Before you buy a camera you must know about the lens mount. Most of our readers have asked us a lot of questions about lens mount, so we decided to make a post about it. This post talks about Canon lens mount and gives you a clear and detailed perspective on what they are and how to use them.
What are Lens Mount?
Lens mount are actually a lens interface, which comes between the camera body and the lens. Now most camera that you buy already have a lens, then what is a lens mount? Well, it is sort extra lens or lens for specific purposes. If you are a photography lover just happy with a camera, then you do not need a lens mount. But those who require many lenses for different purposes, they just attach the lens that they need in the camera body.
Lens mount can be of various types; T-mount, C-mount and others. But the most popular that Canon offers are EF mount lens and RF mount lens. The below table can
| Mount name | Flange focal distance | Frame size | Throat or thread diameter | Mount thread pitch | Mount type | Primary use | Camera range |
| Canon screw mount | 35 mm | M39 | 1 mm | Screw | Still | ||
| Canon SV | 32.00 mm | Bayonet | Still (Digital) | Canon RC-701 & 760 | |||
| Canon EX | 20 mm | 1/2″ | Bayonet | Still | |||
| Canon FL | 42 mm | 35 mm | 48 mm | Breech lock | Still | ||
| Canon FD | 42 mm | 35 mm | 48 mm | Breech lock | Still | ||
| Canon EF | 44.00 mm | 35 mm | 54 mm[1] | Bayonet | Still (Digital) | Canon EOS – DSLR Full Frame & APS(H) | |
| Canon EF-S | 44.00 mm | APS-C | 54 mm | Bayonet | Still (Digital) | Canon EOS – DSLR APS(C) Cameras | |
| Canon EF-M | 18 mm | APS-C | 47 mm | Bayonet | Still (Digital) | Canon EOS M Series Mirrorless APS(C) Cameras | |
| Canon RF | 20 mm | 35 mm | 54 mm | Bayonet | Still (Digital) | Canon EOS R – Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras |
Source: Wikipedia
Canon Lens Mount
Canon lenses most commonly use EF lens mount. By EF we mean Electro Focus. It can be used with DSLR cameras as well as full frame and APS-C cameras. In EF again, there are specifications. For example EF-S was designed specifically for DSLR and APS-C cameras. You cannot use this with a full frame DSLR or a Mirrorless camera without an adapter.
Another Canon lens mount is the EF-M, which was originally built for Mirrorless cameras which manufactured in the early stages. But now, all EF-M lenses work very well with APS-C cameras. The RF mount for Canon lens are built for the Canon EOS R-series. It compliments all full frame Mirrorless cameras of Canon EOS.
On a more technical perspective, Canon Power Shot A and Canon Power Shot G cameras have a built-in or non-interchangeable primary (zoom) lens. Canon also has conversion tube accessories available for some Canon Power Shot models. They provide either a 52mm or 58mm accessory/filter screw thread. Canon’s close-up, wide- (WC-DC), and tele-conversion (TC-DC) lenses have 2, 3, and 4-element lenses respectively, thus they all have multi-element lenses and not diopter “filters” in them.
Flange Distance
Flange distance is basically the focal distance. It refers to the distance between the mounting flange and the sensor plane. For those of you who don’t know, mounting flange is the outer part of the mount when viewed from the side. They have different diameters, range distances and vary from one company to the other. These are important when you want to know in-depth about lens mount. But for start, the focal length is all you need to know.
This is a short summary and a basic understanding of what a lens mount is and how to use them. However, if you would like an in-depth analysis, kindly let us know in your comments.
