Canon EF Lenses: Setting Today's Standards

Lens Selection Fundamentals

Choosing the right lens involves understanding key concepts:

Focal Length

Focal length determines image size. Lenses with focal lengths shorter than 50mm are wide-angle, while longer focal lengths are telephoto. A 50mm lens is considered standard for the 35mm format. For example, a 100mm lens will make a subject appear twice as large as a 50mm lens at the same distance.

[Diagram showing various focal lengths: 15mm, 14mm, 20mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm, 400mm, 500mm, 600mm]

Aperture

Aperture values (f-numbers or f/stops) indicate how much light enters the lens. Small numbers like f/2.8 or f/1.8 represent large openings, allowing for faster shutter speeds in low light.

Depth of Field

Depth of field refers to the range of acceptable sharpness in an image from front to back. A wide-open aperture (small f-number) creates a shallow depth of field, ideal for isolating subjects with blurred backgrounds. A small aperture (large f-number like f/11 or f/16) increases depth of field, suitable for landscapes.

[Diagram illustrating depth of field: f/2.8 shows shallow depth of field, f/16 shows deep depth of field]

Perspective

Perspective is the relative size of objects at different distances from the camera, influenced by subject distance and focal length. Wide-angle lenses (e.g., 24mm) make distant objects appear smaller, while telephoto lenses (e.g., 200mm) can compress perspective.

[Diagram showing perspective differences: 24mm perspective, 50mm perspective, 200mm perspective]

EF Lens Selection Guide

The choice of lens depends on photographic style and subject matter.

Single Focal Length vs. Zoom Lenses

Single focal length lenses often offer larger maximum apertures and are typically more compact. Zoom lenses provide maximum flexibility, allowing photographers to change focal length without changing lenses, and Canon's EF zooms offer optical quality virtually equal to prime lenses.

Special Purpose Lenses

Macro lenses (e.g., 50mm f/2.8, 100mm f/2.8) are designed for extreme close-up photography. Tilt-Shift (TS-E) lenses allow correction of converging lines and control over the plane of focus, invaluable for architectural and creative photography.

L-Series Lenses

The L-Series is Canon's professional line, featuring advanced technologies for utmost optical performance and rugged reliability.

Wide-angle vs. Telephoto

Wide-angle lenses capture more of the scene, ideal for interiors, landscapes, and group shots. Telephoto lenses bring distant subjects closer, useful for wildlife, sports, and isolating subjects with blurred backgrounds.

Ultra Wide-angle Lenses

EF 14mm f/2.8L USM: A rectilinear super wide-angle lens with a 114° diagonal angle of view, reproducing straight lines normally. It features an aspherical lens element for sharpness and compact size.

EF 15mm f/2.8 Fish-eye: Offers a 180° diagonal angle of view, producing a dramatic fisheye effect where straight lines appear curved (except those through the center).

Wide-angle Lenses

EF 20-35mm f/2.8L: Combines essential wide-angle focal lengths with a bright f/2.8 aperture, featuring an aspherical element for high resolution and inner focusing for speed.

EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM: Offers high-quality, super wide-angle performance at an economical price, with fast, quiet AF and full-time manual override.

EF 20mm f/2.8 USM: Excellent for architecture and landscapes with a 94° angle of view. Features a non-rotating filter thread.

EF 24mm f/2.8: Offers excellent sharpness and contrast, with rear focusing for fast AF and a stationary front group.

EF 28mm f/2.8: Ideal for group shots and landscapes, featuring a glass-molded aspherical element. It is an affordable option for beginners.

EF 35mm f/2: The fastest wide-angle EF lens, suitable for low-light and travel photography, with a close minimum focusing distance.

Standard Zoom Lenses

Standard zooms offer convenience by covering commonly used focal lengths (wide-angle, normal, short telephoto) in a single lens. They allow for experimentation with angle of view and magnification.

EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM: A professional L-Series lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture, featuring a super-precision aspherical element for excellent image quality and an inner focusing design with USM for fast, quiet AF.

EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM: Offers extended range for superb versatility, featuring high image quality, compact size, and an Ultrasonic Motor (USM) for AF.

EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 III and EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 USM: Compact, light, and affordable zooms demonstrating Canon's leadership in zoom technology.

EF 35-105mm f/4.5-5.6 USM: Employs a glass-molded aspherical element, reducing its length and offering compelling value.

EF 35-135mm f/4-5.6 USM: Provides extended range for superb versatility.

EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II USM: A moderately priced standard zoom choice.

