All Canon brand EF & EF-S lenses are compatible with your camera. 3rd Party compatibility is on the 3rd Party manufacturer. I've bought cheaper 3rd Party gear only having to comeback to Canon because the gear was incompatible with my new camera. Look at KEH photo for a used copy of the Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II USM lens. Or B&H Photo NYC for the Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM lens. It is worth every penny. It is even compatible via an adapter on Canon's EOS R series cameras. I own the EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS III USM lens and its a very good optic. Sure 3rd Party may work now but who knows how well it work on a new camera.
- EOS: Electro Optical System (What EOS stands for)
- EF: Electronic Focus: lens mount ALL EOS DSLRs & Film SLRs use (original EOS Mount) (Red Circle Mounting Index, 12 o’clock position)
- EF-S: A separate lens Mount designed for APS-C DSLRs NOT compatible and won’t mount to any Full Frame Digital, 35mm Film SLRs or APS-H DSLRs. Note this is a DSLR Crop Sensor ONLY Mount. (White Square Mounting Index, 1 o’clock position)
- EF-M: Lens Mount for EOS-M series Mirrorless cameras. Incompatible with DSLRs or EOS Film SLRs & EOS R Series. (White Circle Mounting Index, 11 o’clock position) (2012-2023, DISCONTINUED).
- RF: Lens Mount for EOS R series Mirrorless cameras. ALL RF & RF-S lenses use focus by wire for Full Time Manual Focus. Regardless of USM or STM in the name. Incompatible with EOS DSLRs or EOS Film SLRs. (Red Oval Mounting Index, 12 o’clock position)
- RF-S: Lens is optimized for EOS R series APS-C cameras. Can be used on EOS R series Full Frame cameras but the image is cropped to the APS-C image circle. Note this is NOT a separate lens mount.
- Full Frame Digital: Image sensor is the same size as a single negative of 35mm Film which measures 36x24.
- APS-H (Advanced Photo System Half Frame): Image sensor is 1.3x smaller than 35mm Film. An APS-H image sensor measures (27.7x18.5). This format was previously used by Canon in older 1D series cameras.
- APS-C (Advanced Photo System Classic): Image sensor is 1.5 or 1.6x smaller than 35mm Film. An APS-C image sensor measures 22.6x15 Canon uses a 1.6x crop factor.
- L: Canon's professional grade lenses only available in Full Frame lenses NO APS-C lenses available. Lens has a RED ring on the lens barrel. (EF 100-300mm F/5.6L first "L" lens in the EF lineup)
- DO: Diffractive Optics uses Fresnel lenses. Lens has a GREEN ring on the lens barrel.
- I, II, III, IV, V: Some lenses, speedlites & Teleconverters have multiple revisions such as the EF 28-80 F/3.5-5.6 V USM (ONLY lens to have a Version V), Speedlite 430EX III-RT (ONLY Speedlite to have a Version III)
- Ring Type USM: AF motor type. Provides fast focusing stands for Ultrasonic Motor. Ring Type USM is the original USM AF motor. Shaped like a ring inside the lens. Allows Full Time Manual Focus either Focus by Wire or mechanical. EF 300mm F/2.8L USM (First Ring Type USM lens) ALL RF Mount lenses use focus by wire for Full Time Manual Focus.
- Micro Motor USM: Cheaper and slower AF Motor doesn't allow Full Time Manual Focus. Lens uses gears to adjust focus. EXCEPT for the EF 50mm F/1.4 USM lens (refer to Ring Type USM Mechanical Focus override). EF/ EF-S Mount ONLY. (1993-2008 retired, replaced by Nano USM)
- Nano USM: Combines STM and Ring Type USM technology for fast AF. Allows Full Time Manual Focus is Focus by wire. (EF-S 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM first Nano USM lens) (2016- Present)
- STM: Stepper Motor for quiet AF. Allows Full Time Manual Focus which is Focus by Wire. ALL EF-M lenses used an STM AF motor. RF 10-20mm F4L IS STM (First L series lens to use an STM AF Motor) (2012- Present) RF 28-70mm F/2.8 IS STM (First constant aperture STM zoom lens)
- AFD: Arc-Form Drive original EOS AF motor. No longer in use was replaced by Micro Motor in 1993 for new lens designs. No Full Time Manual Focus. ONLY used in the EF Mount NO EF-S, EF-M or RF Mount lenses. (Retired 1987-1992)
- Micro Motor: Older least advanced AF motor slower AF used in cheaper lenses. No Full Time Manual Focus. ONLY used in the EF/ EF-S Mount. (Retired, 1993-2012) Replaced by STM in 2012.
- VCM: Voice Coil Motor provides fast AF. The RF 35mm F/1.4L VCM is the first lens to use this new AF motor.
- IS: Image Stabilization available in the lens.
