Difference between AF and EF lenses

Hi,

I am planning to buy an SLR camera. I am confused with these EF and AF lenses. What is the difference between these two? What type of lenses is best suited for Canon Rebel 2000 camera. Can I go for Canon EF 28-200/3.5-5.6 lenses?

Thanks and Regards,

Ravi.

The current product line of Canon EOS lenses are all designated as EOS

"EF" lenses, and the "EF" designation refers to the type of lens mount

found on all EOS cameras. "AF" denotes whether or not a given EOS EF

lens is an "Autofocus" lens, and I do believe that among the current

line of EOS EF lenses, only their EOS EF "tilt/shift" lenses are not

autofocus lenses, but instead, they must be manually focused. To

learn more about the evolution of Canon's 35mm cameras, lenses, and

related technologies, visit http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/

In the Canon line, I think that EF stands for Electronic Focus.

In other brands (Nikon, Minolta etc...), AF stands for Auto Focus.

Sure, a 28-200 Canon EF lens should work fine with a Canon Rebel.

EF is also the name given to the physical mounting system used on EOS

cameras. Thus, any "EF" or "EF mount" lens will fit on any EOS body

(or the EF-M, but when was the last time anyone saw one of them?).

However, third party lenses do have some compatibility problems with

EOS bodies.

Just a slight correction. EF (Electronic Focus) denotes a Canon

autofocus lens as well as electronic aperture stop down. The Canon

tilt-shift lenses, which are manual focus only, are thus denotes as E

(without the F). Hence, Canon's 24mm tilt-shift lens is called 24mm

TS-E (not TS-EF).