High Speed Lenses

Fast lenses are crucial in low light or for freezing action without flash. Canon's large EF lens mount diameter (54mm) facilitates better optical performance with high-speed lenses. Lenses like the EF 50mm f/1.0L USM and EF 85mm f/1.2L USM feature large-aperture aspherical elements for superior picture quality.

EF 50mm f/1.0L USM & EF 85mm f/1.2L USM: The fastest lenses in the EOS system, producing extremely sharp photographs with high contrast and superb color balance, even at full aperture. They feature silent USM autofocusing.

EF 50mm f/1.4 USM & EF 50mm f/1.8 II: High-quality standard lenses with quick AF. The EF 50mm f/1.8 II is the lightest and most economical.

EF 85mm f/1.8 USM & EF 100mm f/2 USM: Moderate telephoto lenses offering high speed, compact size, and superb optical performance at affordable prices, ideal for portraits and fashion.

Mid Range Telephoto Zoom Lenses

Useful for travel, sports, and nature photography when getting closer is not possible. They offer convenience over carrying multiple prime lenses.

EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II: Canon's most affordable and lightweight telephoto zoom, offering impressive picture quality despite its compact size.

EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM: Offers a slightly longer focal range and faster aperture than the 80-200mm, with quick AF and a non-rotating filter thread.

EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM: A professional L-Series lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range. It features USM, a shorter minimum focusing distance, and compatibility with Extenders for increased focal length.

Long Range Telephoto Zoom Lenses

Provide significant reach for distant subjects.

EF 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6L USM: Offers an incredible zoom range in a compact, hand-held design, equipped with UD glass elements for sharpness.

EF 100-300mm f/5.6L: A professional quality, lighter alternative to the EF 80-200mm f/2.8L, popular with nature photographers for its sharpness and macro capability.

EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 II USM: Lightweight and compact with a 4x zoom ratio, featuring a super-quiet Micro USM for excellent AF speed.

EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM: Compact with faster AF due to an advanced zoom design, featuring a distance scale and non-rotating filter thread.

Mid Range Telephoto Lenses (Single Focal Length)

Offer speed and compactness for specific telephoto needs.

EF 135mm f/2.8 with Soft Focus: A bright, lightweight telephoto lens that allows for creative soft-focus effects in addition to sharp images.

EF 200mm f/2.8L USM: An L-Series lens with superb sharpness, compatible with EF Extenders, featuring silent, high-speed AF and full-time manual focusing.

EF 300mm f/4L USM: Lightweight and comfortable for hand-held shooting, excellent for nature, sports, and fashion photography.

EF 400mm f/5.6L USM: A high-performance, affordable, and lightweight single focal length telephoto lens, easy to handle for extended field trips.

EF Super Telephotos

Canon's L-Series super telephoto lenses are built for rugged reliability and unparalleled optical performance, favored by professionals. They offer the largest maximum aperture in their class for AF, USM for superior accuracy, and UD glass elements. Some also include fluorite crystal elements for exceptional brightness, color fidelity, and contrast.

EF 300mm f/2.8L USM, EF 500mm f/4.5L USM, EF 600mm f/4L USM: These lenses provide exceptional clarity and performance. The EF 300mm f/2.8L USM offers the fastest aperture in its focal length for autofocus.

EF 200mm f/1.8L USM & EF 300mm f/2.8L USM: Renowned for their ability to isolate subjects with blurred backgrounds while maintaining sharp focus. The EF 200mm f/1.8L USM is the world's fastest 200mm lens for 35mm SLRs.

EF 400mm f/2.8L USM: Offers full autofocus capability, UD glass, and USM for fast, silent AF. Fully compatible with EF Extenders.

Extenders EF 1.4x & EF 2x: Optional accessories that increase the magnification of compatible prime lenses while preserving optical quality and autofocus capabilities (when the effective maximum aperture is f/5.6 or faster).

EF Macro Lenses

Designed for high-quality close-up photography, allowing focus from infinity to extreme close-up ranges without accessories.

EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro: Focuses from infinity to 0.5X magnification and can be used as a standard lens. The optional Life Size Converter EF increases magnification to full life-size.

EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro: Offers a broad shooting range down to 1X magnification (full life-size), providing working room between the lens and subject. Its medium-telephoto focal length and f/2.8 aperture also make it suitable for portraits.

TS-E Lenses (Tilt-Shift)

These manual focus, auto diaphragm lenses allow the optical axis to be tilted up to ±8° and shifted up to ±11mm. They are available in 24mm, 45mm, and 90mm focal lengths.

Shifting corrects converging lines, essential for professional architectural photography.

Tilting controls the apparent depth of field by adjusting the plane of focus, useful for nature photography to achieve faster shutter speeds.

