A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.
The Four Thirds System is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) design and development. Four Thirds refers to both the size of the image sensor (4/3") as well as the aspect ratio (4:3). The Olympus E-1 was the first Four Thirds DSLR, announced and released in 2003. In 2008, Olympus and Panasonic began publicizing the Micro Four Thirds system, a mirrorless camera system which used the same sensor size; by eliminating the reflex mirror, the Micro Four Thirds cameras were significantly smaller than the Four Thirds cameras. The first Micro Four Thirds cameras were released in 2009 and the final Four Thirds cameras were released in 2010; by that time, approximately 15 Four Thirds camera models had been released by Olympus and Panasonic in total. The Four Thirds system was quietly discontinued in 2017, six years after the final cameras were released.
The EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens. Mechanically, it is a bayonet-style mount, and all communication between camera and lens takes place through electrical contacts; there are no mechanical levers or plungers. The mount was first introduced in 1987.
The Canon EF-S lens mount is a derivative of the EF lens mount created for some Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with APS-C sized image sensors. It was released in 2003. Cameras with the EF-S mount are backward compatible with the EF lenses and, as such, have a flange focal distance of 44.0 mm. Such cameras, however, have more clearance, allowing lens elements to be closer to the sensor than in the EF mount. Only Canon cameras released after 2003 with APS-C sized sensors support the EF-S mount.
A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, single lens reflex type, single lens mirrorless type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge. Lens mounts are also used to connect optical components in instrumentation that may not involve a camera, such as the modular components used in optical laboratory prototyping which join via C-mount or T-mount elements.
A teleconverter is a secondary lens mounted between a camera and a photographic lens which enlarges the central part of an image obtained by the lens. For example, a 2× teleconverter for a 35 mm camera enlarges the central 12×18 mm part of an image to the size of 24×36 mm in the standard 35 mm film format.
Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 30.15 mm field diameter. It is therefore also equivalent in size to the Super 35 motion picture film format, which has the dimensions of 24.89 mm × 18.66 mm and Ø 31.11 mm field diameter.
For an interchangeable lens camera, the flange focal distance (FFD) of a lens mount system is the distance from the mounting flange to the film or image sensor plane. This value is different for different camera systems. The range of this distance, which will render an image clearly in focus within all focal lengths, is usually measured to a precision of hundredths of millimetres, and is not to be confused with depth of field.
The M42 lens mount is a screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily single-lens reflex models. It is more accurately known as the M42 × 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw thread of 42 mm diameter and 1 mm thread pitch.
Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques that reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera or other imaging device during exposure.
The Sigma SA-mount is a lens mount by the Sigma Corporation of Japan for use on their autofocus single-lens reflex and mirrorless cameras. It was introduced with the SA-300 in 1992. Originally, the SA-mount was a dual-bayonet mount with inner (SA-IB) and outer (SA-OB) bayonets, the latter being a feature intended to mount heavy telephoto lenses, but never utilized by Sigma and consequently dropped with the release of the SD14 in 2007.
The T-mount is a standard lens mount for cameras and other optical assemblies. The usual T-mount is a screw mount using a male 42×0.75 metric thread on the lens with a flange focal distance of 55 mm and a mating female 42mm thread on a camera adapter or other optical component. This thread form is referred to as T-thread.
This article details lensesfor single-lens reflex and digital single-lens reflex cameras. The emphasis is on modern lenses for 35 mm film SLRs and for "full-frame" DSLRs with sensor sizes less than or equal to 35 mm.
A telecompressor or focal reducer is an optical element used to reduce focal length, increase lens speed, and in some instances improve optical transfer function (OTF) performance. It is also widely known under the name “Speed Booster”, which is the commercial name of a line of telecompressors by the manufacturer Metabones. Popular applications include photography, videography, and astrophotography. In astrophotography, these qualities are most desirable when taking pictures of nearby large objects, such as nebulae. The effects and uses of the telecompressor are largely opposite to those of the teleconverter or Barlow lens. A combined system of a lens and a focal reducer has smaller back focus than the lens alone; this places restrictions on lenses and cameras that focal reducer might be used with.
The Micro Four Thirds system is a standard released by Olympus Imaging Corporation and Panasonic in 2008, for the design and development of mirrorless interchangeable lens digital cameras, camcorders and lenses. Camera bodies are available from Blackmagic, DJI, JVC, Kodak, Olympus, OM System, Panasonic, Sharp, and Xiaomi. MFT lenses are produced by Cosina Voigtländer, Kowa, Kodak, Mitakon, Olympus, Panasonic, Samyang, Sharp, Sigma, SLR Magic, Tamron, Tokina, TTArtisan, Veydra, Xiaomi, Laowa, Yongnuo, Zonlai, Lensbaby, Venus Optics and 7artisans amongst others.
The Nikon F-mount teleconverters are a group of magnifying lenses mounted between the lens and camera bodies using the Nikon F-mount. Currently, 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x converters are available separately; a fourth, the 1.25x, is available only with Nikon's newest 800mm supertelephoto lens.
The E-mount is a lens mount designed by Sony for their NEX and ILCE series of camcorders and mirrorless cameras. The E-mount supplements Sony's α mount, allowing the company to develop more compact imaging devices while maintaining compatibility with 35mm sensors. E-mount achieves this by:
The Pentax Q series is a series of mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras made by Pentax and introduced in 2011 with the initial model Pentax Q. As of September 2012, it was the world's smallest, lightest interchangeable lens digital camera. The first models used a 1/2.3" back-illuminated sensor CMOS image sensor. The Q7, introduced in June 2013, uses a larger 1/1.7" type sensor. The Q system is now discontinued.
The Nikon 1 series is a discontinued camera line from Nikon, originally announced on 21 September 2011. The cameras utilized Nikon 1-mount lenses, and featured 1" CX format sensors.
Nikon Z-mount is an interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its mirrorless digital cameras. In late 2018, Nikon released two cameras that use this mount, the full-frame Nikon Z7 and Nikon Z6. In late 2019 Nikon announced their first Z-mount camera with an APS-C sensor, the Nikon Z50. In July 2020 the entry-level full-frame Z5 was introduced. In October 2020, Nikon announced the Nikon Z6II and Nikon Z7II, which succeed the Z6 and Z7, respectively. The APS-C lineup was expanded in July 2021, with the introduction of the retro styled Nikon Zfc, and in October 2021, Nikon unveiled the Nikon Z9, which effectively succeeds the brand's flagship D6 DSLR. The APS-C lineup was further expanded with the Nikon Z30, announced at the end of June 2022. The Nikon Z6III was announced in June 2024.
