Canon EF vs. Sony E-Mount
Comparing 2 standards across 9 specifications. 9 key differences identified.
The Canon EF Mount (introduced in 1987 for the EOS autofocus SLR system) revolutionized photographic camera design as the first 100% all-electronic lens mount, eliminating all mechanical aperture linkages and autofocus drive shafts. Featuring a 44.0 mm Flange Focal Distance and a large 54.0 mm throat diameter, over 150 million EF lenses were manufactured over 33 years.
The Sony E-Mount (introduced in 2010 for NEX mirrorless and expanded in 2013 to 35mm full frame as FE) is a 3-tab bayonet lens mount featuring a 18.0 mm Flange Focal Distance (FFD), a 46.1 mm throat diameter, and a 10-pin high-speed electronic interface. It is the most widely adopted open third-party full-frame mirrorless mount in the photographic industry.
Specification Comparison Table
9 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Flange Focal Distance (FFD)
|
44.00 mm (1.732 in) | 18.00 mm (0.709 in — distance from lens mount mating surface to sensor plane) |
|
Inner Throat Diameter
|
54.00 mm (2.126 in) | 46.1 mm (1.815 in) |
|
Bayonet Tabs
|
3 locking tabs with clockwise twist | 3 asymmetrical locking tabs with clockwise twist lock |
|
Electronic Interface
|
8 gold-plated electronic contacts (expanded to 11 pins on EF super-telephoto lenses for teleconverters) | 10 gold-plated leaf contact pins (supports real-time eye-AF tracking, OSS, active lens breathing compensation) |
|
Camera Systems
|
Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, EOS 5D Mark IV, EOS 6D II, EOS Rebel series, Cinema EOS C300/C500 | Sony A7 / A9 / A1 series, FX3 / FX6 cinema lines, A6000-series APS-C bodies |
|
Internal Actuators
|
Internal USM (Ultrasonic Motor) in lens body + internal electromagnetic aperture diaphragm (EMD) | — |
|
Variants
|
EF (Full Frame), EF-S (APS-C with rubber bumper back-focus extension), EF-M (discontinued APS-C mirrorless) | — |
|
Full-Frame vs APS-C
|
— | FE lenses cover 36×24 mm full frame; E lenses cover APS-C (auto-crops on full-frame bodies) |
|
Third-Party Protocol License
|
— | Open disclosure to lens manufacturers (Sigma, Tamron, Zeiss, Samyang, Voigtländer) |