In the previous article of the cycle, the marking of Nikon objects is considered.

The Canon EF bayonet, which is used in all modern Canon cameras with interchangeable optics, originated at the stage of formation of autofocus optics in 1987. Since then, it has been the only main one for both the film and digital cameras generation. With the only caveat that the EF system includes a couple of subspecies. But about everything in order.

EF (Electro-Focus) — EF symbols are found in the marking of the vast majority of Canon objects (with rare exceptions, which will be discussed a little later). An autofocus system drive is integrated into the design of the optics with this designation, and all communication between the object and the camera's "carcass" is established through electrical contacts for controlling autofocus and aperture.

EF-S (Electro-Focus Short back focus) is a type of EF system, which is sharpened to work with Canon drop mirrors (crop factor 1.6x). Due to the smaller distance from the rear lens of the object to the camera matrix and, accordingly, the reduced working segment, the EF-S class of optics is not suitable for joint use with full-frame cameras and a small detachment of APS-H mirrors (crop factor 1.3x).

EF-M (Electro-Focus Mirrorless) — this combination of symbols has been used since 2012, when Canon announced its first mirrorless camera to the public. Objects with an EF-M mount are incompatible with EF-S and EF systems, but representatives of the latter type can be installed on mirrorless cameras through special adapters (for example, Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS M).

A couple of exceptions to the rules, on board of which there are no EF symbols in the marking, are the following designations:

TS-E (Tilt-Shift EOS) is the name of representatives of the class of non—autofocus optics, the purpose of which is to provide the possibility of correcting the perspective of the image. It is achieved by shifting or tilting a group of lenses in the object structure relative to the optical axis. The letter E at the same time denotes the electronic drive of the diaphragm. Tilt-Shift objects are used to get interesting effects (for example, panoramic photos in a toy style).

MP-E (Macro Photography EOS) — the specified character combination occurs in the singular on the body of the delegate from the macroobjective detachment — Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo. The "chip" of the model is the support for changing the magnification multiplicity: it is able to shoot with an increase from 1 to 5 times against the classic 1:1. As in the previous designation, the letter E in the marking serves to display the electronic control of the aperture.

Following the abbreviation denoting the type of bayonet, the key data are indicated in the name of the object — the range of focal lengths and the value of the maximum aperture.

35mm / 70-300mm — one number indicates the focal length of the fixes, and two hyphens indicate the zoom objects (minimum and maximum, respectively).

f/2.8 / f/3.5-5.6 — in this case, one number indicates the minimum available aperture value, and with several digits separated by a hyphen — floating values of the maximum aperture for objects with variable focal length. Directly on the body of the object, the designation looks somewhat different: 1:2.8 or 1:3.5-5.6.

The line of top Canon objects can be determined by eye from afar, as they stand out among their peers with coloured rings at the front lens.

L (Luxury) — the symbol L, the decoding of which in literal translation from English sounds like "Luxury", is indicated exactly after the information about the maximum aperture of the object. An additional indicator of the model's belonging to the premium segment is a red ring on the frame. The objects of the L series use exclusively high-class optical elements, besides, the housing of the representatives of the line often has dust and water protection.

DO (Diffractive Optics) — the use of diffraction lenses included in the design to combat chromatic aberration and distortion in the optical scheme of the object. The use of such elements makes it possible to reduce the dimensions and weight of the object. You can recognize a group of models marked DO at a distance by the green ring at the front lens. By the way, it includes only the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM long-range fix and the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM zoom.

An important role in marking is played by symbols that indicate the presence of an image stabilizer in the arsenal of the object and the type of autofocus drive used:

IS (Image Stabilizer) — equipment of the object with a built-in optical image stabilization system. Depending on the generation, it helps to win up to 5 stops of exposure when shooting with hands, which is especially important in low-light conditions. More details about the principles of operation of stabilization systems are described in the framework of the material"Everything you need to know about image stabilization systems."

Useful to know. In some cases, a Roman numeral may be indicated next to the designation of the stabilization system (for example, II). This means that the object uses a stabilizer of the appropriate generation.

