PHOTOGRAPHY

 Do you find it difficult to understand the numbers, letters, and symbols of the camera lens?

  Camera lens numbers, letters, and symbols on their labels may confuse you.

  If you don't know how to read the name of the lens and what all the numbers, letters, and symbols of your camera lenses mean, you may find yourself lost during the buying process because it's the name of the lens that contains its specifications as well as its features.

  And reading the lens makes it easy for you to quickly search among dozens of lenses in online stores when you want to buy a new one.

  In this article, we'll cover what the camera lens numbers, letters, and symbols on their labels mean by all brands.

  After you finish reading this article, you will be able to understand camera lenses quite easily.

Numbers, Letters, and Symbols of the camera lens?

   Focal length

  Regardless of the type, price, or brand of the lens, somewhere in its name and on its body you will find a number (eg 50mm) or a pair of numbers (eg l8-135mm) written on the body.

  This number or pair of numbers indicates the focal length range. Which means how much of the scene the lens can see. Will the lens take a picture of the entire neighborhood or will it only capture the house in the middle of the neighborhood?

  Lower numbers like 28mm or 18mm or less mean a wider angle. That is, with these lenses you will capture a large part of the scene.

  But big numbers like 50mm or 85mm or more will pick up a smaller portion.

  In general, the higher the number of millimeters, the lower the amount of scene the lens will capture. And vice versa, the lower the millimeter numbers, the more scenery you'll capture.

  You may have noticed that in some lenses there is a single number such as 50mm, while in other lenses there are two numbers such as l 18-55mm, l 70-200mm, and so on.

  Lenses with a single number called a prime lens cannot zoom, meaning that it's a lens with a fixed focal length that does not have a zoom feature.

  While lenses with two pairs of numbers are zoom lenses, those numbers are the zoom range you can do.

  For example, the 70-200mm lens has a zoom range of 70mm (the widest angle) and can zoom in to 200mm.

  You can visit our article that talks about types of lenses for more information about prime lenses and zoom lenses and which one is better. You will also find other types of lenses there.

   Maximum Aperture

  When you search through camera lens numbers, letters, and symbols, you'll find an f followed by a number like f/1.8.

  Or you might find the number alone without f like 50/1.8 (50 is the focal length of the lens). Or you may find it as F2.0.

  And sometimes you may find the place of f-number 1 and two points like 1:1.4.

  These numbers stand for the maximum aperture your lens can reach.

  A lens aperture is simply the opening in the front of the lens that opens and closes to allow light to pass into the camera for an image of appropriate brightness.

  The maximum aperture is the largest aperture your lens can reach. The wider the aperture, the more light will enter the camera. Therefore, wide-aperture lenses are very useful when shooting in low-light conditions.

  Small numbers mean wide aperture so f/2.8 means wide aperture, while f/22 means very small aperture.

  Larger apertures such as f/2.8 or even f/1.8 are highly desirable by photographers as they allow you to shoot in low light conditions while maintaining a fast shutter speed to avoid motion blur caused by holding the camera in the hand.

  That's why wide aperture lenses are also called fast lenses.

  Some zoom lenses have a variable maximum aperture, this is represented as a set of numbers, such as the LL 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6 LL lens. What does this mean?

  The variable aperture on the lenses is denoted as follows: 5.6-3.5: 1

  This means that the lens has an aperture that changes according to the focal length.

  At a focal length of 18mm, the maximum aperture that the lens can reach is f/3.5.

  While at 55mm, the maximum aperture that the lens can reach is f/5.6. And the aperture changes smoothly between these two extremes.

  There are zoom lenses with a fixed aperture that do not change, such as the ll 18-50mm f/2.8 ll lens although in the category of zoom lenses it has a fixed aperture of f/2.8 across its entire range of focal lengths, so it's considered to be of higher quality (but also larger and heavier, and more expensive...).

  Smaller numbers are better

  When you want to buy a lens remember; Smaller numbers are better – the smaller the aperture number, the more light that passes through the lens, and the easier it's to take pictures even in the dark.

  Also, wide-aperture lenses have a narrow depth of field or so-called bokeh, that's when you focus on an object, you will get a beautiful background blur as shown in the image below.

   Lens compatibility with the camera type

  When a photographer is considering buying a camera from a particular brand like Canon, they are confused about whether they want a DSLR camera with an APS-C sensor (ie a small sensor, also called a Crop Sensor), or a camera with a Full Frame sensor (large sensor).

