Buying a new lens for your mirrorless or DSLR camera can be a daunting task. As well as considering compatibility, budget, and size, you need to decide whether the focal range suits your needs. While our camera lens buying guide can set you on the right path with focal length, aperture range, and other key features, you might still need help decoding precisely what all those letters on a Sony lens actually mean.
Our Lens Decoder series aims to do just that — here's the Sony edition.
Sony Lens Mounts
Sony has two lens mounts across their camera range:
A Mount — Found on Sony's DSLR and SLT cameras. This mount was also previously used on Minolta cameras.
E Mount — Sony's mirrorless mount, used across their APS-C and full-frame mirrorless camera range.
Sony Lens Formats
FE — Full-frame E-mount lenses, designed for Sony's full-frame mirrorless cameras. FE lenses can also be used on APS-C E-mount cameras, where the crop factor will apply.
Sony AF Systems
Sony has developed a number of autofocus systems over the years. Here are the abbreviations you'll commonly see on their lenses:
DDSSM — Direct Drive Supersonic Wave Motor. Typically found in Sony's larger, heavier lenses, capable of moving larger lens elements quickly.
PZ — Power Zoom. An electronic zoom motor activated via a button on the barrel, delivering smooth, constant zoom movement — ideal for video.
RDSSM — Ring Drive Supersonic Wave Motor. Delivers smooth and silent autofocus performance.
SAM — Smooth Autofocus Motor. Often found in Sony's more affordable lenses, offering surprising speed and smooth performance for the price.
SSM — Supersonic Motor. Uses a piezoelectric motor for fast, quiet AF, with a built-in distance scale and full-time manual focus override.
XD LM — Extreme Dynamic Linear Motor. A contactless electromagnetic drive delivering ultra-quiet autofocus with high thrust — capable of handling larger lenses at the speed modern Sony cameras demand.
Sony Optical Technology Explained
AA — Advanced Aspherical elements. A redesigned aspherical element with a high thickness ratio between centre and periphery, delivering improved image rendering.
APD — Apodization element. Provides exceptional defocusing quality by capturing less light at the edges of the element, resulting in smoother, more natural bokeh.
AR — Anti-Reflective coating. Improves light transmission and reduces internal reflections, ghosting, and flare. Common variants include Nano AR and Nano AR II.
ED — Extra-low Dispersion glass. Reduces chromatic aberrations and delivers excellent overall image quality.
F — Fluorine coating. Protects the front element by repelling water and oils, and makes the lens significantly easier to clean.
G — Gold series. Sony's designation for their mid-to-high range optics, offering strong optical performance at a more accessible price point than GM.
GM — G Master. Reserved exclusively for Sony's highest-quality lenses, combining exceptional resolution, beautiful bokeh, and fast, precise autofocus.
IF — Internal Focus. The lens elements move internally during focusing, meaning the lens maintains a consistent physical length during use.
OSS — Optical SteadyShot. Sony's optical image stabilisation system, designed to reduce camera shake for sharper handheld images.
Super ED — Super Extra-low Dispersion glass. Provides superior compensation for chromatic aberrations compared to standard ED elements.
XA — Extreme Aspherical elements. Generally found only in GM lenses, these elements deliver exceptional sharpness and smooth bokeh in a remarkably compact form.
Shop Sony Lenses at Ted's
Ready to make your next lens purchase? Browse our full range of Sony Alpha lenses — including the Sony G Master range — at Ted's Cameras, or visit us in-store for personalised advice from our expert team.