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Our comprehensive listing of key speci cations for mirrorlesslenses

Buyin

Guide

257

lenses

listed &

rated

OUR GUIDE TO THE SUFFIXES USED BY LENS MANUFACTURERS

AF Nikon AF lenses driven from camera
AF-S Nikon lenses with Silent Wave Motor
AF-P Nikon lenses with stepper motors
AL Pentax lenses with aspheric elements
APD Fujifi lm lenses with apodisation elements
APO Sigma Apochromatic lenses
ASPH Aspherical elements
AW Pentax all-weather lenses
CS Samyang lenses for APS-C cropped sensors
D Nikon lenses that communicate distance info
DA Pentax lenses optimised for APS-C-sized sensors
DC Nikon defocus-control portrait lenses

DC Sigma’s lenses for APS-C digital

DG Sigma’s designation for full-frame lenses

Di Tamron lenses for full-frame sensors

Di-II Tamron lenses designed for APS-C DSLRs

Di-III Tamron lenses for mirrorless cameras

DN Sigma’s lenses for mirrorless cameras

DO Canon diffractive optical element lenses

DT Sony lenses for APS-C-sized sensors

DX Nikon’s lenses for DX-format digital

DS Canon’s Defocus Smoothing technology

E Nikon lenses with electronic apertures

E Sony lenses for APS-C mirrorless

ED Extra-low Dispersion elements

EF Canon’s lenses for full-frame DSLRs

EF-S Canon’s lenses for APS-C DSLRs

EF-M Canon’s lenses for APS-C mirrorless

EX Sigma’s ‘Excellent’ range

FA Pentax full-frame lenses

FE Sony lenses for full-frame mirrorless

G Nikon lenses without an aperture ring

HSM Sigma’s Hypersonic Motor

IS Canon’s Image-Stabilised lenses

L Canon’s ‘Luxury’ range of high-end lenses

LD Low-Dispersion glass

LM Fujifi lm Linear Motor

MP-E Canon’s high-magnifi cation macro lens

OIS Optical Image Stabilisation

OS Sigma’s Optically Stabilised lenses

PC-E Nikon tilt-and-shift lenses

PF Nikon Phase Fresnel optics

PZD Tamron Piezo Drive focus motor

RF Canon full-frame mirrorless lenses

S Nikon’s premium lenses for mirrorless

SAM Sony Smooth Autofocus Motor

SDM Pentax’s Sonic Direct Drive Motor

SMC Pentax Super Multi Coating

SP Tamron’s Super Performance range

SSM Sony Supersonic Motor lenses

STF Sony and Laowa Smooth Trans Focus

STM Canon lenses with stepper motor

TS-E Canon Tilt-and-Shift lens

UMC Ultra Multi Coated

USM Canon lenses with an Ultrasonic Motor

USD Tamron Ultrasonic Drive motor

VC Tamron’s Vibration Compensation

VR Nikon’s Vibration Reduction feature

WR Weather Resistant

Z Nikon’s lenses for mirrorless cameras

Lenses

Interchangeable lenses come in

a huge array of types for shooting

different kinds of subjects

Maximum

aperture

Wider apertures mean

you can use faster,

motion-stopping

shutter speeds.

Lens mounts

On the whole, each manufacturer

uses its own proprietary lens

mount. Notable exceptions are

Micro Four Thirds, shared by

Olympus and Panasonic, and the

full-frame L-mount that’s used by

Leica, Panasonic and Sigma.

Filter thread

A thread at the front of

the camera will have

a diameter, in mm, which

will allow you to attach

a variety of filters or

adapters to the lens.

Built-in focus motor

Lenses for mirrorless cameras invariably

use built-in motors for autofocus, which

are also used for electronic manual

focusing. Silent, video-friendly stepper

motors are most commonly employed.

Manual-focus optics with traditional

aperture rings are also widely available.

IN GENERAL, the easiest way
to expand the kinds of pictures
you can take is by buying
different types of lenses. For
example, telephoto lenses
let you zoom in on distant
subjects, while macro lenses
enable close-ups of small
objects. Large-aperture
lenses allow you to isolate
subjects against blurred
backgrounds, or shoot in low
light without having to raise
the ISO too high. Meanwhile,
all-in-one superzooms cover
a wide range of subjects, but
usually with rather lower
optical quality.