TELEPHOTO LENSES
Be a tele addict
Long lenses provide the magnifying power you need to get close to a distant subject, and telezooms give vital flexibility...
Anything beyond the standard focal length of 50mm takes us into the territory of telephoto lenses. These magnify the subject to make it larger than the eye’s unaided view. Telephotos are the weapon of choice for wildlife and sports pros, but have a much broader use in other genres, such as landscape and portraiture.
Purely because of their length and construction, telephoto lenses are heavy, and therefore trickier to use. Fast, wideaperture prime telephotos are expensive, but offer astounding quality. Telezooms have greater flexibility, but they also come with a variable aperture; so although a lens might be f/4.5 at its short end, it will likely be f/5.6 or f/6.3 at the long end – worth noting if you are in the market for your first long zoom lens.