PhotoWalkPro

I received a question the other day from a reader asking me about lens compatibility for his Canon 50D. Basically his question was if a EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L lens would be compatible with his camera. The good news is yes, it is compatible. The bad news is that if he purchased any EF-S series lenses, they would not be compatible if he ever moved up to a full frame camera. That’s because the EF-S lenses are made specifically for the smaller APS-C sized sensors in cameras such as the 50D, 7D, and all of the digital Rebel models.

EF-S lenses are made to have a shorter back-focus, meaning they sit back further in the camera than a standard EF lens. This helps the lens provide better coverage for the smaller sensors, especially for wide angle lenses. So while the short back focusing EF-S lenses are great on APS-C cameras, they can’t be used at all on full frame cameras such as the 5D Mark II. Knowing this, you might want to give consideration to which lenses you plan on buying in the future. If you don’t think you will ever move up to a full frame camera then you can pretty much buy whatever lens you desire without fear of it becoming obsolete. If, however, you think that a full frame is in your future you might want to consider only investing in EF lenses.

And you Nikon shooters have the same problem only not quite as severe as Canon. If you are shooting with one of the non-full frame cameras such as the D3000, D5000, D90, or D300s, you have the option of buying standard lenses or the DX style lenses. The DX lenses are the equivalent to the Canon EF-S lens and are also short back focusing lenses. The good news for Nikon shooters is that the DX lenses will still work on full frame bodies…sort of. So here’s the deal, if you put a DX lens on a D700, D3s, or D3X the camera will automatically enter into what Nikon calls DX mode. This means that, due to the reduced lens coverage, the sensor is cropped down to a smaller size to accommodate the DX lens. So the lens will work on the camera but with a reduced image resolution.

Any way you slice it, it pays to do some forward thinking when purchasing lenses, especially if you own a camera with an APS-C or DX sensor. Because camera bodies can come and go but a good lens can last you decades.

Related posts:

1. I want to buy a DSLR, which camera should I buy?
2. Pulling the Trigger – When to Buy That New Camera
3. Thursday News Quickie
4. Why I don’t want a mirrorless camera
5. Camera Calibration – Camera Raw and Lightroom’s Secret Weapon for Better Looking Images

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 12:03 am and is filed under Camera Gear, Canon, Nikon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.