[Diagram illustrating the principle of skyscraper photography using the Shift function.]

[Diagram illustrating the principle of focusing on an inclined plane using the Tilt function.]

EF Lens Technology

Canon employs several advanced technologies to achieve superior performance:

EF Lens Mount

The only fully electronic body-lens interface for 35mm SLRs, offering reliability, flexibility, and virtually noiseless operation by replacing moving parts with electronic contacts.

Self-Controlled EF Lens Motors

AF and aperture-drive mechanisms are integrated into each lens, controlled by a built-in microprocessor that transmits data to the camera. This enables advanced AF and AE control.

Ultrasonic Motors (USM)

Canon-developed USM motors provide quiet operation, high torque, exceptional speed, and precise starting/stopping for autofocus. Both ring-type and compact Micro USM are used.

Electro-Magnetic Diaphragm (EMD)

A stepping motor-driven iris diaphragm ensuring consistent exposure accuracy and compatibility with future imaging devices.

Aspherical Lenses

Correct spherical aberration, a defect in conventional lenses that causes poor sharpness and flare. Aspherical elements bring all light rays to a common focal point, improving sharpness and contrast. Canon utilizes advanced manufacturing techniques for ground, glass-molded, and composite aspherical elements.

Fluorite & UD Glass

Used to minimize chromatic aberration (secondary spectrum), which causes blur and poor color reproduction, especially in telephoto lenses. Fluorite and UD glass effectively correct these issues for better color fidelity and contrast.

Super Spectra Coating

A multi-layer coating applied to all glass-to-air surfaces, providing highly efficient anti-reflection performance for maximum contrast and ghost-free imaging. Canon uses proprietary computer programs to select coating materials for consistent color balance.

Focusing System & Zoom Lens Design

Inner or rear focusing systems reduce the weight of moving components for maximum AF speed, improved handling, and sharpness at close range. Multi-group zoom lens designs drastically reduce size and weight.

EF Lens Map

A visual representation detailing the focal length ranges and types of various Canon EF lenses, aiding in selection based on photographic needs.

EF Lens Accessories

A range of accessories designed to enhance lens performance and usability:

• Close-up Lenses: Economical lenses for increased magnification.
• Extension Tubes (EF12 & EF25): Extend close-focusing range, primarily for macro photography.
• PL-C Filters: Polarizing filters to reduce reflections and enhance skies.
• Softmat Filters: Create a soft-focus effect.
• Gelatin Filter Holders: For compensating lighting quality and film emulsion variations.

EF Lens Charts and Specifications

Detailed charts and technical specifications are provided for each EF lens, including:

• Accessory Compatibility: Details on compatibility with extension tubes, lens hoods, and converters.
• Technical Specifications: Optical construction (groups/elements, special elements like Fluorite, UD, Aspherical), focusing characteristics (USM, AF, Manual Focus, Focus Preset), and physical attributes (filter size, length, diameter, weight).
• Lens Specifications: Focal length, angle of view (horizontal, vertical, diagonal), minimum aperture, closest focusing distance, and maximum magnification.

These tables offer comprehensive data for professionals and enthusiasts to make informed decisions.

Canon Locations

Canon provides extensive support through its global network.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. Headquarters and Offices

• Headquarters: One Canon Plaza, Lake Success, NY 11042, U.S.A.
• New Jersey Office: 100 Jamesburg Rd., Jamesburg, NJ 08831, U.S.A.
• Atlanta Office: 5625 Oakbrook Parkway, Norcross, GA 30093, U.S.A.
• Chicago Office: 100 Park Blvd., Itasca, IL 60143-2693, U.S.A.
• Los Angeles Office: 15955 Alton Pkwy., Irvine, CA 92718, U.S.A.
• Santa Clara Office: 2051 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054, U.S.A.
• Dallas Office: 3200 Regent Blvd., Irving, TX 75063-3145, U.S.A.
• Honolulu Branch: 1020 Auahi St., Bldg. #8, Honolulu, HI 96814, U.S.A.
• Washington, D.C. Office: 2110 Washington Blvd, Suite 150, Arlington, VA 22204, U.S.A.

Canon Canada Inc. Headquarters and Offices

• Headquarters: 6390 Dixie Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1P7, Canada
• Montreal Service Centre: 10652 Cote de Liesse, Lachine, Quebec H8T 1A5, Canada
• Calgary Office: 2828 16th Street, N.E. Calgary, Alberta T2E 7K7, Canada

Canon Inc. Headquarters

• Tokyo, Japan: 30-2, Shimomaruko 3-Chome, Ohta-ku, Tokyo 146, Japan