Canon EF 16-35mm Lens and Canon EF-S 10-22mm Lens
This is a question that comes up quite often, so I am providing a brief explanation to answer it for those users new to the Canon DSLR system.
Canon EF and EF-S lenses refer to the mount type of the lens, which also differentiates between the sensor type. At the time this is published, Canon offers two sensor types in its DSLRs – full frame and APS-C (or crop sensor).
Brief Explanation of Full Frame and APS-C Cameras
The full frame sensor is the larger of the two. It is the size of a 35mm film frame – 36mm x 24mm.
The Canon APS-C sensor is smaller at 22.3mm x 14.9mm. The field of view (how much of a scene you can see through the viewfinder) is smaller when using the same lens on an APS-C format camera than it would be on a full frame camera.
For example, a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens produces a field of view equivalent to an 80mm lens when used on a Canon APS-C format camera like the Canon Rebel line. This is often times referred to as a “crop factor”.
So, Canon APS-C cameras have a 1.6x crop factor.
Canon APS-C cameras include the 7D line, the 70D and lower line and the Canon Rebel line.
Canon full frame cameras include the 1D X, the 5D line and the 6D line.
EF vs. EF-S Lenses
Put simply, Canon EF-S lenses are designed solely for use on Canon APS-C DSLRs. Canon EF lenses are designed to work with full frame and APS-C DSLRs from Canon.
Canon EF-S lenses have a smaller image circle that is only big enough to cover the smaller sensor found on Canon APS-C cameras. If a Canon EF-S lens were to be used on a full frame DSLR, it would produce heavy vignetting (the corners would be black) because the image circle produced by the lens is too small to cover the larger sensor.
Canon EF lenses have been around since the film SLR days. They were designed to cover a 35mm film frame. Because EF lenses have a larger image circle, they will cover full frame sensors and APS-C sensors.
Benefits of EF-S Lenses
Canon EF-S lenses are generally smaller and lighter than Canon EF lenses because less glass and a smaller lens barrel is required to produce an equivalent field of view for a lens that goes on an APS-C camera, like the Canon Rebel line, when compared to a full frame camera.
Additionally, the EF-S line of lenses are generally more affordable. Canon does not produce a “professional” category of EF-S lenses like the pro “L” lenses you find on the EF mount. Canon uses lower grade materials, while still producing solid results, for its EF-S line of lenses.
Should I Buy EF or EF-S Lenses?
Hopefully, you are now aware of which Canon lenses are compatible with your camera. As to which lens you should buy, my suggestion is to buy the one that fits your needs. If you want an extremely wide angle lens for your Canon Rebel or 70D, then you’ll need to look at the EF-S line of lenses for something like the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, which will look like a 16-35mm lens on your camera. You can’t find a non-fisheye lens this wide in Canon’s EF line up.
If you are worried that you might upgrade someday to a full frame camera, don’t. Quality EF-S lenses hold their resale value just fine. Buy the lens that fits your needs now. If that means you want a massive EF telephoto lens, then go ahead. If you upgrade to a full frame camera later, it will work fine. You can hang on to your EF lenses, sell your EF-S lenses and buy their full frame equivalents after you upgrade.
The picture on the bottom of my home page is taken with a 10-22mm ES on a 5D MKII. Generally, I don’t purchase ES lenses , however, this one was bought before I switched to full frame. This particular ES received rave reviews and does not disappoint .
I am confused, How could you even mount your EF-S 10-22 mm on a EOS 5D MKII ?
I need to know too, I’ve moved from a 60D to a 6D to find out my lenses doesn’t fit, I’m the one too blame due to lack of research off course but anyway. how?
Common sense (???) should have suggested that since an EF-S lens doesn’t have the coverage of an EF lens, Canon would probably have designed it so that it would not fit a full-frame body.
Most photographers just want to take great pictures. But if you don’t bother to learn the technical basics of photography — which haven’t changed in 150 years — what can I say?
true
My first father in law was George Cernik. George Cernik traveled all over the world with Harvey Firestone. Mr. Cernik had been \’head photographer\’ for Firestone Tire and Rubber for many years. In 1972 he was promoted to \’Director of Photography\’. His boss \’Kurt Gotshalk\’ retired. I know this name because it was engraved on the LeicaFlex 35mm SLR back. I bought the camera with the 50mm Summaritt lens for $200.00 dollars.
I had nearly five years with George before he died. The 35mm BW film was nearly free. Developing at FTR was free. After two months of George, \”Shutter speed 60, what is your F-stop\”?, standing in a field, standing in a garage, standing with the sun in my face. My answers sucked. In eight months my answers resolved the variables. The depth of field questions were added. WHO GETS THE NUMBER ONE GUY FOR FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER AS THEIR MENTOR AND FATHER IN LAW?
My first father in law was George Cernik. George Cernik traveled all over the world with Harvey Firestone. Mr. Cernik had been ‘head photographer’ for Firestone Tire and Rubber for many years. In 1972 he was promoted to ‘Director of Photography’. His boss ‘Kurt Gotshalk’ retired. I know this name because it was engraved on the LeicaFlex 35mm SLR back. I bought the camera with the 50mm Summaritt lens for $200.00 dollars.
I had nearly five years with George before he died. The 35mm BW film was nearly free. Developing at FTR was free. After two months of George, “Shutter speed 60, what is your F-stop”?, standing in a field, standing in a garage, standing with the sun in my face. My answers sucked. In eight months my answers resolved the variables. The depth of field questions were added. WHO GETS THE NUMBER ONE GUY FOR FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER AS THEIR MENTOR AND FATHER IN LAW?
@William Sommerwerck Amateurs such as Enson Barler and I obviously don’t know what *you* know so your “common sense” does not equate with us novices.
I bought a 70-200 EF 1:2.8 L IS ii USM lens without realising that my Canon 70D camera wasn’t matched to the lens and couldn’t display all the info the lens could capture/show/reveal. Sometimes, shop assistants only want to take people’s money and hand over a box and treat others like an idiot if you don’t know what the shop assistant knows knows. Some info on the interned are frequently nerdy, unclear and complicated too.
To complicate matters even further, Canon calls the AP-C (cropped, *not* crop – my common sense) sensor but the lens is marked EF-S. Unless we know which questions too ask, how are we to learn without looking as though we have no common sense?
Lots of info about the 1.6x focal length but any effect on the f stop value. Looking at a 2.8 zoom lens so would it impact deciding EF or EFs!!??
This has been argued ad nauseum. A lens’s f-stop is its f-stop and has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with its coverage. End of story -30-
If an EF-S lens is used with a full-frame camera, there’s more of a problem that just vignetting; some EF-S lenses, such as the one pictured, protrude further into the camera and interfere with the mirror. (As I understand it; I never tried it.)
You are right if you only could mount the EF-S lens in a full-frame camera. I believe you can’t do it.
Logically, if you can mount EF on APS-C (and you CAN do it), you can do the opposite, no?
[bonk, bonk, bonk] (sound of head hitting concrete wall)
Mounting a lens designed for a camera with a small sensor (or film format) on a camera with a larger sensor (or film format) introduces major problems.
>> The lens will sit too far from the focal plane. Infinity focus will be impossible.
>> The lens will almost certainly not cover the larger format — it wasn’t designed to.
An optical converter would be needed, to increase the lens’s effective focal length and coverage.
I’m a newbie to DSLR photography and this was just what I needed to help me understand the differences. I was able to use an EF 70-300 lens on my ‘old Digital Rebel’ and it takes beautiful railfan shots. I’m now buying an EF-S 17-85mm lens, so I can take some closer shots of trains, both real and of my model railroad. I think the Rebel line will be completely adequate for me. Maybe someday, I’ll even afford a 10-22mm… :o)
Norm, I have 4 of the Rebel line cameras and they have worked beautifully for me over the years, I am thinking about upgrading but after reading all these comments, I will definitely take my time and do the research to make sure that the lenses I already have will fit my next camera. I was told a long time ago that any Canon lens would fit any Canon camera…not true! You live and learn, I should have researched that myself. I love taking pictures…ENJOY!
“If you are worried that you might upgrade someday to a full frame camera, don’t.”
I don’t understand. Don’t be worried or don’t upgrade o full frame ?
Don’t be worried is the intended meaning. You will be able to resell your EF-S lenses, and any EF lenses you have will work still.
Confusing! You state “For example, a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens produces a field of view equivalent to an 80mm lens when used on a Canon APS-C format camera like the Canon Rebel line. This is often times referred to as a ‘crop factor’.
So, Canon APS-C cameras have a 1.6x crop factor.”
Then you state towards the end of the article, “. If you want an extremely wide angle lens for your Canon Rebel or 70D, then you’ll need to look at the EF-S line of lenses for something like the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, which will look like a 16-35mm lens on your camera.”
So an EF lens on an APS-C will have a 1.6x crop factor and a 50mm EF lens will look like an 80mm lens, but a 10-22mm EF-S lens on an APS-C camera will have a 1.6x crop factor and look like a 16mm-35mm lens. Which one is it?
I don’t see any inconsistency, unless I’m reading it wrong. 50×1.6=80, and 10×1.6=16. I think you’re maybe expecting EF and EF-S lenses to have different crop factors; they don’t, it’s the camera that has a crop factor. A 50mmEF lens would be the same as a 50mmEF-S lens, except that the latter wouldn’t cover the full frame on a full-frame camera. A 50mm lens on a full frame camera is like an 80mm lens on an APC-C, regardless of whether the lenses are EF or EF-S.
This differs from point-and-shoot cameras, where the focal length is specified as “35mm equivalent”. Both EF and EF-S lenses have the real focal length specified.
Thanks for jumping in David. This pretty much echoes what my response would be Doug…
I guess I always assumed that the number on the EF-S lens was adjusted already since they are designed for the smaller sensor. So, a 50mm EF-S on a Rebel would look the same as a 50mm EF on a full frame EOS. So that assumption is wrong? I guess once I get a few EF lenses I can find out. :)
Your prior assumption is wrong. It seems you have worked through the point I’m making above. There is no adjustment on the focal length label of the EF-S lenses.
A 50mm lens is a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens. The focal length of the lens does not change.
The variable when switching between lenses is the sensor size. So an EF-S 50mm lens and an EF 50mm lens are the same focal length and offer the same angle of view on a Canon Rebel.
The crop factor we are talking about is brought into play because the Canon Rebel series has a smaller sensor. As I said above, “The field of view (how much of a scene you can see through the viewfinder) is smaller when using the same lens on an APS-C format camera than it would be on a full frame camera.”
Accordingly, both the 50mm EF and EF-S lenses on a Canon Rebel have the appearance of what an 80mm lens looks like on a Canon 5D due to the angle of view change.
“For example, a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens produces a field of view equivalent to an 80mm lens when used on a Canon APS-C format camera like the Canon Rebel line. This is often times referred to as a “crop factor”.”
Not so.
If the 50m’s field of view on a C sensor is equivalent to that of an 80mm lens, it’s strictly a coincidence. >>The crop factor is linear.<< It does not have a multiplicative effect on angle of view. The angle is determined by the trigonometric (not arithmetic) relationship between the sensor's diagonal measurement and the lens's focal length.
A 50mm lens has a 30-degree diagonal angle of view on a Canon Rebel. An 80mm lens has a 30-degree diagonal angle of view on a Canon 5D.
Coincidental or not, this similarity between the angle view on these different image sensors is what we are describing with the term “crop factor.” We do not need trigonometry to describe crop factor to new camera users.
The crop factor refers only to image size. It does not have a linear relationship with the angle of view. Period.
Most photographers have a poor technical grasp of photographic principles. Please don’t further muddy the water by telling them things that aren’t true.
Next you’ll be telling us that telephoto lenses bring distant objects closer and compress perspective. Or that red, blue, and yellow are the color-printing primaries.
While I appreciate your conviction, you are attempting to over-complicate a concept for new photographers who are wondering why their lenses don’t look the same on different cameras.
“Crop factor” is an accepted industry term to explain the apparent difference in field of view regardless of whether it meets your expectations as a descriptive technical term.
I will continue to describe the term in the way it is accepted in the industry and the way Photography Bay readers can better understand how to use their cameras.
For further consideration, I give you Canon’s own Field of View Calculator:
https://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/Comparators/fov-comparator.shtml
It is difficult to change the mind of someone who doesn’t understand what they’re talking about. It is you who are complicating the issue, by giving an incorrect and unneeded explanation. The following is probably the simplest way to explain it in words. (A drawing is better.)
“A smaller sensor “crops out” part of the lens’s image. It sees less of the image than a full-frame sensor would see, so objects in the field of view are therefore larger (when both images are viewed or printed at the same size).
“A 16mm x 24mm sensor has a “crop factor” of 1.5, because a full-frame sensor is 50% larger (24mm x 36mm). The smaller the sensor, the larger the crop factor.”
Please… Stop spreading incorrect information, then defending it.
I’m looking to get 50mm 1.8 or a 85.mm 1.8 im just not sure due to efs and Ef ? Can I get a Ef85 for a canon t5i and get distance from subject but still keep sharpness or the 50mm n be close to subject can anybody help
You see, Mr Reagan, what happens when you spread misleading information?
1. All 85mm lenses, regardless of format, produce the same linear image size.
2. The lens’s //coverage// is determined by its optical design. An 85mm lens for 4×5 view camera covers a much larger area at the film plane than an 85mm lens designed for a APS-C sensor.
3. The lens’s //angle of view// is determined by the format. An 85mm lens for 4×5 view camera will record a much wider angle of view than an 85mm lens for a APS-C sensor.
Got that?
The one thing that remains the same is the //linear image size//. If I photograph a subject at (say) 3m with an 85mm lens on any camera, of any format, the linear size of the image at the film plane will be the same. It is not affected by anything other than the focal length and the distance from the subject.
This is Photography 101, and should be explained in any good book on photography. I learned it 50 years ago in a book by Andreas Feininger.
Both lenses work fine on the Rebel T5i. As noted in the article, the EF lenses will work on the Rebel cameras just the same as on Canon film cameras and full frame digital cameras.
A 50mm lens on the Rebel T5i produces a field of view that’s equivalent to an 80mm lens on a full frame camera.
An 85mm lens on the Rebel T5i produces a field of view that’s roughly equivalent to a 135mm lens on a full frame camera.
Both lenses will fall into the range of a common portrait lens field of view. If you still don’t know what to do based on that, I suggest starting with the 50mm f/1.8 lens because it is a cheaper lens and a more common favorite among new photographers.
Well explained :)
I need an explanation for Dummies like me. I have a Canon EOS Rebel T5 DSLR that has an EF-S body. It came with an EF-S lens.
I think I’m reading through all of this that I CAN use an EF lens on my EF-S, correct? I just don’t want to order an EF lens and it not fit my EF-S.
Does this make sense? Thanks for any help!
Yes. EF lenses work fine on the Rebel T5.
So I have 70 D 50 1.4 and 85 1.8. I’m trying to design to get 6D or just buy the 28 1.8? What is your thought? Thank you so much!
Why do you still need to use the multiplier on an EF-S lens?
We’re accustomed to thinking of focal lengths in terms of full-frame 35mm cameras.
If a 30mm lens is mounted on an EF-S body with a multiplier of 1.5, then we know the lens will give the same angle of view as a 45mm lens on a full-frame camera.
To me it seems like deceptive marketing.
On their respective bodies, both cameras give the same angle of view. How is that in any way deceptive?
The only difference is that the 30mm lens will provide greater depth of field at the same f-stop.
“On their respective bodies…”
An EF-S lens is specifically designed for a cropped sensor body, not a full frame body, though it can be attached to one. Attaching the EF lens to a cropped sensor body mandates use of the multiplier for both F stop and focal length. The only reason multiplying is done to a EF-S lens is that is is labeled as if it is a EF lens. This is done to manipulate people into thinking they are getting something for nothing.
F-stops are f-stops. F/2.8 is the same on any lens for any camera format. No adjustment is needed for crop factor, any more than the f/3.5 15mm lens on a Minox transmits a different amount of light than a f/3.5 15mm fisheye on a 35mm camera.
If you’ll look at the pictures of the Canon lenses at the top of this posting, you’ll see that the full-frame (EF) lens is marked as 16-35mm. The APS-C EF-S lens is marked at 10-22mm. Applying the 1.6 crop factor, this gives a 16-35.2mm zoom range — the same as the full-frame lens. Both lenses deliver the same field of view at “equivalent” focal lenses, and the same amount of light to the film.
No one is trying to misrepresent anything, or confuse the buyer.
You need to read a book or two on photographic basics.
This guy is credible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDbUIfB5YUc&list=PLPN7CPzGaPinvstmqwqj27ON3cNRMeBbd&index=1
The lens diaphragm position relative to the sensor is a factor in aperture.
I personally I been taking photographs since 1976.
That the Canon EF-S lenses are mislabeled is my point. Since the Canon EF-S lenses are made for cropped sensors, they should be labeled accordingly, and then when EF-S lenses are used with a full sensor the photographer would multiply by 0.625 to reduce the value. Probably Canon does what they do for expediency.
No. EF-S is a lens mount system. The camera you attach a lens to does not alter the optics of a lens.
A 35mm lens is a 35mm lens is a 35mm lens. What you see through the viewfinder is a “crop” into a 35mm lens so that it has the same appearance of a 48mm lens. But that doesn’t make it a 48mm lens. It’s still a 35mm lens.
Same thing with point and shoot cameras. That’s why they are labeled as “equivalent focal length.” A Sony RX100 IV has a lens with a focal length of 8.8-25.7mm; however, Sony markets it as a 24-100mm “equivalent” zoom. But marketing cannot change optical physics.
I think Canon wants users to understand that a Canon EF 24mm lens looks the same as a Canon EF-S 24mm lens on a Canon Rebel camera. Doing it any different with the interchangeable lens system would be much more confusing.
Does the position of the optics and diaphragm relative to the sensor change? Is the position different for an EF lens vs an EF-S lens?
You are all trying to make something simple complicated. It isn’t.
A lens’s coverage (that is, the size of its image circle) has nothing whatever to do with its focal length. In general, the image circle is slightly larger than the diagonal of the image frame (film or sensor).
The size of objects in the image created by the lens is determined solely by the lens’s focal, and has nothing to do with its coverage.
The desired focal length and coverage are independent, and are both fully under control of the lens designer. One does not control or determine the other,
All lenses with the same focal length render objects the same size. All lenses for a given format have coverage of about the same diameter.
Do you understand that perspective-control lenses must have large coverage, so that the lens can be shifted? But a 24mm PC lens renders objects the same size as a 24mm regular lens.
On the lenses shown above, the EF-S lens is labeled with its actual focal lengths. The 35mm-equivalent focal lengths are not given.
So a 35mm medium format lens is a 35mm SLR lens is a 35mm 110 lens — by end result. There is no reason to multiply an EF-S or EF-M lens by its multiplier when placed on its appropriate body because the lens is accurately marked for that body. It is only when an EF or adapted FD lens is placed on a cropped sensor body that it is needed.
Correct. The only reason for the multiplier is to make it easy for those familiar with full-frame format to connect the focal lengths of APS-sized-sensor cameras with those of cameras they’re familiar with.
This conversion also appear on flash units. The flash for my Olympus E-500 lets you select a 35mm focal lengths for its zoom display.
Thanks for your time.
You also have to multiply the f/stops by 1.6 as well.
I love this. I keep trying to understand these lens questions, then just when I think I have it all understood, it becomes ‘just about as clear as mud’ again. I am approaching this from an astronomy viewpoint, ie field-of-view as it aplies to telescopes. I use astronomical imagers (basically just a cooled CCD or CMOS chip in a box), I also use a 40D, a 5D Mk2, EF and EF-S l;enses.The difference which helps to clarify the situation is the use of the term ‘apparent field-of-view’. A 50 mm EF lens should have the same field-of-view as a 50mm EF-S lens. The size of the image circle (not the scale of an object within it!) is NOT fixed or calculatable – it varies with the lens tube internal arrangement at the back end. The sensor fits somewhere (hopefully!) within this image circle. As a smaller sensor will see less of the image, it will effectively show a smaller ‘apparent’ field-of-view (as longer focal length optics would be expected to do). To demonstrate this, use just the EF lens and the EF-S lens to project images onto a piece of paper (preferably on a bright sunny day) and measure the circle size and the size of any objects present. Draw rectangles at full-frame and APS-C sizes on the paper. All will start to become clear. I prefer to use the EF on a crop-sensor because I am only using light travelling close to the central axis of the lens and there is less distortion here. But that’s a whole other can of worms!
The answer to the difference between EF and EF-S lenses, is ‘quite’ simple:
1- ALL values marked on all lenses for ANY camera are the actual values.
So, if it says 50 mm, than the focal length is 50 mm. There is nothing marketing about it.
2- Canon’s EF lenses will fit on a Canon camera, built for EF-S lenses because the bayonet-mount of the lenses are the same. This also means that you can mount an EF-S lens on a full frame body (5D etc.), but since they are built for a smaller (APS-C) sensor (as in the Rebels) their image will not fill the whole sensor and the edges will be dark.
If you look at the illustration on top of this page, you will understand that EF-S lenses will only cover the smaller rectangle, not the larger one.
If you plan to buy a full frame camera in the future, it would be wise to buy EF lenses, which you can use on both cameras. But: they are more expensive and heavier.
3- Using an APS-C camera, you must understand that the sensor is the smaller one as illustrated above this page. Imagine any picture and use the illustration as a template. Then fit the picture to the largest rectangle (thus the 24x36mm full frame). Now you see that the APS-C rectangle will ‘cut off’ a fairly big part of the image. That is exactly what happens in real time using a camera.
4- Thus: using a Full Frame camera with a sensor size of 24 x 36 mm will require bigger lenses with longer focal lengths as opposed to an APS-C camera. If you want to carry around a few lenses with you when hiking, travelling etc., you will travel a lot lighter with an APS-C camera. Despite the smaller sensor, you will probably not see any difference unless you print your images wall-size.
5- The field-of-view you can capture depends on the focal distance.
Anyone who uses a zoom-lens will see that you can photograph a bigger portion of the scenery when using the smallest focal distance. This means that to capture the same portion of a scene, the smaller APS-C sensor needs a smaller focal distance than the full frame (24x36mm) sensor.
This is well illustrated in the photo on top of this page where both lenses will cover the same field-of-view when mounted on the camera’s they were designed for.
The APS-C sensor is a factor 1.6 smaller than the full frame sensor and thus the focal distance for an APS-C camera has to be 1.6x smaller to get the same field-of-view.
6- And lastly: do not use a calculator when photographing. There is no need to. Keep in mind what you prefer to photograph and buy the lenses that will allow you to do that.
Thank you for your explanation. Simple and to the point. Well worded.
I recently bought a Canon 70D to replace my rebel. Have a 18-55 EFS lens, 75-300 EF lens and a tameron 150-600 lens. I love wildlife but other subjects like people, buildings, landscapes also. I am debating if I need another lens to take an a river cruise, visiting 2 large cities, towns on the river and scenes in them, etc. I would love to travel lightly, one lens or max of two. Not expecting much wildlife on this trip. I thought EFS lenses were not good but further education is helping. I have gotten several suggestions from camera friends – 18-270, 18-200, 18-135 and 24-105. I am getting confused. Any suggestions???
I advise checking out Tony Northrups video about using FF lenses on Crop sensor bodies, quite informative.
https://youtu.be/YDbUIfB5YUc
I also recently purchased a 70d moving up from a Sony A390.
I have canon eos 550d camera (I know very old now) and few lenses (wide angle,prime, 18-55 and 75-300). I am thinking of buying full frame canon camera. When I went to my local shop I was told that I will need to buy full frame lenses as well because the full frame camera will not benefit from standard lenses I have. What is your experience? Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
i do agree. i don’t know if i am only who have experience this but i can’t even attach my EF-S lens (Canon EF-S 18-135 f/3.5-5.6) to my Canon 6D (Fullframe camera).
You’re not the only one. I keep reading that the mounts are the same, but they seem to be slightly different – I couldn’t get my EF-S lens to seat properly on the 6D.
Hai,
I want to buy 5D mark 4, but now i want to switch to Canon 70D. My question is this can i use canon lenses for both 70D as well as 5D mark 4. please guide me which lenses will suitable for both DSLR.
And the answer for your question will also be based on what photography genre or kind of photography are you into. EF lenses for sure will work for both sensor. (ex. Canon 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8 or 4 etc.)
Sorry for the grammar, haha. i own/always use Canon 6D & 70D using EF lens like Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L, and both cameras produce great images using this lens. :)
I recently got a Canon 6d with 24-105 f/4 L IS lens which normaly come as a package. An excellent combination. For minimalist landscape photography I need your advice for a possible extra lens. Thanks
Are you wanting to go wider than 24mm then? If so, I love the EF 17-40mm f/4L. It’s a reasonable price and great quality.
Thanks
Very interesting, I hope I understood it correctly. To use a other example: If I would use a 50mm EF-S lens (crop factor 1.6) on a M4/3 camera (crop factor 2.0), then that would be like using a 62,5mm M4/3 lens, in reference to the field-of-view? And a 50mm EF lens would be like 100mm. Right?
Thanks
I have a 7D Mark II– the appropriate lens would be the EF-S… Can I use an EF lens, since it’s not a full-frame sensor?
I understand that it cannot work the other way around, because it will create the vignette, etc., but will it affect mine?
TIA!
You can use an EF lens on the 7D Mark II.
You are correct in that you can’t use an EF-S lens on a full frame camera like the 5D Mark IV.
Awesome article. Thank you very much for the in-depth explanation.
Maybe i’m wrong but… I use both lenses ef and ef-s i have a Canon eos 5 slr and now a Canon 600d. If I pick my ef-50mm 1/1.4 and put it on the eos5 and pick my ef-s 18-135 and put both side by side a at 50 I get the same size image on the visor. The same occurs if I take a photo with the 50mm ef on the 600d and take a photo with the 18-135 at 80 on the 600d. So this means that if I use a ef-s lens on a non full frame camera I don’t need to make a convertion. That makes sense because the lenses are restricted to non full frame cameras only. In my opinion it is not accurate to state that for a wide angle ef-s camera on a Rebel line you will have a 1,6 plus factor. You will get the exact factor that is on the lenses. It is only a problem when you use full frame lenses on cameras that are not supposed, like non full frame cameras.
A 50mm lens is a 50mm lens, regardless of the camera it’s mounted on. They all produce the same image size, regardless of the sensor size. The area covered depends on the lens design (its coverage) and the size of the sensor.
This is trivially simple. I don’t understand why people have so much trouble with it.
I can’t believe I didn’t get torn to pieces for my clumsy writing. I should have said “The final image area depends on the sensor size — assuming the lens has sufficient coverage to fill the sensor.”
I was also one of those who thought you don’t need to multiply the crop factor if you use EF-S lenses.
EF 50mm would act like 80mm if you put it on EF-S camera, but EF-S 18-55mm is also 29-88mm, regardless of it being an EF-S lens.
So it’s 80mm and 29-88mm, NOT 80mm and 18-55mm.
Many posters confuse image size with field of view. All lenses with the same focal length produce an image of the same size and perspective. The field of view is then determined by the size of the film or sensor.
Can I Use a EF lens on a APS-C frame camera & Will it work properly?
Just got Canon 7D with 50mm 1.4 and 18-135mm len. I discovered that when I use the 7D with 50mm 1.4 len.. The picture comes out blurring with a lot of noise.. What could be the cause please….
Post a sample photo so we can intelligently analyze it.
I have a Canon EOS 750D DSLR that has an EF-S body. It came with an EF-S lens, 18-55 STM.
Can I use an EF lens on my EF-S, correct? I just don’t want to order an EF lens and it not fit my EF-S.
Does this make sense? Thanks for any help!
Yes. An EF lens will work on the 750D.
Hey guys. I guess I have a silly question. So I understand that 35mm is 35mm is 35mm for example so that’s why an EF-S may say it’s 35mm so you know it’s the equivalent to the EF model.(I hope that makes sense, it does in my head lol) My real question is that if one equals the other, wouldn’t buying the EF one make more sense because then it can cover more cameras? I also know from the video of the person above that you multiply the aperature as well in lenses when switching to a crop body sensor. Does that mean you do that to an EF-S lens as well or only an EF lens?