  Our article on The difference between Full Frame and APS-C sensor cameras, and what effect each type has on your photos will give you everything you need to know about the two.

  Well, in the world of lenses some lenses are compatible with every type of sensor inside the camera.

  Lenses compatible with Full Frame cameras are often more expensive than lenses compatible with Crop Sensor cameras.

  In the lens labels, you can find indications of whether a particular lens is made for the large sensor (Full Frame) or the smaller sensor (Crop Sensor).

  If you own a Full Frame camera, knowing the type of lens allows you to avoid lenses aimed at cameras with the smaller sensor, and also if you own a camera with a smaller sensor, you don't have to buy unnecessary expensive lenses.

  There are also lenses directed for mirrorless cameras.

  The most popular lens manufacturers use these abbreviations:

• For Canon, EF stands for a lens designed for a DSLR with a full-frame, and EF-S tells you that the lens is for a DSLR with an APS-C sensor. While the EF-M indicates that this lens is intended for mirrorless cameras.

• On Nikon, FX stands for a lens designed for a DSLR with a full-frame, and DX tells you that the lens is for a DSLR with an APS-C sensor. While Nikkor 1 or CX indicates that this lens is for mirrorless cameras.

• For Sony, this company isn't known for its DSLR cameras, but it specializes in making mirrorless cameras. E stands for Sony Mirrorless lens that contains a small APS-C sensor. And FE stands for a mirrorless camera with a large Full Frame sensor.

• In Pentax, FA stands for a lens designed for a DSLR with a full-frame, and DA tells you that the lens is for a DSLR with an APS-C sensor.

• In SIGMA, DG stands for a lens designed for a DSLR with a full-frame, and DC tells you that the lens is for a DSLR with an APS-C sensor. While DN indicates that this lens is intended for mirrorless cameras.

• In Tamron, Di indicates a lens designed for a DSLR with a full-frame, and Di-II tells you that the lens is intended for a DSLR with an APS-C sensor. Di-III refers to lenses for cameras that have a sensor smaller than APS-C, such as micro-four-thirds cameras.

• Finally, Tokina uses the same acronyms as Nikon. where FX stands for Full Frame lenses and DX for APS-C lenses.

  Some manufacturers — these last three in particular — produce lenses for other brands, as you can find this in the name of the lens in a form like “Sigma 50 / 1.4 for Canon.”

   Focus range

  This feature is present on some lenses but not all, you will see a range of distances, usually given in two scales, feet, and meters.

  These lens numbers indicate the distance the lens is currently focused on.

  So at one end of the scale, you'll find the infinity symbol, and at the other end, you'll find the minimum focus distance for the lens (that is, the closest the lens can focus to which if you get too close the lens will lose focus).

  When you reset the focus to something else in the scene, the distance scale will change to reflect the new focus point.

   Lens diameter Ø 72 (filter size)

  Sometimes you will find a mark on the lens such as Ø 72. This number indicates the diameter of the lens.

  You may be wondering, what is the benefit for us to know the diameter of the lens!

  When you want to buy a filter or what is called a filter, you must be aware of the diameter of your lens to buy a filter of the same diameter.

  If the diameter of the filter does not match the diameter of the lens, it will not fit properly into the front of the lens.

  As for the lens in the photo below, it has a diameter of 77mm. And if I wanted to buy a filter, I would need to get one of the same diameters.

  By the way, you can also find the diameter of the lens on the back of the lens cap.

   Stabilizer

  If you're shooting with your camera in hand rather than on a tripod, image stabilization will be your best friend ever.

  Image stabilization is an in-lens system designed to reduce noise associated with camera movement while shooting in your hand.

  This mechanical system will make sure that no shaking of your hand or anything hitting the lens will blur the image!

  Image stabilization is useful if you want to shoot in low light as it enables you to get clear images without the motion blur caused by slow shutter speed.

  If you want to buy a lens that contains a stabilizer, you should look into the label of the lens,

  All brands use a term or abbreviation that tells you if this lens has image stabilization.

  Now, we'll introduce you to all the abbreviations or letters that all brands use to denote the presence of image stabilization:

• IS in Image Stabilization (Canon)

• VR in Nikon (Vibration Reduction)

• OSS in Optical SteadyShot (Sony)

• OS in Optical Stabilization (Sigma)

• VC at Tamron Vibration Compensation

• VCM in Vibration Correction Module (Tokina)

  Well, let's make a simple choice: the two lenses in the photo below, which ones have the image stabilizer feature?