- IBIS: In Body Image Stabilization available in select EOS R Series cameras.
- Macro: A macro lens with 1:1 magnification
- Compact Macro: Lens is able to focus closer than a normal macro lens.
- MP-E: Manual Focus only electronic aperture control no focus to infinity.
- TS-E: Tilt Shift lens with electronic aperture control no Autofocus.
- Soft Focus: Lens is designed to provide a creamy bokeh effect.
- PZ: Power Zoom lens. Only 1 lens released with this feature. Only the EF 35-80mm F/4-5.6 PZ lens used this.
- TTL: Through The Lens Flash metering. Flash system relies on light reflected off the film. NOT compatible with EOS Digital cameras.
- A-TTL: Advanced Through The Lens Flash metering system in EOS film bodies released in 1986 with the FD Mount T90 SLR. Replaced by E-TTL in 1995. System uses a pre-flash measured by a sensor on the speedlite itself. NOT compatible with EOS Digital cameras. Uses EZ series speedlites.
- E-TTL Version 1: Evaluative Through The lens Flash metering system. System uses a pre-flash measured by the camera body to calculate flash exposure. System also relies on AF point selection too. Compatible with EX or EL series speedlites. Replaced by E-TTL II in 2004.
- E-TTL II: Refer to E-TTL Version 1. System was released in 2004 and works similarly to the original E-TTL. But uses focus distance information from the lens. Via a distance encoder in the lens. E-TTL II doesn't rely on AF point selection. Note E-TTL II is IMPLEMENTED in the camera body NOT the speedlite. Speedlite 380EX first E-TTL compatible speedlite released in 1995.
- EOS M Series: A discontinued APS-C mirrorless lineup of cameras (2012-2023). Replaced by EOS R Series APS-C cameras in 2023. EF-M lenses CAN NOT BE ADAPTED to EOS DSLRs or EOS R cameras.
- EOS R Series: Originally released in 2018 with Full Frame cameras only. Later in 2023 with APS-C cameras. New APS-C lenses were released.
- Z: Lens has an optional attachment to allow power zoom. RF 24-105mm F/2.8L IS USM Z (first lens has this feature).
- Automatic Brightness Adjustment of LED AF Assist Beam: Feature IS NOT SUPPORTED on the R3, R7 & R10 camera bodies when the speedlite EL-5 is used. LED AF Assist Beam is projected at FULL BRIGHTNESS ONLY. Or will switch to Intermittent Flash Firing. All other cameras with a Multi-Function hot shoe will automatically adjust the LED AF Assist Beam depending on the ambient brightness.
- AF Assist Beam: An AF Assist Lamp to aid the camera’s AF system in low light or low contrast situations.
- IR AF Assist Beam: A red grid pattern projected by the speedlite to aid an SLR/ DSLR camera’s AF system. Note this red grid pattern IS NOT Infrared. This AF Assist Beam type is compatible on all EOS SLRs & DSLRs. This type of AF Assist Beam IS INCOMPATIBLE with mirrorless cameras.
- Intermittent Flash Firing AF Assist Beam: Camera rapidly pulses the speedlite for AF Assist. This AF Assist Beam type IS SUPPORTED ON ALL EX & EL speedlites when used on the EOS R Series. Note speedlites that have a PERSONAL FUNCTION for IR & Intermittent Flash Firing. Always use Intermittent Flash Firing on the EOS R series regardless of the projection method. When set to Intermittent Flash Firing. If a color filter or flash diffuser is used. The camera body emits an LED AF Assist Beam on the EOS R series. Intermittent Flash Firing is DISABLED when a color filter or flash diffuser is used. Speedlites without a PERSONAL FUNCTION between IR and Intermittent Flash Firing. The speedlite WILL use Intermittent Flash Firing on the EOS R series. Note depending on the ambient lighting an AF Assist Beam may be projected by the camera body instead of the speedlite on the EOS R series. This AF Assist Beam type ONLY works on cameras released from 2007-onward.
- LED AF Assist Beam: Bright white light (on a speedlite) or orange LED light (on an EOS R series camera body) that aids the camera for AF Assist. This AF Assist Beam type ONLY works on cameras released from 2007-onward.
Hi Chance and welcome to the forum!
Your trepidation about investing is perfectly understandable, so don't fret about - and you're not a fool! 🙂 In fact, I think that recognizing your limitations is a wise position.
Moving from, say, a cell phone to a dedicated camera is a significant step. Such a camera has far more potential to create images of high quality and open new horizons because you can customize the optics and the sensors are far, far bigger than those in a cell phone. However, to leverage those capabilities one has to learn about light, exposure and the controls of the camera that manage exposure: shutter speed, ISO and aperture. In combination, they offer many different ways of achieving the correct exposure, but each variation will have an impact on the image and composition of your photographs. That's a learning curve that will take a while, as it does for everyone.
