What do the abbreviations on a Canon lens mean?

With the abbreviation CN-E, Canon indicates that the lens is ideal for filmmakers. CN stands for cinema and you can also use most lenses on your Canon EF SLR camera. Note that the Canon CN-E PL (positive lock) lenses are specially developed for professional use. They're not suitable for the EF mount from Canon.

Diffractive Optics are lens elements with small slots that change the direction of light and make the lens more luminous. This refracts the light better, which allows the sensor to use more light.

DS stands for Defocus Smoothing. This means that the lenses with DS in the name have a special coating that ensures the background blur is even more beautiful and softer. You can see this for example in the light circles. Canon introduced this coating in 2020.

Extra/Ultra Low Dispersion is optical material developed to counteract chromatic aberration and deliver a better image quality. Chromatic aberration shows up in photographs as purple fringes around high-contrast details.

EF is the mount for Canon SLR cameras and means Enhanced Focus. An EF lens fits cameras with a full frame as well as an APS-C sensor. You can recognize the EF mount by the red dot on the lens and your camera.

The abbreviation EF-M means Enhanced Focus - Mirrorless. This is the mount for mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor. The EF-M mount is marked with a white dot. Lenses with an EF-M mount aren't suitable for Canon SLR cameras with an EF or EF-S mount.

EF-S stands for Enhanced Focus - Small image circle. This is the name for the mount of Canon SLR cameras with APS-C sensor. EF-S lenses have a smaller mount than EF lenses and only fit on APS-C size sensors. You can recognize the EF-S mount by the white square on the lens and on your camera.

IF stands for Inner Focus. With these lenses, only the inner lens group moves when focusing, so the physical length of the lens doesn't change. This is useful if you want to attach a lens filter to your lens.

The sign II is the Roman numeral for 2 and it indicates that the lens is a newer version of an existing Canon lens. Canon made a number of improvements on the first model.

IS stands for Image Stabilizer and means image stabilization. This system compensates for vibrations that can cause motion blur. This way, you can take handheld photos without any problems.

You'll find this letter on Canon lenses with the highest possible quality. L stands for 'luxury'. The L lenses are optimized to perform in extreme conditions. Almost all L-series lenses are white and have a weatherproof design.

You'll find the abbreviation MP-E can on some Canon macro lenses. MP means Macro Photo and lenses with the MP-E mount are suitable for cameras with an EF mount. With MP-E lenses, you can only focus manually, which is why Canon has given a different name to these lenses.

This is a combination of the USM and STM autofocus motors. With this technology, lenses focus even more silently. This is especially useful if you regularly record videos, as you won't hear any disturbing noises in your videos.

Canon's full-frame mirrorless cameras have a new mount, the RF mount. RF stands for Re-imagined Focus. That means these aren't suitable for Canon EOS M mirrorless cameras.

STM means that the lens has a silent autofocus motor. This autofocus motor is also called Stepping Motor. The autofocus motor turns to the right position in small precise steps, so you don't hear it. This is useful for recording.

Super ED is the abbreviation for Extra Low Dispersion. This is an improved version of the ED/UD lens elements from Canon. It offers even less chromatic aberration, which is visible as purple fringes in high-contrast details. You'll usually find Super ED lens elements in L-series lenses.

TS-E stands for Tilt Shift Electro and it's the term for Tilt Shift lenses. With TS-E lenses, you can make tilt and angle movements, shifting the image up or down to get the correct perspective. These lenses are suitable for Canon EF mounts. You can only focus manually, which is why Canon has used a different abbreviation for this.

The Ultra Sonic Motor ensures that lenses focus automatically as quickly and silently as possible. Ultrasonic sound waves are used for this. These sound waves make a very soft sound, so they're not completely silent.