[huge, lengthy, despairing sigh]
As you say, focal length is focal length. And, yes, an EF lens will cover any smaller sensor. The “catch” is that the smaller sensor’s cropping will result in a smaller area of the scene being covered. (Right? Right!) This is not, in any sense, an “effective change in focal length”. Not no way, not no how.
“I also know from the video of the person above that you multiply the aperture as well in lenses when switching to a crop body sensor.” No, no, no, no, no. Aperture is aperture. An f/4 lens produces exactly the same image illumination, regardless of the sensor size.
This is all very trivial stuff. If it still doesn’t make sense, think of a 400mm lens capable of covering 8×10 sheet film. Now replace the holder with one containing 4×5 sheet film. What changes? The focal length? No. The aperture? No. All that happens is that the film records a smaller area of the lens’s image.
I am not a pro, but my understanding is that ef-s lens are specifically design for aps-c sensor camera. Lenses are base on 35mm camera.
A 35mm lens mounted on a full frame (35mm) camera theoretically would have a 35mm view. On an aps-c sensor which have a 1.6 crop factor on canon camera, a 35mm lens is equivalent to a 56mm (35mm x 1.6) lens.
UMM!. I wonder if that 1.6 crop factor applies since it was design for an aps-c camera (ef-s lens).
I have canon 600d which one good canon EF 75 -300mm or canon EFS 18-135mm
dear sir,
i need to know which camera ( CANON) is good for product shoot ?
Mr. Eric Reagan,
Thanks for explaining this information. It’s pretty accurate and it’s worth noting that EF -S lenses shouldn’t be considered trash! The fact that they hold value when upgrading is great knowing…. Thanks again!
ok I need some help but hoping I’ve worked it out right.
I have a canon 7dii ive got a canon ef 24-104 & ef 100-400.
very occasionally when taking photos mostly of big houses i cant always get far enough back to fit the building in.
so I’m looking at getting a slightly shorter lens for this but as it’s only every now and then looking at getting a good but cheap prime lens
am I correct in thinking that my 24-105 is effectively a 38-166 lens on my 7d so an efs 24mm prime or efs 17-55 lens would give me what I’m after?
so I would actually have is a. 24 or 17-55 a. 38-168 & a. 160- 640 on a 7dii? as the efs 24mm prime is a good lens but cheap from new I can afford to loose £100 if I did go to full frame as my ef 24-105 would then replace the efs lens?
I understand the crop factor when using full frame lenses on crop sensor cameras. I do not understand why that still apples when using an EF-S lens which are built and designed for the crop sensor camera? Also, some one here said that you don\\\’t have to multiply the F stop by the 1.6 crop factor. Then they recommend watching the video by Northrup where he says you do.have to multiply the F stop by the 1.6 crop factor. And also he says you have square the crop factor and divide it into the pixels. My real question is, where do you go to get an answer you can trust? I do know one thing for a fact. When I put canon L full frame lenses on my crop sensor body I get better pictures.
What really confuses me is that I’ve seen multiple after market lenses that use the EF mount but are designed for APS-C sensors. Why not just use the EF-S mount?
Confusing?. well if you look at the FF and APS-C camera both have the red (EF mount) mark and an extra white mark (EF-S) on the APS-C camera. The APS-C camera can use EF and EF-S lenses while the FF camera have only one (red) alignment mark. Since both lenses uses the same EF bayonet type mount you can mount an EF-S lens on a FF camera but it will not work ,hence design for APS-C camera. Hope this help clear things up cheers!.
I have been using an SLR since I was 14, I got paranoind about quality and bought the best cameras and heaviest tripods and fastest lenses that I could buy. But now I an 63 years old. I have much gear and someone must carry it around.
(Me) I am fit for an old soul. But. It is all getting heavier.
My DSLR gear is not small or compact. Usually I have two bodies and six to nine lenses and, ummm, I fancy another in Canon’s lineup.
I still want fast lenses, which Canon can of course supply. The EFS lenses are really good enough for a non proffesional.
Bear that in mind when you are only 30 or 35 years old, and don’t buy Sigma or Tamron. Spend the few extra coins on Canon origional. You will not regret it.
AND the weight is most important as you get older.
Ian.