11-29-2023 05:56 PM - last edited on 11-30-2023 10:23 PM by Tiffany
I feel dumb but cannot tell if a lens I have is USM or USM II. I know they didn't print the "II" on the lens so how do I know?! Thanks, as I eat my humble pie.
11-29-2023 06:03 PM
What is the full name of the lens?
11-29-2023 06:21 PM
B&H just got me the answer. If the "L" on the lens is red, it is USM II.
11-29-2023 07:05 PM
But what is the Full name of the lens. Canon has made multiple lenses with a version II. Not just "L" series lenses so please check. If you don't already know Canon's naming convention its below.
11-29-2023 08:23 PM - edited 11-29-2023 08:34 PM
Please tell us which lens you are asking about.
B&H is wrong. There is no such thing as “USM II”. The “II” just means the lens is the second version of a lens. It doesn’t matter whether or not it has USM, or if it is an L lens. If your lens doesn’t have “II” on it, it is the first version of that lens.
11-29-2023 09:16 PM - edited 11-29-2023 09:19 PM
There are obviously lenses with II in their names. But that is not the USM or STM or whatever version. It is the version designation after the first version of the lens, which has no II.
Let's see if WorldFilm13 tells us what lens she/he has.
11-30-2023 09:29 PM
Hey all,
Thank you for your thoughts and help! Good people here. OK, so the lens I have is:
100-400/4.5-5.6 L II IS USM
Now, I wasn't sure if it was the I or the II. Canon's support page lists that when they came out with the II they did not print "II" on the lens. That may be wrong, but was on their own page (a Canadian page I found). B&H could also be wrong, of course. B&H said that when the II came out Canon printed the "L" in red. That was what I was saying. Seems crazy to think they would change the color of one letter instead of printing "II" on it, but I have no way to know. Wouldn't be the first time a company did something a bit obscure. 🙂
- Ramsey
12-02-2023 09:26 AM
If your camera has an "info" button, then your camera might show the name of the lens on its screen when you view the images in the camera on the camera itself. Check the manual for your camera to see what information might be reported about a camera.
If you load a raw image made with your camera and lens into the free to download Canon DPP software, it will show you the name of the lens that was on the camera for Canon lenses. Many JPG images will also work.
The exiftool program will show you the name the lens itself reports to the camera if the lens has electronics and is new enough. "exiftool -lensmodel IMG_1234.CR2" for example. For some older lenses which did not send their name to the camera, "exiftool -lensID IMG_1234.CR2" will guess what lens it is based upon a number the camera puts into the metadata and it is usually correct, but may be wrong if two different lenses use the same number. There is also a "RFlensID" tag that exiftool can read, but I do not have any RF lenses and do not know what it reports.
Apple Photos.app can show you the lens model from a JPG file produced by your camera if no other software has removed it.
11-30-2023 10:18 PM - edited 11-30-2023 10:35 PM
I’m not convinced you really know which version you have because you are still telling us information that is incorrect.
Both versions have a red L. They didn’t change the color of the L, and all version 2 lenses will have “II” printed on the lens.
All version 1 lenses look like this…….
All version 2 lenses look like this……
12-02-2023 09:36 AM
The zoom rings on the original EF 100-400mm and the Mark II operate very differently.
The Mark II version uses a conventional zoom ring, which you rotate. The older, original version of the lens does not use a conventional zoom ring. Instead, it uses a push/pull mechanism, which changes the length of the lens.
12/05/2024: New firmware updates are available.
EOS R5 Mark II - Version 1.0.2
09/26/2024: New firmware updates are available.
EOS R6 Mark II - Version 1.5.0
07/01/2024: New firmware updates are available.
04/16/2024: New firmware updates are available.
RF100-300mm F2.8 L IS USM - Version 1.0.6
RF400mm F2.8 L IS USM - Version 1.0.6
RF600mm F4 L IS USM - Version 1.0.6
RF800mm F5.6 L IS USM - Version 1.0.4
RF1200mm F8 L IS USM - Version 1.0.4
Canon U.S.A Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.