My first research project at stuttgart media university made the different sizes of analog film and digital sensors a matter of discussion. Our goal was to demystify the effects of full frame and other large format media on the images appearance and depth of field.
For that, we shot a variety of different formats, including analog full frame, analog medium format as well as digital S35, Full Frame and Medium Format (on a Hasselblad 56D-50c). We shot our test images in each format, compensating the angle of view through different focal lengths and distances. In the end, we examined the differences in depth of field and other parameters that contribute to the look of an image.
We were able to conclude that the size of the capturing media has no direct impact on the look of an image an that equally looking images can be created with smaller sensor or film sizes.
The full scientific work can be read below: