Telephoto Lens

Telephoto lenses are generally considered to be those with a focal length of 50mm and greater or 1x power and greater.

What do you wish to photograph?
A telephoto lens between 80 and 135mm is most appropriate for shooting portraits. Those between 135 and 300 can be used for sports and nature photography while the super telephoto lenses, those over 300mm, are often used by professionals to capture sports and wildlife. The larger then lens the closer you can get to distant objects but the trade off is greatly increased cost, size, and weight.

Compatibility
Any lens must be compatible with your camera. Generally it's wise to purchase a telephoto lens by the camera manufacturer or a brand that indicates it will fit your particular camera model. (Sigma is an example of a brand that fits a variety of camera models.)

Cost
Amateurs would be wise to start out in the low end of the cost spectrum and then move up. Some higher quality, professional telephoto lenses can cost thousands of dollars. Lens quality is of course important but if you will be primarily posting images on the web and printing 4x6 images, this will be a less significant concern.

Will You Have Zoom With That?
There are single-focal-length telephoto lenses which are smaller, come in longer focal lengths, and operate quickly. There are also zoom telephoto lenses which give users the ability to get more than one focal length out of a single lens.

Using a telephoto lenses makes any camera movement more evident, thus camera shake can be problematic. For clear, sharp images we recommend:

Using a tripod.

Using high speed film and trying higher shutter speeds.

For details, Outdoorphoto.com has an article to cover a few of the specifics.

See our Tripod webpage to find an affordable means of stabilizing your camera.

This Canon telephoto lens features outstanding quality and portability. It offers f/1.4 speed making it great for available-light shooting.

Specifications:

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture 50mm 1:1.4

Lens Construction 7 elements in 6 groups

Diagonal Angle of View 46°

Focus Adjustment Overall linear extension system with USM

Closest Focusing Distance 0.45m / 1.5 ft.

Filter Size 58mm

Max. Diameter x Length, Weight 2.9" x 2.0", 10.2 oz. / 73.8 x 50.5mm, 290g

Currently priced at $349.99.

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Photo Credits:
Introduction: LAGthenoggin.
Choosing a Telephoto Lens: squeakymarmot.
Tips on Using a Telephoto Lens: F 5.6.

This site is listed at LensMasterWorld.com.