Difference between EF and EF-S?

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hashcake

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I know my Canon 450D supports EF-S but not sure if it supports EF and what the difference is?
I'm watching a couple of lenses on Ebay, one is EF-S so I know that's fine.
TIA.
 
EF-s lenses are designed for the 'cropped' (well just th 1.6x sensors - so the xxxxD, xxxD and xxD series) only. They wont fit on the 1D, 5D or the 10D (not sure about 300D don't have one). Just as a rule for myself I won't buy an EF-s lens as I still own a 10D.

EF however, will fit any EOS body. And that's it really.

Benefit of the EF-s is that because it's designed for the cropped bodies it's typically lighter and smaller for a given focal range than the EF equivalent.
 
Wow, talk about quick replies.
Thanks guys :)
 
EF-S lenses project a smaller image circle than EF lenses which means they are only compatible with 1.6x crop cameras (excluding the 10D, D30 and D60).

The downside of this is that you are once again using the full image circle rather than the sweet spot with EF lenses which theoretically means lower IQ but as most EF-S lenses ain't brilliant this doesn't matter a huge amount.

EF-S lenses that are worth going for at 10-22mm, 17-55 IS and the 60mm macro. All three are brilliant lenses.
 
So are there any downfalls to using an EF lens on an EF-S camera like the 45OD?
 
Not really but there are advantages to using EF lenses on crop bodies as the sensor only sees the centre portion and image quality can fall off rapidily towards the edges so you're only using the best bit (y)
 
The field of view obviously won't be the same as it was on a full frame sensor. This is why EF-S lenses tend to have shorter focal lengths as it compensates for the 1.6x crop. For example the EF-S 10-22 compared to the EF 16-35.
 
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