4
Jul
2009
THE NIKON LENS ALPHABET
A great post by DtownTV
D: Stands for Distance. These lenses take the distance between the subject and camera into account for metering. They have a physical aperture ring which needs to be locked.
G: These lenses have the same technology as D lenses, but they do not have an aperture ring. The G doesn’t stand for anything. It’s just a D lens without a physical aperture ring.
VR: Stands for Vibration Reduction. These lenses minimize blur caused by camera shake.
ED: Stands for Extra Low Dispersion Glass. This is the best glass Nikon makes, giving you better color, contrast, and sharpness. ED doesn’t just mean pro, though, as it’s in many Nikon lenses.
N: Stands for Nano Crystal Coat. This is a new type of lens element designed to reduce ghosting and flare, especially off really bright specular highlights. The 105 micro was the first lens to have this element.
AF-S or SWM: Stands for Auto Focus Silent Wave Motor. These lenses are quiet and fast, and the AF motors are built into these lenses.
IF: Stand for Internal Focusing. This is usually on higher-end lenses that have constant aperture (typically f/2.8) where the barrel doesn’t extend, and the front element doesn’t rotate.
Aspherical: These lenses have a certain amount of wide-angle correction built in.
DX: Stands for the DX Format. There are no FX lenses, only DX or not. If it doesn’t say DX, it’s a full frame lens. DX will work on FX camera, but only uses a portion of the sensor and makes it ~5MP.
Lens view finder map
