30 Jul The best telephoto lenses
Perfect for sports, nature, night, landscape photography… Best telephoto lenses allow you to comfortably photograph scenarios that are far away from our camera and capture moments that without these optics would be impossible to achieve, such as close-ups of the moon or the intensity of match soccer. We can get these images with optics such as this Sigma 740954, one of the objectives selected by our experts.
Before buying a telephoto lens we must ask ourselves what we want this type of lens for and what use we are going to give it to. We speak in any case of optics that are not cheap and offer fantastic performance in terms of speed and aperture, but with a high cost. It is not the same to look for a 70mm lens than a 200mm lens, so it is interesting to evaluate the option to buy a variable or fixed-focus lens if we handle a tight budget.
To consider before buy
Compatibility
It is important to check that our lens is compatible with our camera model.
Stabilizer
As we talk about large focal points, it is recommended that the lens has a good image stabilizer. Otherwise, we always recommend its use with a good tripod.
Crop factor. In this type of optics, it can be a point in favor if our objective is not full-frame (full size) and we are looking for a long focal length since we must apply a multiplier factor to our objective to know its true scope. For example, if our camera is equipped with a sensor that has a 1.6x cropping factor, we must multiply it by the focal length of the lens to know exactly the focal length of our lens: a 70mm lens in a camera with a 1.6x crop factor will offer a 112mm focal length (70 × 1.6 = 112).
Brightness
The more open, the more luminous our goal will be. This feature is important if we are going to photograph in complex light conditions.
Focal length
We can differentiate these optics in two types of telephoto lenses:
Short telephoto lenses, 70mm to 200mm, ready to shoot short shots
Long telephoto lenses, larger than 200mm, optimal for nature photography or sports activities, or for taking pictures at a distance
Size and weight. These objectives are usually large and are quite heavy, so it is important to think of a monopod or tripod to use comfortably.
The best telephoto lenses
First: Sigma F1.4 DG Af HSM Art
This Sigma lens offers an 85mm focal length. It is not a TV too long, but it is a perfect optic to take portraits and get a perfect bokeh (blur).
It is a very bright lens, offering an aperture of f: 1.4, so we can use it comfortably when the light conditions are unfavorable.
This telephoto lens is offered for mounting on Canon cameras, although it is also compatible for Nikon photographic equipment.
In addition, it is a very bright target. It belongs to the Art series of Sigma, which indicates that it will offer us a good performance, with very sharp images and good focusing accuracy, eliminating chromatic aberrations.
It has a very quiet focus motor (HSM) that allows us to quickly focus on the subjects. We can also focus on manual mode with comfort.
Its mount is robust and resistant. Of course, we must bear in mind that this objective is quite large and is not light at all, with 1.13 kg of weight, so a good transport bag and a tripod will be necessary to handle it comfortably.
Second place: Samyang 881702 Objective for Sony-E
This 85mm is specific for equipment with full-frame sensors and also APS-C. This model is mounted on Sony-E cameras, although it is also available for Canon, Fuji, Niko, Olympus, and Sony A.
This TV is also very bright, with an aperture of f: 1.4, perfect for working in complex light conditions. It includes an aspherical lens to avoid image vignetting, achieving very contrast and sharp images. It is one of the best telephoto lenses.
We can focus comfortably in automatic or manual mode. As a weak point, it has no image stabilizer, and its minimum focus distance is 1 meter.
It is quite light, and small in size, and weighs 540 grams. Includes removable sun visor. Good optics, at a tight price.
Third: Tamron A001E 70-200 / 2.8 DI LD
This variable focal lens offers us a distance between 70mm and 200mm, with a pretty good luminosity of f: 2.8.
It comes equipped for Canon equipment and is available for Nikon, Sony, and Pentax. It is a fairly heavy target of 1.33 kg. so it is important to prepare a good carrying bag and a tripod to use it comfortably.
Its lens construction allows a low color dispersion, obtaining very contrast and sharp images. It offers a focus on manual and automatic mode with a minimum focusing distance of 0.95 meters. It is a fairly fast focusing optics, although its HSM focusing engine is somewhat noisy.
As a weak point, it does not incorporate image stabilizer, although we interpret that this is a good variable focal lens, and offers performance. It is one of the best telephoto lenses.
Fourth: Sigma 740954 IS A 150-600
This long TV allows a focal length of 150mm-600m with a somewhat low, but effective luminosity, of f: 5 / 6.3, perfect for capturing images of nature and birds, action or sports. It comes equipped for Canon cameras, although it is also available for Nikon models.
It offers an image stabilizer and has a good autofocus motor, very fast and quiet.
To take into account that this TV has a weight of 3.86 kg. and a good finish prepared to withstand inclement weather. It is perfect to mount it on a monopod and thus work comfortably with it.
One option to consider: Sigma 824-955 – Teleconverter 1.4x EX APO DG
One of the options to reach a longer focal length is the use of a duplicator or teleconverter since it multiplies the focal length of our target by 1.5x or 2x.
Its operation is very simple since we simply have to place the set of lenses between our camera and our lens. Our optics will automatically offer twice its focal length. In contrast, when placing lenses between body and optics, we will lose some luminosity, approximately a diaphragm, although we can compensate it with the ISO without major problem. It is also one of the best telephoto lenses.
This Sigma rides on Nikon bodies and is also available for Canon, Sony or Minolta.
It is a very light converter, weighing 145 grams. and its bayonet anchor is stable and robust.
In relation to value for money, it is a good solution to achieve a greater focus economically.