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Sensor Size Calculator

Camera Sensor Dimensions, Crop Factor and Pixel Pitch

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How the Sensor Size Calculator works

This sensor size calculator gives the real width, height, diagonal and area of a camera sensor format, its crop factor against full frame and how much smaller or larger it is. Add the megapixel count to see the pixel pitch, or type in custom dimensions for any sensor.

How the sensor size calculator works

Sensor names are confusing. "Full frame" means the 36 × 24 mm frame of 35 mm film, while phone and compact sizes such as 1/2.3 inch are old video-tube names that describe a tube about 1.5 times wider than the sensor, so a "1 inch" sensor is only 13.2 × 8.8 mm. The calculator uses the measured size. The formula for the diagonal is √(width² + height²), the crop factor is 43.27 mm (the full-frame diagonal) divided by that diagonal, and the pixel pitch is √(area ÷ pixel count).

First example. An APS-C sensor from Nikon, Sony or Fujifilm measures 23.5 × 15.6 mm, with a 28.21 mm diagonal and an area of 366.6 mm². Its crop factor is 1.53×, it has 42.4% of the area of full frame, and at 24 MP each pixel is 3.91 µm across on a grid of roughly 6,000 × 4,000.

Second example. Micro Four Thirds is 17.3 × 13 mm, a 21.64 mm diagonal and a 2× crop factor. Its 224.9 mm² is 26% of full frame, so a 20 MP sensor has a pixel pitch of 3.35 µm.

How many times bigger is full frame than a phone sensor? A 1/2.3-inch sensor covers 28.1 mm², so full frame has about 31 times the area, and over that area it gathers about five stops more light.

Larger pixels collect more light each, which helps in dim scenes and keeps noise down, but lens quality, processing and sensor generation matter as much as size alone.

Common camera sensor sizes with diagonal, area and crop factor

Format Width × height Diagonal Area Crop factor Area vs full frame
6x7 film 70 × 56 mm 89.64 mm 3,920 mm² 0.48× 453.7%
6x6 film 56 × 56 mm 79.2 mm 3,136 mm² 0.55× 363%
6x4.5 film 56 × 41.5 mm 69.7 mm 2,324 mm² 0.62× 269%
Medium format 54x40 53.4 × 40 mm 66.72 mm 2,136 mm² 0.65× 247.2%
Medium format 44x33 43.8 × 32.9 mm 54.78 mm 1,441 mm² 0.79× 166.8%
Full frame 36 × 24 mm 43.27 mm 864 mm² 1× 100%
APS-H 27.9 × 18.6 mm 33.53 mm 518.9 mm² 1.29× 60.1%
Super 35 24.89 × 18.66 mm 31.11 mm 464.4 mm² 1.39× 53.8%
APS-C Nikon / Sony / Fuji 23.5 × 15.6 mm 28.21 mm 366.6 mm² 1.53× 42.4%
APS-C Canon 22.3 × 14.9 mm 26.82 mm 332.3 mm² 1.61× 38.5%
APS-C Sigma 20.7 × 13.8 mm 24.88 mm 285.7 mm² 1.74× 33.1%
Micro Four Thirds 17.3 × 13 mm 21.64 mm 224.9 mm² 2× 26%
1 inch 13.2 × 8.8 mm 15.86 mm 116.2 mm² 2.73× 13.4%
1/1.3 inch 9.8 × 7.3 mm 12.22 mm 71.5 mm² 3.54× 8.3%
2/3 inch 8.8 × 6.6 mm 11 mm 58.1 mm² 3.93× 6.7%
1/1.7 inch 7.6 × 5.7 mm 9.5 mm 43.3 mm² 4.55× 5%
1/1.8 inch 7.18 × 5.32 mm 8.94 mm 38.2 mm² 4.84× 4.4%
1/2 inch 6.4 × 4.8 mm 8 mm 30.7 mm² 5.41× 3.6%
1/2.3 inch 6.17 × 4.55 mm 7.67 mm 28.1 mm² 5.64× 3.2%
1/2.5 inch 5.76 × 4.29 mm 7.18 mm 24.7 mm² 6.02× 2.9%
1/3 inch 4.8 × 3.6 mm 6 mm 17.3 mm² 7.21× 2%
1/3.2 inch 4.54 × 3.42 mm 5.68 mm 15.5 mm² 7.61× 1.8%

FAQ

What size is a 1 inch sensor?

About 13.2 × 8.8 mm, with a diagonal of 15.9 mm. The name comes from video camera tubes, whose outer glass was about 1 inch across while the usable image area was much smaller, so inch sizes overstate.

What is the difference between full frame and APS-C?

Full frame is 36 × 24 mm. APS-C is about 23.5 × 15.6 mm (22.3 × 14.9 mm on Canon), so it has 40 to 43% of the area and a crop factor of 1.5× or 1.6×, which narrows the view of any given lens.

What is pixel pitch?

Pixel pitch is the distance from the centre of one pixel to the next, usually given in micrometres (µm). It comes from the sensor area divided by the number of pixels, and larger pitches gather more light per pixel.

Does a bigger sensor always give better photos?

Not always. A bigger sensor gathers more light in total and gives shallower depth of field, but it needs bigger, heavier lenses. A modern small sensor with good processing can beat an old large one.

How do I work out a sensor's crop factor?

Divide the full-frame diagonal of 43.27 mm by the sensor's diagonal. A 1 inch sensor's 15.86 mm diagonal gives 2.73×, so a 9 mm lens on it frames the scene like a 25 mm lens on full frame.

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