Estimating Sensor Performance
For a given exposure, for example for a fixed focal-plane illuminance and exposure time, larger image sensors capture more photons and hence produce images with less noise and greater dynamic range than smaller sensors. Due to the statistics of photon shot noise, the desirable properties of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensor unity gain both scale with the square root of pixel area.
Since crop factor is inversely proportional to the square root of sensor area (to within a small aspect ratio-dependent factor), it is useful for estimating image sensor performance. For example, if two different-sized image sensors have the same aspect ratio and a resolution of 10 megapixels, and are made using similar technology, the larger sensor will have better signal-to-noise ratio by a factor equal to the ratio of the two sensors' crop factors. The larger sensor has the smaller crop factor and the higher signal-to-noise ratio.
Read more about this topic: Crop Factor
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