DC (Direct Current) is a DC motor for controlling the focus motor used in inexpensive Canon objects. By the speed of focus on sharpness, it loses to its older brethren, the description of which is presented below.

USM (UltraSonic Motor) is an ultrasonic autofocus drive that provides fast and quiet focus. It can be made in two types: ring and with a micromotor. Autofocus drives with a ring motor are installed in more expensive optics and with them the FT-M (Full Time Manual) function is available — manual sharpening, regardless of the selected autofocus mode. But in objects with a built-in micromotor, it is possible to sharpen manually only after switching the "AF/ MF" slider on the lens body to the appropriate mode. Otherwise, the autofocus drive may be damaged.

STM (Stepper Motor) is a stepper motor of autofocus, which is almost silent and very accurate in focus on sharpness. The main vocation of STM is to improve the quality of focus when shooting videos or photos in LiveView mode.

A series of symbols at the end of the name of a particular model reveals additional information about the object:

IF (Internal Focus) — the presence of this symbol combination indicates internal focus, i.e. when focus on sharpness, the inner lens block moves purely inside the object structure, due to which it does not change its size. In addition, in conjunction with models with internal focus, it is much more convenient to use light filters.

RF (Rear Focus) is a type of internal focus, in which only the rear group of lenses is involved when focus on sharpness.

AL (Aspheric Lens) — from the interpretation of the designation, it becomes clear that we are talking about the use of aspheric elements in the optical scheme, the purpose of which is to combat spherical chromatic aberrations. In reality, the marking is practically not indicated anywhere, because similar elements are found in almost all representatives of the wide fleet of Canon optics.

UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) — lenses with low dispersion for effective control of chromatic aberrations.

S-UD (Super Ultra-low Dispersion) are elements in the optical scheme with ultra—low dispersion, designed to suppress chromatic aberrations even more effectively than ED lenses. They are found on board TV sets and wide — angle objects of the L family .

CaF2 (Fluorite) — fluorite lenses to combat purple-green chromatic aberrations.

BR (Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics) is a relatively new abbreviation denoting the presence in the optical circuit of an element that refracts light of short spectral waves (the blue part of the spectrum). With its help, chromatic aberrations are suppressed with the maximum degree of efficiency. For the first time, this element was used in the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM object, announced to the general public in mid-2015.

Float is a system of floating lenses to eliminate aberrations when shooting at short distances.

SWC (SubWavelength Structure coating) is a coating to reduce parasitic glare and re—reflections. It is found in some wide- angle objects of the L series .

CA (Circular Aperture) — rounded diaphragm lobes created to produce a proper round bokeh.

SF (Soft Focus) is the designation of the ability to control the defocusing of the image, which allows you to get a special "soft" frame effect (for example, smoothed skin of the model's face). With the total expansion of the post-processing of the footage in the photo editor, this function has lost its relevance, since it is very easy to achieve such an effect programmatically. A striking representative of optics marked SF is the portrait object Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 SF.

PZ (Power Zoom) — indicates a motorized zoom drive. The only known example of an object with a zoom lens is the Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 PZ universal zoom.

Finally, at the very end of the name of the object, specialized designations may appear indicating the type of optics:

Fisheye — this is how wide-angle objects with characteristic barrel-shaped distortions and a viewing angle close to 180° are marked. The popular name of this class of optics is "fish eye".

Macro — specialized objects designed for macro photography.

Compact Macro is a type of macro objects that are able to focus on the object of filming from a very close distance. An example of such a solution is the high—power "fifty kopeck" Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro.

Macro Lite — built-in light sources (at the front lens and bayonet mount) for illumination of the shooting object in macro mode. They are ring flashes with several modes of operation (they can work both together and separately, you can also choose the brightness level of the light). One such macro—objective was released in 2017 for Canon DSLRs (Canon EF 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM), and the second appeared a year earlier — Canon EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro IS STM is compatible with mirrorless cameras of the Japanese brand.

It is worth noting that all of these designations are applied directly to the body of the object or appear in its marking. Many of them are so entrenched in the design of optics that they do not require a separate reminder of their presence.

Have a good shooting!

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Marking of Nikon objects
The symbols in the long name of the object will tell you almost everything about it.