FAQ sorted by alfabet
In this section the most common technical terms will be described. Select the first letter of the abbreviation or term you'd like to search for:A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
AF-S
SWM lenses (USM, AF-S, HSM, SSM) use a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) to focus the lens. It results in extremely fast operation while it’s very quiet when compared to the micro motor lenses. The focus is also very accurate even in low light.
Anti Shake
An technology from Sony (formerly known as Konica Minolta) to reduce the impact of tremors in the hand of the user. Sony claims an advantage of 2.5 - 4 stops. It works by detecting the movement with gyro's and by shifting the CCD accordingly.
Remember that these techniques are very usefull, but they won't stop the movement of your subject.
APO
The so called APO elements (like the UD, SUD, CaF2, LD, SLD and ED for example) improve sharpness and contrast by reducing the effects of chromatic aberrations that are typically found in telelenses. These elements work by focussing different wavelengths of light to one point, but the effectiveness depends highly on the quality of the glass that is used. The good elements are highly expensive; the good ones are to be found in the more expensive lenses.
AS
An technology from Sony (formerly known as Konica Minolta) to reduce the impact of tremors in the hand of the user. Sony claims an advantage of 2.5 - 4 stops. It works by detecting the movement with gyro's and by shifting the CCD accordingly.
Remember that these techniques are very usefull, but they won't stop the movement of your subject.
ASP
Aspherical elements are typically used in zoom lenses to correct the distortions they generate and to enhance border sharpness. Especially ultra wide angle lenses are prone to these distortions because of their extreme focal range. There are three variants to the aspherical lenses: grounded, molded and hybrid. The grounded ones are the most effective, but also the most costly to produce. The molded variants are the second best: glass is molded to glass to create the aspherical shape. The hybrid ones are relatively cheap, because they use a plastic surface which is molded to the spherical glass.