Most products these days appear to be named by--and for--robots. My television is a Sony KDL46EX600, for example, and I recently discovered myself shopping for a refrigerator that goes by the sexy name of GSCS3PGXSS. Jennifer Blue, from Australia, recently asked a fantastic question about decoding lens names. The answer merely wouldn't fit in November's often asked questions, so I decided to unravel this mystery here.
Buy Camera Lenses For Sale
The Mystery of Two Similar Lenses
Jennifer wrote with a quandary: Why are two seemingly comparable lenses priced so differently? She had the chance to try them both, and they gave strikingly different results. What gives?
Jennifer evaluated these lenses:
Lens A
Nikkor AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-56 G IF-ED
$550
Lens B
Nikkor AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5/6G
$115
Jennifer asks: "Perhaps you can clarify why these two Nikon lens differ so a lot. I purchased the 1st one and then came across the other. Thinking I would be saving myself funds, I sent the initial one back. Regrettably, the second 1 was terribly disappointing. It was clearly inferior, but they appear to be essentially the exact same lens. If I had started with the second lens, I most likely wouldn't have known any much better. Fortunately, I had the chance to check out both lenses."
She concludes: "So how do we decide on lenses like these? Just by trial-and-error and personal encounter over the years?"
The Mysterious Letters Reveal All
It's not just a matter of trial, error, and encounter--or dumb luck. These two lenses could not be a lot more different, and thankfully, Nikon spells it all out in the model name. You just want to know how to read it.
Both are auto-focus lenses--that's what the AF means--but there the similarities end. Actually, they are various kinds of autofocus lenses, as well. Let's think about Lens A, the more pricey lens, first.
Nikkor AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-56 G IF-ED
AF-S is a type of auto-focus where the focusing motor is built into the lens itself. This designation is crucial for particular models of cameras that don't have their own focusing motors--they rely on the lens having the motor to focus. But even cameras with integrated focusing motors will let the lens with an AF-S control the focusing, because AF-S motors are usually faster and quieter than what's in the camera body.
VR stands for "Vibration Reduction." This is a feature that gyroscopically stabilizes the lens for sharper photos, especially when you're handholding the camera (as opposed to mounting it on a tripod). Conventional wisdom says that utilizing a VR lens is the equivalent of shooting 3 stops faster, thanks to less jitter when you hold the camera in your hands.
The IF designation means "Internal Focus"--in other words, the lens doesn't change length or rotate as you focus. This comes in handy if you use a polarizing filter, for example: With a typical lens, you'd have to readjust the polarizer after focusing, but it stays put on an IF lens.
Finally, the ED stands for "Additional-low Dispersion" glass, which is an indication of high quality. The glass is engineered to eliminate imperfections like chromatic aberration, which affects the colors in the photo.
Bottom line, this is a high-high quality lens. Now let's look at the less-high-priced option, Lens B.
Nikkor AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5/6G
Notice the lack of abbreviations? Essentially, this is a hunk of glass. Don't get me wrong; I like Nikon lenses. Even a inexpensive Nikon lens is built to a specific high quality standard. But this lens isn't particularly high in Nikon's hierarchy. The AF indicates it's auto-focus, but it'll only focus on Nikon bodies that have integrated focusing motors. There's nothing else remarkable about this lens.
Evaluating Other Lenses
Those codes will assist you unlock most of the common features in modern Nikon lenses, thought there are other Nikon codes out there that I didn't talk about. And Canon has its own designations, like EF and EF-S. I could write for days about the codes and model names utilized by other lens makers. So where can you turn for info to decode lens models?
Wikipedia is a excellent resource. Here are some pages to check out:
* Nikon
* Canon
* Pentax
Hot Pic of the Week
Get published, get well-known! Each week, we choose our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality, and method.
Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be right away disqualified. If required, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image prior to e-mailing it to us. Consist of the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Just before entering, please read the full description of the contest rules and regulations.
This week's Hot Pic: "Safari Stripes" by Hendry Oarto, Jakarta
Hendry writes: "I took this photo making use of a Canon EOS 550D. It is a photo of a zebra walking towards us while we sat in our car at the Taman Safari."
This week's runner-up: "Distant Lightning" by Bob Brennan, Portland, Oregon
Bob says: "I took this photo utilizing a Nikon D300 at Flat Head Lake in Montana. My dog Diamond was playing in the water and a thunderstorm was on the horizon. I held down the shutter button and got lucky on this specific shot."
To see all of this month's winners, visit the November Hot Pics slide show. Go to the Hot Pics Flickr gallery to browse past winners.
Have a digital photo question? E-mail me your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself. And be sure to sign up to have Digital Focus e-mailed to you every week.
Understanding Camera Lens Model Numbers