Camera Sensor Sizes Compared
I’ve used all sorts of digital cameras over the years. From medium format, with its comparatively large sensor, to full-frame, the standard size, to the slightly smaller APS-C. And all the way down to compact digital cameras with their small sensors. Every one of them takes genuinely beautiful pictures, of course.
After using so many of them, I asked myself which camera I actually like best—and the answer turned out to be a camera called the OM System Tough TG-7, made by Olympus. It shoots as quickly and easily as a smartphone, and the images have a quality that feels close to film. The look I like. The reason it feels film-like is that noise tends to show up in the captured data. High-end cameras are simply too good; they use sensors where this noise barely appears. They take truly beautiful photos.
So when you deliberately reach for a relatively inexpensive compact camera like the Tough TG-7, you often get photos with a certain indescribable mood—the kind you’d get from shooting on 35mm film.
What matters here is the sensor size. The camera uses a 1/2.3-inch 12MP BSI CMOS sensor—smaller than the sensors in the typical, expensive full-frame cameras. A larger sensor will generally give you cleaner images, but it’s exactly the “not-too-clean” quality that comes from a small sensor that gives me the look I prefer.
Of course, when I want clean image quality I’ll often reach for another camera. But this one is small, light, and lives in my bag pocket all the time.
Sensor sizes differ from camera to camera. I’ve built a simulator that lets you compare the major sensor sizes at true scale—from standard compact cameras and the iPhone to full-frame and digital medium format.
Now that taking photos with a smartphone has become second nature, many people have at least heard the term “sensor size.” But how much these sizes actually differ, and what that difference looks like in terms of area, is surprisingly little known.
What Is Sensor Size?
Sensor size refers to the physical dimensions of the image sensor that captures light. It’s a key factor in image quality, depth of field, and low-light performance. Generally, the larger the sensor, the more light it can gather—resulting in richer tonal gradation and better results in dark conditions. It also affects a lens’s effective focal length and the amount of background blur.
Sensor Size Chart (with Area)
Here are the major sensor formats, listed from smallest to largest in area, with their actual dimensions (width × height) and surface area.
| Sensor | Dimensions | Area (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2.33″ (Standard Compact) | 6.2 × 4.6 mm | 28.5 mm² |
| 1/1.3″ (iPhone Main Camera) | 9.8 × 7.3 mm | 71.5 mm² |
| 1″ (Premium Compact) | 13.2 × 8.8 mm | 116.2 mm² |
| Micro Four Thirds | 17.3 × 13.0 mm | 224.9 mm² |
| APS-C | 23.5 × 15.6 mm | 366.6 mm² |
| Full-Frame (35mm) | 36.0 × 24.0 mm | 864.0 mm² |
| Medium Format 4433 (GFX / Hasselblad X) | 43.8 × 32.9 mm | 1441.0 mm² |
| Medium Format 5440 (Hasselblad H6D, etc.) | 53.4 × 40.0 mm | 2136.0 mm² |
iPhone vs. APS-C vs. Full-Frame: How Big Is the Gap?
Once you line them up by area, the differences become clear. The iPhone’s main camera is about 2.5 times the area of a standard compact, and a 1″ sensor is roughly 4 times that compact.
Full-frame, in turn, is about 2.4 times the area of APS-C—and more than 30 times that of a standard compact. Go up to medium format, and you’re looking at roughly 1.7 times full-frame, and about 50 times the area of a standard compact. The sensor in the phone you shoot with every day and the sensor in a medium-format camera are worlds apart.
Compare Them Overlaid at True Scale
Still, numbers alone can be hard to grasp. So I built a simulator that overlays each sensor at its true relative scale. Click the sensor you want to use as a reference, and the area ratios are calculated on the spot, letting you see the differences for yourself.
Open the Sensor Size Comparison Simulator →
Is Bigger Always Better?
Not necessarily. Larger sensors mean larger, heavier lenses and bodies, and higher prices. And thanks to advances in computational photography, even the small sensors in smartphones now produce remarkably good images.
What matters is choosing the size that suits what you shoot and how you work. Compact cameras and smartphones for portability, full-frame for shallow depth of field and low-light performance, medium format for the meticulous detail of fine-art production—the ideal size shifts with your purpose. Start by trying the simulator above to get a feel for just how much these sizes differ.