If you have a Nikon crop sensor camera then you might be aware that there is a crop factor applied to all the lenses that you use on it.
You can use both DX lenses as well as FX lenses on Nikon crop sensor DSLRs and the crop factor will be the same either way.
The crop factor for Nikon crop sensor DSLR cameras is 1.5x.
One example is if you had a 50mm lens like the NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens on a Nikon crop sensor DSLR like the Nikon D5600.
In this example the equivalent focal length will look more like a 75mm focal length.
Since it can be hard to do maths on the fly, we’ve created a handy chart for some common focal lengths used in lenses.
Use the Nikon lens conversion chart below to see what the equivalent focal length would be in its full frame equivalent.
| DX | Full Frame Equivalent (FX) |
|---|---|
| 10mm | 15mm |
| 12mm | 18mm |
| 16mm | 24mm |
| 17mm | 25.5mm |
| 18mm | 27mm |
| 20mm | 30mm |
| 24mm | 36mm |
| 35mm | 52.5mm |
| 40mm | 60mm |
| 50mm | 75mm |
| 55mm | 82.5mm |
| 70mm | 105mm |
| 85mm | 127.5mm |
| 100mm | 150mm |
| 105mm | 157.5mm |
| 135mm | 202.5mm |
| 200mm | 300mm |
| 300mm | 450mm |
Related reading: APS-C sensor to full frame equivalent calculator
For example, if you look at a 135mm on the DX column you can see that the focal length will be equivalent to 202.5mm instead.
As another example, if you look at 18mm in DX format, it is equivalent to 27mm in FX format. So using an 18mm DX lens is more like using a 27mm lens in terms of full frame equivalent.
You could also use the chart to go backwards.
For example, if you like the look of 35mm on a full frame camera check for the closest focal length in the chart – in this case it would be the 36mm.
The corresponding DX focal length is 24mm so you know that if you want your focal length to look like a 35mm full frame then 24mm is a good focal length to go for.
If you want the exact focal length then just do the following:
To find the full frame equivalent focal length of a DX lens just multiply by 1.5.
To find the best DX lens to represent the full frame equivalent of chosen focal length then divide by 1.5.
One other thing to remember is that if you use an FX lens on a DX body you will have a crop factor of 1.5x.
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