Full-frame digital SLR



The term Full Frame is used by D-SLR users as a short-hand for an image sensor format which is the same size as 35mm format (36 mm × 24 mm) film. Historically, 35mm was considered a small film format compared with medium format, large format and even larger. This is in contrast to cameras with smaller sensors (for instance, those with a size equivalent to APS-C-size film), much smaller than a full 35mm frame. Currently, the majority of digital cameras, both compact and SLR models, use a smaller-than-35 mm frame, as it is easier and cheaper to manufacture imaging sensors at a smaller size. Historically, the earliest digital SLR models, such as the Nikon NASA F4 or Kodak DCS 100, also used a smaller sensor. Kodak states that 35mm film has the equivalent of 6,000 pixel horizontal resolution according to a Senior Vice President of IMAX.