A term used to describe the size of the digital imaging sensors used in almost all compact DSLRs. The name is derived from the APS (Advanced Photo System) film format that was introduced in 1996 for the amateur point-and-shoot market. The APS format is about half the size (23.6 x 15.8mm) of a standard 35mm frame (24 x 36mm) and has a 1.5x magnification factor (multiply the focal length x 1.5) for determining the 35mm equivalent focal length of lenses used on APS-C format cameras. APS-C format DSLRs from Nikon, Pentax, Fujifilm, and Sony (Alpha) contain APS-C sized imaging sensors.
Canon compact DSLRs, which include EOS Rebel-series DSLRs, contain APS-C format imaging sensors that are slightly smaller than competitive compact DSLRs (22.3 x 14.9mm, so the lens factor for these cameras would be 1.6x). Although it does further reduce the effective field of view of your lenses, they are slightly more telephoto than their 1.5x brethren.
« Back to Glossary Index
