What's up with FD & EF Newbie post as you can tell

[trosky]

as you can tell from the title, im a newbie, i still dont know the difference between the ef and the fd. I've read about it online, but all i got was that 1 has a white square and the other one a red dot. I have Right now an 18-55 with a white square, and a 70-200 with a red dot. Now, i really dont know what the difference is except how it mounts on my T1i.


Also i have noticed that all the FD lenses are significantly cheaper than EF, and this is really why the question came in my head. I've recently got a 50mm 1:1.8 FD lens, and it looks NOTHING like the EF-50mm 1.8, i read it only has manual focus, and it has an FD mount, but im still kinda lost on why the FD, EF, EF-S difference, would anyone like to share some insight?? Thanks

[Sean Setters]

An FD mount is the type of mount that Canon used before the now current EF and EF-S mounts. Lenses with FD mounts are manual focus only. When Canon needed to introduce auto-focus lenses, they had to create a different mount to enable the technology. FD lenses aren't exactly obsolete, but they're a hell of a lot less useful than EF lenses with autofocus (assuming autofocus works).


EF lenses will work on all newer Canon cameras. However, EF-S lenses will only work on Canon cameras with APS-C sized sensors (which are smaller than their full-sized cousins). APS-C sized sensors are found in the Canon digital Rebels, xxD series, and 7D. Cameras with APS-C sized sensors can use EF and EF-S lenses, but full-frame cameras can only use EF lenses.

[Justin Koh]

Dear trosky...


I think you got it wrong... It's not FD and EF... It's EF and EF-S... FD is an old, long discontinued format of Canon lens that works on old, analog, non auto-focus cameras.


The white square one you got is the EF-S lens. The red dot one is the EF.


Let's start with EF. EF lens where made and design toaccommodateCanon cameras that uses the traditional 35mm film cameras with auto-focus ability (EOS). When Canon came up with digital SLRs, they carryforward this format to be use one the new EOS body too.It also incorporate more modern advancement to the lens system such as autoaperture and ImageStabilization and other features. It has data connectors at the lens mount to transmit andreceiveinformation from the camera body.


Then, because digital cameras do not have to have sensor the size of traditional 35mm films, sensors were made smaller. Namely the APS-C format. These smaller size sensor camera are usually smaller and cheaper to make. However, the lenses they use is still the traditional EF format that wasmeant for 35mm film or sensor size. Why not make a lens system thataccommodate the new smaller and cheaper (relatively speaking) sensor digital SLRs? That's exactly what Canon did.


By using the same lens mounting system as the EF, they created the EF-S format which is smaller and cheaper to make. Another advantage of a smaller lens is that it can be made to mount closer to the sensor,yieldingeven morecompactdesign. The disadvantage is that these new EF-S lenses is not compatible with the older EF format cameras. The reverse way is true. You can mount an EF (Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens)lens onto an EF-S (Canon EOS Rebel T1i / 500D)format camera but you cannot mount an EF-S (Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS)lens on an EF camera (Canon EOS 5D Mark II). These days, EF format cameras are usually professional series camera and EF-S format cameras are consumer grade cameras. However, recently, Canon did came out with veryimpressive EF-S camera and lenses (Canon EOS 7D&Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM)that can rival even the better professional series. And I don't call these cameras and lenses cheap too.


This is just the summary of it. You can read more of it in the website. Though it seems complicated, but it is very plan and simple.

[wickerprints]

FD is the old, non-electronic Canon lens mount. In 1987, it was replaced by the EF mount for the EOS system.


FD lenses are incompatible with EOS bodies. You will not be able to use an FD lens on a T1i, unless you have a way of disassembling it and modifying the lens mount. FD lenses are cheaper than EF lenses of a similar design, because they lack internal electronics that control the aperture and focusing gears. Furthermore, most EF lenses have had their optics updated from their FD counterparts, to include things like newer coatings and glass types, and some EF lenses have optical image stabilization (IS), which no FD lens has.


EF is the current lens mount. "EF" stands for "electronic focus." All EF lenses have a motor that draws power from an EOS camera body, which enables autofocus for these lenses. A red, raised, circular dot on the lens barrel indicates the lens mount alignment position.


EF-S is the modified EF lens mount specifically designed for EOS bodies with an APS-C sensor, such as the T1i, 50D, and 7D. The "-S" suffix in EF-S stands for "short back focus," meaning the rearmost element of the lens is located closer to the focal plane than in EF lenses. EF-S lenses cannot be used on bodies with "full-frame" or APS-H sensors, such as the 5D, 1D, and 1Ds series. A white square indicates the lens mount alignment position. However, EF lenses can be used on all EOS bodies, including the T1i, 50D, and 7D.


There are a few special-purpose lenses produced by Canon that have the EF mount, but are not designated as EF lenses. These include the MP-E 65mm macro, and the TS-E family of lenses. The MP-E (which stands for "macro photo - electronic") is a manual focus-only lens. There is no AF motor, hence it is not given the EF designation, even though the lens mount is EF compatible. It is a special macro-only lens, which lacks infinity focus, and has a variable magnification ratio from 1x to 5x life size. The TS-E family of lenses (which stands for "tilt shift - electronic") are also manual focus only, and are intended to be used for applications like architecture and special depth-of-field effects. But again, all of these lenses have the EF mount and therefore can be used with all EOS bodies--they just aren't called EF lenses by Canon.

[Feanor]

Some really interesting information there for non-newbies (if I may be so bold to consider myself one), never mind newbies!


Wickerprints - you've also got me wanting an MP-E lens now, I had no idea a lens with 5x magnification existed!!

[neuroanatomist]

I agree with Feanor, some excellent info there!

You will not be able to use an FD lens on a T1i, unless you have a way of disassembling it and modifying the lens mount.

Just to correct one minor point - you don't need to disassemble and modify anything, you just need to purchase a relatively inexpensive adapter, such as this one from B&H. Of course, just because you can, it doesn't mean you should...for exactly the reasons you state.