of field as a 50mm normal lens on a film camera (31mm * 1.6 = 50mm).

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Canon 50D to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better), covering color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape), and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Canon 50D	APS-C	15.1	4752	3168	none	21.8	11.4	696	63
2.		Canon 7D	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.0	11.7	854	66
3.		Canon 7D II	APS-C	20.0	5472	3648	1080/60p	22.4	11.8	1082	70
4.		Canon 20D	APS-C	8.2	3504	2336	none	21.9	11.0	721	62
5.		Canon 30D	APS-C	8.2	3504	2336	none	21.5	10.8	736	59
6.		Canon 40D	APS-C	10.1	3888	2592	none	22.1	11.3	703	64
7.		Canon 60D	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.2	11.5	813	66
8.		Canon 70D	APS-C	20.0	5472	3648	1080/30p	22.5	11.6	926	68
9.		Canon 80D	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	23.6	13.2	1135	79
10.		Canon 90D	APS-C	32.3	6960	4640	4K/30p	24.0	13.5	1848	83
11.		Canon T1i	APS-C	15.1	4752	3168	1080/20p	21.7	11.5	663	63
Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age.

In the United States, the 50D was initially launched in August 2008 at a price of $1,299.

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Camera to camera comparisons

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