Because we have gone over lenses in as much detail as I possibly could, I don’t believe there is a photographer out there who is unaware of what a lens is. It is essentially the most important aspect of being a photographer and utilizing a camera!
In any case, a lens is a piece of equipment that is designed to be attached to a camera. Its purpose is to focus light in the most effective manner possible onto the image sensor of the camera that is being used.
Everyone presumably already is aware that certain Canon lenses come with a few letters on them. Some lenses, for instance, are referred to as EF lenses, while others are called RF lenses. What precisely are these two letters that have us all confused, what do they mean, and when should you use each of the lenses? I’m here to help you figure it all out.
You will be able to find the answers to these questions in this post, and you will also be able to determine which option is superior to the others!
What are EF Lenses?
Because these kinds of lenses deal with a remarkable electrical automatic focusing system, the letters EF in lens designations stand for the term “Electro Focus.”
There’s a chance that someone will inquire, “Don’t the letters EF stand for mounting?” The answer is yes, they do! It is fascinating to think that just two letters may have such a significant impact on the performance of a camera lens. There’s an intriguing detail that should be brought up with regard to the mounting phase!
The letter E may also stand for the electric metals that are utilized by this lens and this particular camera in order to connect with one another and form a connection with one another.
When Canon first started selling its EF lenses in 1987, they were designed to work only with the digital single-lens reflex cameras that were becoming popular at the time. As we are now in the year 2022, it is a great shame that these lenses are no longer manufactured. Aside from that, you may still buy the lenses, and they are widely distributed around the industry.
When Should You Use EF Lenses, and Why?
The use of EF lenses is very straightforward, and they come with straightforward focal lengths. When I talk about easy focal lengths, I’m referring to the ones that are most frequently utilized; they are the focal lengths that are characteristic of the normal and telephoto types of lenses. Many photographers believe that the EF lenses, despite the fact that they are older, still provide originality to the world of photography. As a result, these photographers continue to use the EF lenses since creativity is one of the factors that matters the most in the area of photography.
The EF lenses are the best ones to use for taking photographs inside in general. Real estate photography, interior design photography, studio photography, and more are some of the specialties of this photographer. When it comes to portrait photography, these lenses also perform quite well.
It doesn’t mean that they aren’t any good when used in other forms of photography; in fact, they do a terrific job in all of them; nonetheless, they are most well recognized for and utilized for taking pictures inside.
What are RF Lenses?
In the same way that the letters EF stand for the mounting type in EF lenses, the letters RF in RF lenses stand for the mounting type that the lens possesses in order to be connected to a camera.
The RF lenses are the most recent release from the Canon brand, and they are widely regarded as the most cutting-edge component of the Canon lenses all over the world. They are undoubtedly contemporary, and they add some unique “contemporary” qualities to the table.
The RF lenses are the greatest ones to use when you choose to use them with full-frame mirrorless cameras that come directly from Canon themselves, and they do a job that is better than you could ever believe they could accomplish.
When and Why Should You Use RF Lenses?
The RF lenses are relatively new to the market for lenses, but they are the ones that are being used the most frequently these days, particularly with full-frame mirrorless cameras, as was noted earlier.
Because of their lower weight, the greater number of internal features, and general novelty, RF lenses are increasingly being used by photographers all over the world. The kinds of photographs for which these lenses are used include travel photography, street photography, wildlife photography, and a great number of other types of photography.
EF or RF Lenses
Whenever there’s a “fight” between anything, I always make sure to clarify that picking between them is completely determined by your preferences, and the final decision is entirely up to you. On the other hand, gathering facts and researching further is never enough! However, due to the fact that we are currently discussing EF and RF lenses in this post, it is a little bit intriguing when decide which ones to use and which one is superior!
EF lenses are quite potent and get the job done very well; nevertheless, if you consider the year that we are currently in, in my opinion, RF lenses are more effective at getting the job done. Because we are constantly on the move, we just don’t have the time to switch out the lenses and try out new ones.
You don’t have to worry about whether or not the photographs you take with RF lenses will come out looking decent because these lenses are more adaptable than other types of lenses. When you use EF lenses indoors, you will notice that they perform better than other lenses.
Everything I’ve said points to the fact that EF lenses and RF lenses are in a very close competition, one in which both types can be considered victorious.
Conclusion
The time has come for us to reach the conclusion of this post, in which I have endeavored to clarify and simplify for you the distinctions between EF and RF lenses, as well as, why not, certain similarities, even though there are not very many of these.
It’s vital to point out that this topic is obviously a bit perplexing, especially considering that when I was first starting out in my job, I, too, had a lot of trouble understanding lenses. I had a hard time comprehending them in comparison to how readily I comprehended cameras in general.
If there is any additional uncertainty, I also prepared an essay about some Canon FD lenses, and in that article, you can get some information about the FD ones, which are confusing as well. If there is still confusion after reading that post, let me know and I will try to help.
