Telephoto camera lenses (65 to 600mm) ?

Question

I'm interested in learning some basics about telephoto camera lenses. I was expexting to see the magnification described as 2x, 3x etc., but instead I saw an ad that said "Magnification: (65 to 600mm)", I don't know what that means.

I am thinking about buying a digital camera that also does movies, and a lens for photographing wildlife. I would like to do extreme closeups from 50-100 feet away. After researching, I would like to take a chance on ebay and get the most zoom for the buck. General 'newbie' tips appreciated.

Thanks averyone. Fredshelp, this was very well stated, "The 2x, 3x 10x designations are really just the rough result of dividing the Telephoto number by the Wide Angle number." Now I see, I will start researching when school lets out, but the great posts here will be a good launch.

Answer 1

The 2x, 3x 10x designations are just marketing shorthand to make advertising sound more understandable. Actually these do not mean much unless all the lenses being compared are about in the same range.

The real measure of a lens is the focal length. Those are the "mm" numbers you mention.

Today these numbers are adjusted to 35 mm "equivalent" to adjust for camera differences. (size of the sensor makes a difference)

50 mm is generally accepted to be like the human eye. Less than 40 mm is Wide Angle and yields a smaller, but wider image. Greater than 75 mm is Telephoto and yields a larger, but narrower image. The bigger the number, the larger (more magnification) the image.

The 2x, 3x 10x designations are really just the rough result of dividing the Telephoto number by the Wide Angle number.

A typical 3x zoom is about 35 to 105 mm. But a 100 to 300 mm zoom is also 3x, and that is a much different lens.

The example you gave 65 to 600 mm is about a 10x. But it has no Wide Angle, only high neutral and long telephoto.

Hard facts:

. All telephoto lenses lose some light. The stronger the telephoto, the more light it loses. The lower the lens quality, the more light it loses. If you have a super strength, lower quality telephoto, you lose so much light that the image is too dim to be useful.

Excellent quality long telephotos (like those used by the media) cost $$ thousands. Be sure to check out any Ebay lenses thoroughly. Buy only brands like those that you can find at photo stores.

Lenses are also rated by how much light they pass, using the f-stop designations. If you see a high f-stop number (like f16) that means very low light. No rating probably means low quality and low light.

Also remember that high telephoto means that camera movement is magnified too. You must use a tripod or an image stabilized lens (more money...), or both.

To keep starting costs down, you might consider one of the "ultra zoom" digicams. These provide about 35 to 430 mm (12x) built in, and you can add an external adapter to raise it to over 700 mm. These are more affordable because the small sensor size multiplies the lens's physical rating. And they have built in Image Stabilization.

I use a Sony H1 with a Sony Tele Adapter. (They also have Wide Angle adapters.)

Newer models are Sony H9/H7, Canon S3IS, Panasonic FZ8/FZ50, Fugi S9500. They cost $350 to $600, plus $100 to $150 for an adapter.

Good Luck

Answer 2

Here's some basics. A typical digital or film SLR that can interchange lenses uses a 50mm lens as a normal lens. The smaller the number the wider the angle - meaning the more picture you can get in your view. Anything larger than 50mm is considered a telephoto lens. Not sure what you mean by extreme close-ups from 50-100 feet away - but let's just say you want to be able to get the eyes of a lion in your full frame from 100' away. You are probably looking at close to a 1,000mm lens and thousands of bucks. I've never heard of a 65-600mm lens, but if you see adds that say things like 28-135mm means it has zoom capability of going from 28mm to 135mm - which is better than having to carry a few different lenses.

Seriously research your lenses and the camera you will be using them with. I use only Canon EF lenses which are top quality, but very expensive. If you spend big bucks on something without the knowledge you may be very disappointed. Hope that helps..

Answer 3

The focal length of the lens determines the image scale on the film or sensor. The magnification factor is the ratio of the lens's focal length to the "normal" lens for the camera. What's normal depends on the size of the film or sensor. On a 35mm camera, or a digital camera with a 24 x 36 mm sensor, 50mm is considered normal, so 600mm provides 12x magnification. Many digital cameras have smaller chips, so the equivalent magnification of a given lens will be greater. If you use a 50mm lens with a half-sized sensor, it will only get the center 50% of the image, so the resulting picture shows what a 100mm lens would show on a 35mm camera.

Answer 4

I assume you are talking about getting a digital SLR camera and there is tons of information on the Internet about them and the lens or you could go to the book store or library.