  Yes, correct! The lens is above because it contains the acronym IS, which stands for the presence of the image stabilization feature in Canon lenses. I did well!

   Lens Version

  Manufacturers gradually update the most used lenses, for example, once every five or ten years, you can come across a lens that has the same specifications as its predecessor, but looks different and is of higher quality.

  Therefore, the manufacturer will tell you if this's a second copy of the lens. By adding the Roman numeral II or III. This means that it is the second or third generation of that particular lens.

   Focusing Motor Type

  In higher-quality lenses, a cheaper, simpler focusing motor is replaced by a faster, quieter motor. And your AF is guaranteed to be reliably accurate, beautifully quiet, and incredibly fast.

  This type of focus drive is referred to by the following abbreviations:

• USM in (Canon)

• SWM in (Nikon)

• SSM at (Sony)

• HSM's (Sigma)

• PZD in (Tamron)

• S in (Tokina)

  This classification can sometimes be misleading, for example. For Canon, the term “USM” sometimes denotes a low-quality MicroUSM drive. So when you want to buy a lens from Canon that has a high-quality USM driver, you should look at its exact specifications for USM high quality which means high-quality motor.

   Special Materials

  Tamron and Pentax companies love to show off the special materials that their lenses contain.

  So they use acronyms such as XR (extra refraction), ED (extra dispersion), or LD (low dispersion) and in some cases descriptions of the shape of the lens: such as "aspherical".

  These lenses that have a lot of specs in their name can do worse than other lenses that have a lot fewer abbreviations.

  This means that you should not be fooled by the many acronyms in the lens name.

  But there is one exception: some lenses are currently produced in duplicate in all specifications, differing only on whether a special optical element is used indoors or not.

  One good example is “Canon 70-300 / 4 – 5.6”  vs  “Canon 75-300 / 4.5 – 5.6 DO”

  A lens with a "DO" in its last designation contains a "reflexive optics element", which is much lighter than a regular lens.

  The designation “DO” is the safest way to distinguish these lenses, which is very important.

   Internal Focusing

  Tamron adds the acronym "IF" to the lens name, which means internal focus.

  It tells you that the lens does not change in size while focusing, making it easier to work with.

  Well, almost all companies have lenses like this, so Tamron isn't at all unique in having this feature.

  The reason they include the internal focus feature in the name of the lens is for marketing purposes only.

   A high-quality set of lenses

  Manufacturers also try to distinguish which lenses they think are better than the rest of their production, to justify the higher cost you pay for these lenses.

  Every company uses a letter or an acronym to distinguish their range of high-quality lenses:

• L in (Canon)

• G in (Sony)

• A / Art / EX in (Sigma)

• SP in (Tamron)

• PRO (Tokina)

• Nikon has no such rating.

   Other camera lens numbers, letters, and symbols

  There are still a few small details of the impact that are worth paying attention to, but these are only found in two completely unusual types of lenses.

  The Nikon “AF Nikkor 14mm f/2.8” lens can be used as an example here.

  Almost all Nikon lenses have an AF-S designation at the start, which indicates that the lens is capable of focusing automatically using its own motor.

  But this aforementioned lens only has AF instead of AF-S, which means that while it can focus automatically, it can only do so if paired with a camera that has the AF motor inside.

  So, if you own a Nikon D3300 DSLR without an AF motor and use this lens with it, the AF won't work for you, and all that's left for you here is manual focus.

  There is also another acronym on Canon lenses: STM, which stands for a stepping motor designed to reduce AF shakes and noise during video recording.

  Canon's budget lenses feature this engine.

  The first lens to use an STM was the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM.

  Now, all EF-M lenses include a stepper motor, but it has now been incorporated into some EF-S lenses, such as the EF-S 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS STM.

   conclusion

  Each lens manufacturer has a unique way of naming lens features.

  When buying a new lens, look carefully at each letter and number. Each of them holds valuable information.

  One letter (or no letter) can change the value of the lenses by hundreds of dollars.

  And if there are any camera lens numbers, letters, and symbols that I've missed, don't worry - just share them in the comments below, and I'll see what I can do to help!