STM lenses and older EOS bodies

Do the STM lenses work on the EOS 350D?

Is there any reason why they would not work?

My 40mm 2.8 STM functions normally on 5D and 1D Mark II N cameras, which were both introduced in 2005. I see no reason that STM lenses should not function on the earliest EOS cameras, from the 1980s.

Mark B. wrote:

Rexgig0 wrote:

My 40mm 2.8 STM functions normally on 5D and 1D Mark II N cameras, which were both introduced in 2005. I see no reason that STM lenses should not function on the earliest EOS cameras, from the 1980s.

If they are EF-S lenses then they will not mount on film cameras, which are EF only - same as current FF DSLR bodies from Canon.

Mark

Quite true. I failed to consider that part of the equation. (... need caffeine, before replying!) STM, alone, is not a limitation, within the EOS system, but EF-S does limit one's camera compatibility.

I will edit my above reply, to add a correction, if I am still within the time limitation. (Edit: It was too late to edit my first post.)

GreenPig wrote:

Do the STM lenses work on the EOS 350D?

Is there any reason why they would not work?

STM lenses will work on the 350D.

quiquae wrote:

GreenPig wrote:

Do the STM lenses work on the EOS 350D?

Is there any reason why they would not work?

STM lenses will work on the 350D.

Thanks - I was just making sure that any new communications protocol would be ok. Typically these things are backward compatible.

GreenPig wrote:

Thanks - I was just making sure that any new communications protocol would be ok. Typically these things are backward compatible.

I'm not sure there is a new protocol. That was always touted as one of the great advantages of the EOS system, right from the start in 1987: the camera would issue a high-level instruction, e.g. 'change focus to a nearer focus point' or 'close the aperture diaphragm', and it would be the lens which would convert that into specific instructions appropriate to the technology in the lens. We've had lenses with micro-motors (e.g. as in the 50mm f1.8), several variants of ultra-sonic motors, and now STM lenses, and (subject to the EF/EF-S/EF-M differences) they all just work on whatever body.

Canon got it right 27 years ago, and we're still seeing the benefits.

totleytom wrote:

I'm not sure there is a new protocol. That was always touted as one of the great advantages of the EOS system, right from the start in 1987: the camera would issue a high-level instruction, e.g. 'change focus to a nearer focus point' or 'close the aperture diaphragm', and it would be the lens which would convert that into specific instructions appropriate to the technology in the lens. We've had lenses with micro-motors (e.g. as in the 50mm f1.8), several variants of ultra-sonic motors, and now STM lenses, and (subject to the EF/EF-S/EF-M differences) they all just work on whatever body.

Well, the STM lenses do have one backwards-incompatible wrinkle: continuous AF when shooting video works only on recent APS-C cameras (650D, 700D, 100D, 70D). I did not bother to mention this before because the 350D doesn't shoot video at all. 

quiquae wrote:

totleytom wrote:

I'm not sure there is a new protocol. That was always touted as one of the great advantages of the EOS system, right from the start in 1987: the camera would issue a high-level instruction, e.g. 'change focus to a nearer focus point' or 'close the aperture diaphragm', and it would be the lens which would convert that into specific instructions appropriate to the technology in the lens. We've had lenses with micro-motors (e.g. as in the 50mm f1.8), several variants of ultra-sonic motors, and now STM lenses, and (subject to the EF/EF-S/EF-M differences) they all just work on whatever body.

Well, the STM lenses do have one backwards-incompatible wrinkle: continuous AF when shooting video works only on recent APS-C cameras (650D, 700D, 100D, 70D). I did not bother to mention this before because the 350D doesn't shoot video at all.

Just to add.....

STM lenses are "optimized" for Continuous AF in that they have smoother and generally silent AF BUT.... Continuous AF during video is a function of the camera body and has NOTHING to do with the lens.

You don't need STM to do Continuous AF, and older non-STM lenses will still do Continuous AF when mounted on the appropriate body. They will just be noisy and jumpy.