Deciphering the designations of Sony lenses

The Japanese company Sony is a relatively young player in the market of photographic equipment, but no less significant than the "sharks" of the industry represented by the Canon and Nikon brands. What is the Sony family of full-frame mirrorless mirrors, which simply does not exist among other systems.

The key technologies for the development and production of photographic equipment were inherited by the Japanese corporation from the famous Konica-Minolta company in the past, which sank into oblivion at the dawn of the third millennium. Hence the similarity in the marking of optics. Detailed transcripts of the designations used in the marking of Sony objects are given below.

The brand's SLR cameras borrowed the name for their bayonet from the Minolta α system, which at one time became the world's first line of autofocus 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras and objects (as of 1985).:

SAL (Sony Alpha Lens) — objects for the α bayonet used in all Sony DSLRs.

DT (Digital Technology) — a similar combination of symbols is found on board optics, sharpened to work in tandem with drop-in cameras with interchangeable optics (APS-C format). Due to the shorter working period, objects marked DT are not suitable for installation on full-frame "carcasses", since they do not provide full coverage of the area of the future frame (the picture will inevitably be spoiled by strong vignetting).

The marking for mirrorless cameras was introduced by Sony in 2010 simultaneously with the release of the first system cameras without a mirror in their design:

SEL (Sony E-Lens) is a bayonet mount for mirrorless cameras, which, in turn, is divided into two separate categories:

E — indicates compatibility with mirrorless cameras of APS-C format (for example, Sony A6300 body );

FE optics with such symbols in the name covers the full frame (for example, it is suitable for use in conjunction with the camera Sony A7r II body ).

Apart from the markings are the designations used on board the Zeiss objects — a high-class optics unit for Sony cameras, developed in close cooperation with the authoritative German brand of the same name:

ZA (Zeiss Alpha) is a joint development with the renowned optics manufacturer Carl Zeiss. In simplified labeling , it is indicated by a single letter Z.

Planar, Vario-Sonnar, Distagon, etc. — the type of optical scheme according to which the object is built.

T* is a proprietary technology of multi—layer lens illumination for effective control of parasitic glare and re-reflections of light.

1.4/50 or 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 — the maximum value of the aperture of the object and its range of focal lengths (in the second case in reverse order). According to the values of focal lengths, it is possible to understand that the object belongs to one or another class of optics (wide-angle, universal, portrait, etc.).

G (Golden) — top-class objects with improved optical characteristics and excellent build quality. Such models also cost quite a lot.

GM (G-Master) is the evolution of the "golden" series, which began in 2016. The abbreviation is used on high—end Sony objects, sharpened to work in tandem with full-frame mirrorless cameras. The first-born of the line are Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM, Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lenses.

Depending on the autofocus drive object used in the design, one of the following designations may be encoded in the lens marking:

SSM (Super Sonic Motor) is a fast and quiet ring—type ultrasonic focus drive (Sony objects got it from Minolta).

SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor) is a simpler and cheaper alternative to SSM, which is slightly inferior to the ring motor in speed and accuracy of focus.

DDSSM (Direct Drive Super Sonic Motor) is an improved version of SSM, whose main task is to quickly move heavy groups of lenses in full—frame optics when aiming at sharpness. Motors of this type first appeared in 2015.

If none of the above types of drives are used in the object, then autofocus control is carried out by means of a motor built into the camera's "carcass" — the so-called "screwdriver" (it is not found on new brand cameras). The origin of another abbreviation is connected with the "screwdriver" times:

HS (High-Speed) is an improved "screwdriver" drive system, which was used in telecoms in order to provide faster displacement of lens groups for fast focus.

On board the optics for mirrorless mirrors , the following designation often appears:

OSS (Optical Steady Shot) is a built—in optical image stabilization system, more details about its principles of operation are described in the framework of the material"Everything you need to know about image stabilization systems." But on board the optics for DSLRs, this designation cannot be found, since the "chip" of Sony SLR cameras is a matrix stub. Accordingly, additional image stabilization by the forces of the object is often simply not required.

D (Distance Integrator) — the symbol D makes it clear that there is a microprocessor built into the "body" of the object to transmit data to the camera about the distance to the object of the shooting.

STF (Smooth Transition Focus) is a specialized abbreviation that appears in the expanded name of a unique non—autofocus lens Sony 135mm f/2.8 A Price from 34 000 up to 61 283 ₴. A special apodization filter is included in the optical scheme of this "pepelac" to soften and smooth the edges of objects outside the sharpness zone (i.e. to create a fabulous bokeh). In addition to the maximum value of the aperture, the object marking indicates the real aperture (T4.5), since the APD element used in the design reduces the luminous flux passing through the diaphragm.

ED (Extra-low Dispersion) — low-dispersion lenses in an optical scheme for effective control of chromatic aberrations.

AR (Anti-Reflective) is a nano—coating of lenses to minimize the effects of glare and reflections.

APO is an apochromatic element in an optical circuit, the purpose of which lies in the suppression of chromatic aberrations.

xi is another abbreviation inherited by some objects from the company Minolta, which has sunk into oblivion. It means support for changing the focal length using the motor built into the object.

PZ (Power Zoom) is a modernized version of the motorized zoom drive.

LE (Light Edition) is a lightweight version of the object. Instead of metal, plastic is used in the construction of LE optics, and differences may also lie in the design of the optical circuit. An example of such a solution is the universal zoom object Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS LE Price from 22 747 up to 34 649 ₴.

TC (Tele-Converter) — this set of symbols is found in the name of teleconverters used to change the focal length of an object or increase its maximum aperture.

Reflex — marking of mirror-lens objects (curved mirrors are used instead of classical elements in their optical scheme). The reason for Sony's pride is the fact that its Sony 500mm f/8 Reflex long-focus model is the only autofocus object of its kind in the world.

Macro, Fisheye, Pancake are specialized designations indicating the type of object.

In the simplified labeling of objects (for example, SAL24F20Z or SEL50F18), the vast majority of designations are not indicated. As, however, there may not be any abbreviation in the full name of a particular model (especially from the category of those whose presence has long been taken for granted).

Have a good shooting!