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Our comprehensive listing of key specifi cations for mirrorless lenses
Buying
Guide
284
lenses
listed &
rated
Lenses
Interchangeable lenses come in
a huge array of types for shooting
di erent 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.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 Fuji lm lenses with apodisation elements
APO Sigma Apochromatic lenses
ASPHAspherical 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 lensesDC 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 mirrorlessED 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 glassLM Fuji lm Linear Motor
MP-E Canon’s high-magni 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 CoatingSP 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 cameras55-59 BG MirrorlessLenses Mar6 AW.indd 55 19/02/2021 16:21