Let me first reassure you that the T5, while basic, has the essentials to learn photography and is a great learning tool.
Let me start off with a series of questions about what kinds of photography you want to engage in, by learning that we can be of greatest help to get you what you need within budget.
1. I understand your budget is $500-800 for a lens.
2. What lenses do you currently have - please be specific as possible as there are often multiple versions of the same focal range. You will find the information you need at the front of each lens, thus:
You need to identify - Physical Focal length, Aperture Range and Maker and Lens Type
What kinds of subjects do you want to shoot?
Under what conditions - dim indoors, outdoors, close by or at a distance?
What do you intend to produce - images for social media, digital display, small-medium prints, or very large prints?
These details are not technical but about the kinds of photography you intend to engage with.
In the meantime, I will also suggest watching the following to give you a start on your journey.
To give you some orientation to your camera specifically, this video may help - the T5 and T6 are almost identical:
eos-rebelt5-1200d-im3-en.pdf (c-wss.com)
Thanks for responding to my questions.
So, to confirm, budget up to a bit above $1,000 if necessary
First priority is a lens suitable for open field sports - given those tend to cover subjects that are some distance away as well as potentially close up, you are looking at two different focal ranges there: one wide to moderate telephoto, and another super telephoto - that latter will not be available in a constant aperture of f/2.8 unless you want to spend tens of thousands of dollars for that performance.
The f/2.8 lenses tend to be up to a maximum of 200mm at anything like a reasonable price
Therein lies your quandary...
For a deeper context into this. I suggest you take a while to review a couple of videos from Brigham Young University, which offers an insight into the focal ranges they work with. Their budget is essentially unlimited, so they can afford to get the lenses that have those focal lengths combined with those open apertures. So, some compromises must be made at this stage. Note that in the video from BYU, the settings for photography are not down to f/2.8, but to f/4, which gives you a lot more latitude for optics, but also be aware that this is done with Full-Frame, high-end cameras that have excellent sensors for low light work.
There is a lot to learn just about sports shooting as a specific skill and that is on top of learning to use the exposure controls I mentioned. Learning to shoot sports to a level that people want to invest in is an involved process, as the following videos demonstrate: Patience is required. Remember, you are literally just starting out, and you have a lot to learn (you don't know what you don't know at present), and rushing it won't help you, you will just get frustrated - I see that a lot...
To be honest, I would suggest you get used to shooting the field sports in daylight to become accustomed to the camera and lens, and get some skill at using the controls - there is a lot to learn there. For the speed of sports photography you need to know your camera controls so well that you don't have to think about what to press to get the feature you want and that takes setup, practice, practice, practice and time.
Leave the night events for a while until you build up some skill with the gear. Apart from fast lenses, if you want to shoot night sports, you will eventually have to consider going to a quality full-frame body - they have significantly better low light performance with sensors of the same MP capacity. You can't afford to invest in both high-end lenses and camera bodies at once, but the optics are the best long-term investment, while you learn the principles and then get a better body when you can produce consistently good results with what you have got - and that will be a while.
Finally, a note on technique. Pro sports still photographers don't shoot looking at the LCD panel on the back, they shoot with their eyes to the viewfinder and so, you need to make sure you use good technique to avoid camera shake, the longer the focal length the greater the risk.
So, here are a couple of suggestions:
First it is generally very desirable to stick with Canon lenses, when you eventually move to a Mirrorless platform, which is almost inevitable, those lenses will work via a Canon EF-RF adapter. Also stick to full-frame EF (rather than EF-S) lenses as that will allow you to update to that format if you choose.
So: The lenses I can find:
If you want a EF 70-200 then KEH have them, and they come with a warranty - price by condition:
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM EF-Mount Lens {77} at KEH Camera
I had this lens, fabulous optic, very heavy for extended hand-held use, and likely too short for a lot of outfield shots.
For more reach, the EF 100-400L MkII is hard to beat:
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM EF Mount Lens {77} with Canon Tripod Foot at KEH Camera
Another optical range between is the popular 70-300 range and Canon actually made 4 variants of this, of which I shall recommend two to you:
Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II Nano USM Lens for EF-Mount, Black {67} at KEH Camera
While not an L series lens it has great optics and a super-fast focus Nano-USM motor that make it a great performer.
Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM Lens for EF-Mount, White {67} at KEH Camera The L version is a true pro lens. Light, compact, brilliant optic and built like a tank. I had one and only parted with it reluctantly and with some regret.
I wrote a review of these lenses a while ago that might give you some context:
Canon 70-300 lenses: An In-depth Analysis.
There is a lot to digest here, but do spend the time to go through ALL the videos I have presented. I can assure you that a few hours of study will not even scratch the surface of being a competent photographer.
