| It's useful to think of telephoto lenses as | | | | expensive. |
| telescopes for your digital SLR camera. Like a | | | | They are nevertheless the first choice for |
| telescope, a telephoto lens enlarges your subject, | | | | professional sports, news, and wildlife |
| bringing it closer and making it appear larger in | | | | photographers because the image quality can't be |
| your viewfinder and on your camera's digital | | | | beaten and they offer wider maximum apertures |
| sensor. | | | | than zoom lenses of equivalent focal length. |
| Lenses with a focal length longer than that of a | | | | This allows for shooting in low light conditions, |
| 50mm standard lens can be classed as telephotos. | | | | which is often a necessity for professional |
| In practice though, 85mm is regarded as the | | | | photographers in the following situations: |
| shortest telephoto focal length for fixed or prime | | | | * shooting sports under artificial lighting at night, or |
| lenses, while for telephoto zoom lenses, the short | | | | at indoor arenas; |
| end of the telephoto range starts around 70mm, | | | | * wildlife photographers shooting early in the |
| as in a 70-200mm telephoto zoom. | | | | morning or late afternoon when the animals are |
| The longer the focal length of a lens, the greater | | | | most active and the light is soft and less |
| its magnification. Thus a 100mm telephoto lens | | | | contrasty; |
| gives twice the magnification of a 50mm standard | | | | * news photographers when shooting under a |
| lens. In practice, this means the subject's height | | | | variety of breaking news situations, when they |
| and width in the viewfinder - and hence on the | | | | may be too far from the subject to use flash or |
| digital sensor or film - is doubled when you attach | | | | want a more natural look to their images from |
| a 100mm lens to the camera. Similarly, a 400mm | | | | available light. |
| telephoto lens gives eight times (x8) the | | | | Within the family of prime telephoto lenses, some |
| magnification of a standard lens. | | | | of the most prized are: |
| If you're on safari and there's a big male lion | | | | * 600mm f/4.0 -- for wildlife and sports such as |
| staring at you from 50m away, he's going to | | | | surfing and cricket where these huge lenses can |
| appear very small in the viewfinder with a 50mm | | | | be firmly attached to a heavy tripod to keep |
| lens on your digital SLR. Change that to a 500mm | | | | them steady. |
| telephoto lens, and the lion is magnified 10 times. | | | | * 300mm f/2.8 -- a brilliant lens for wildlife and |
| Now he nearly fills the frame and you can even | | | | sport because of the wide maximum aperture |
| see the scars on his face and the piercing yellow | | | | combined with smaller size and weight that makes |
| eyes boring into you. | | | | it easier to use on a monopod, giving the |
| From the above example, it should be clear that | | | | photographer more freedom of movement. |
| telephoto lenses prove invaluable when you can't | | | | These lenses can also be used with matching tele |
| get near enough to the subject you're | | | | converters or extenders to increase the focal |
| photographing. With a tele lens you can, for | | | | length without a sacrifice in size or weight. |
| example, take sports shots from the sidelines or | | | | * 85mm portrait lenses with wide f/1.2 maximum |
| shoot pictures of wild animals from the safety of | | | | aperture that are also good for indoor sports or |
| a vehicle or hide. | | | | low light situations such as concerts or theater. |
| They're also very handy for taking candid shots | | | | 2. Zoom telephotos are hugely popular because of |
| of children, for reportage, or any other situation | | | | their versatility and often affordable price tag. |
| where you want to remain inconspicuous, as they | | | | Lens technology has improved dramatically in |
| allow you to shoot unnoticed while you're some | | | | recent years and today's top-of-the-range zoom |
| distance from your subject. | | | | lenses compare favorably with prime lenses when |
| Medium telephotos in the 85 to 105mm range are | | | | it comes to image quality. |
| also highly prized as portrait lenses as they tend | | | | For all-round usefulness, combined with |
| to flatter the subject and allow a shallow depth of | | | | affordability and very acceptable image quality, |
| field that throws distracting backgrounds out of | | | | telephoto zoom lenses are a "must-have" lens for |
| focus. | | | | most photographers as it costs a lot less buying |
| Prime v Zoom Telephoto Lenses | | | | one zoom lens than two (or three) prime lenses |
| Telephoto lenses fall into two main categories: | | | | to cover the same range of focal lengths. |
| 1. Fixed focal length, or prime, telephotos | | | | Popular zoom telephoto lenses include: |
| 2. Zoom telephotos, offering variable focal length | | | | * Professional quality 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto |
| 1. Prime telephotos offer optimum image quality | | | | zooms |
| because they have fewer lens elements, so | | | | * 80-400 or 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 telephoto zooms |
| fewer compromises have to be made. Their main | | | | * More affordable 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 telephoto |
| disadvantage is the fixed focal length, limiting your | | | | zooms. |
| options when composing the shot. | | | | Whatever your situation, whether beginner or |
| When photographing fast moving subjects, as in | | | | veteran photographer, telephoto lenses are |
| sport or wildlife, you can find the subject suddenly | | | | invaluable tools that greatly increase the chances |
| looming too large in the viewfinder. Fixed focal | | | | of capturing remarkable images with your digital |
| length telephotos can also be large, heavy, and | | | | SLR camera. |