Lens Dictionary
Following table displays lens technologies used and comparison between similar features and markings among different manufacturers. Detailed descriptions of technologies can be found on separate pages for each lens manufacturer.
| Canon | Nikon | Sigma | Tamron | Olympus | Pentax | Sony | |
| image stabilization |
IS (Image Stabilization) |
VR (Vibration Reduction) |
OS (Optical Stabilizer) |
VC (Vibration Compensation) |
|||
| focusing motor |
USM (Ultrasonic Motor) |
SWM (Silent Wave Motor) |
HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor) |
USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) |
SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) |
SDM (Supersonic Drive Motor) |
SSM (SuperSonic Motor SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor) |
| focusing technology |
Floating System IF & RF (Inner & Rear Focusing) |
IF (Internal Focusing) RF (Rear Focusing) |
IF (Inner Focus) RF (Rear Focus) |
IF (Internal Focusing) | |||
| professional series |
L (Luxury) | EX Lens | SP (Super Performance) | DA* | G (high quality) ZA (Zeiss-designed) |
||
| full frame / crop (APS-C) |
EF (full frame) EF-S (crop only) |
DX (crop only) | DG (full frame) DC (crop only) |
Di (full frame) Di-II (crop only) |
DT (crop only) | ||
| glass technology |
Aspherical Lenses Fluorite and UD Lenses DO (Diffractive Optics) |
ASP (Aspherical lens elements) ED glass (Extra-low Dispersion) |
ASP (Aspherical Lens) APO (APO Lens) |
LD (Low Dispersion) XR (Extra Refractive Index glass) |
APO (Apochromatic correction) HS-APO (APO with higher-speed) |
||
| glass coatings | Super Spectra Coating | SIC (Super Integrated Coating) N (Nano Crystal Coat) |
T* (Carl Zeiss coating) | ||||
| tilt / shift | TS (tilt shift) | PC (Perspective Control) | |||||
| manual focus | Full-Time Manual Focus | M/A mode | |||||
| other technologies |
CRC (Close-Range Correction system) DC (Defocus-image Control) D (Distance information) G (G-type) |
Conv (APO Teleconverter EX) | ZL (Zoom Lock) | STF (Smooth Transmission Focus) (D) Distance encoder (xi) Motorized zoom |
