If you are thinking of buying a telephoto lens, you are in the right place. In today's article I will present the best telephoto lenses you can find for your SLR camera. Of course, we talk about goals for beginners and amateurs, because if you do not dedicate yourself professionally to long distance photography you do not need to mortgage yourself to pay for a goal As you will see there are two types, some more affordable for beginners and tighter pockets and another group of somewhat higher range for more demanding fans with a more comfortable budget. First of all you should know what you are looking for and what budget you have. Do you already have it clear? Well, we continue!
WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING A GOAL?
There are several factors that you must analyze before launching to buy a new objective:-
- Brightness. The brighter a lens is, the easier it will be for you to focus in low light conditions. In addition, if you do not have a tripod, that your objective is brighter allows you to make shorter exposures reducing the possibility of trepidations, something inevitable with these focal distances. Now you will be thinking that you are going to buy the brightest, right? Well beware, the more luminous the more expensive # estoesasí
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- Focal range The focal length covered by the objective is another aspect to consider. It is very tempting to choose a telephoto lens that has "a lot of zoom" because you have a wide focal range with only one lens. Here you must also be quite careful, as the quality decays. Some objectives work better in one focal range than in another, so it would be convenient for you to think with what focal length you will work more frequently. You should also keep in mind that if your camera is not full sensor, in practice, the focal length will be different. You will have the conversion factor. And if you have a full-format camera, my advice is not to opt for the most economical optics, your camera deserves a lens at its height
- Stabilizer. Especially, if the lens is not very bright, a stabilizer will help you when using slower speeds, especially if you do not have a tripod, to minimize such trepidations.
1. SIGMA 150 - 500MM F / 5 - 6.3 DG APO HSM OS (TO "PLAY" THE PAPARAZZI)
This is a telephoto lens that offers a maximum focal point of the highest. It is as popular as it is affordable (for the positive rating it has). It has a good stabilizer and offers excellent sharpness up to 300mm and good up to 500mm. Round about 750 euros (for Nikon and Canon ) on Amazon. Although it is also available for Sigma. Its drawbacks are that it shows excessive vignetting over the entire focal range and that it is very difficult (or impossible) to focus automatically in low light situations. Here you can see some images taken with this telephoto lens.2. NIKON AF-S VR 70-300MM F / 4.5-5.6 G WITH IMAGE STABILIZER (GOOD AND GOOD PRICE)
A telephoto lens for Nikon with focus motor and stabilizer. If your budget is very tight, this may be a very good option. The quality for the price it has is very good, you can buy it for 685 euros at Amazon and it does not weigh excessively. It is ideal for beginners looking for portraits, photographs of the moon, landscapes and day photographs. Less suitable for action, macro or low light conditions. The best is the sharpness offered between 100 and 200mm and the stabilization system. Among its drawbacks it is necessary to mention the loss of sharpness at maximum opening and from 200mm and that is not very bright. Here are some examples of photographs taken with him:3. NIKON 70-200MM F / 4G ED VR (GREAT QUALITY AT MODERATE PRICE)
If your budget is somewhat larger and / or you have been immersing yourself in the photographic world for some time , you can opt for this great objective of moderate price, which does not have the luminosity of f / 2.8 but has excellent image quality and It costs almost half as well as being lighter (830 g.). Its stabilization system improves up to five steps from the firing speed, it sounds interesting, right? It has a fixed brightness of f / 4 and its price is around 1,350 on Amazon . To be one of the telephoto lenses that exceed one thousand euros, it is not one of the largest or heaviest, and it is very fast in focus, which makes it ideal for sports and action photography.4. TAMRON 70-300MM F / 4-5.6 DI VC USD (GOOD, BEAUTIFUL AND CHEAP)
It is the first Tamron lens with USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), an ultrasonic autofocus motor mechanism that facilitates a fast focus. This makes it ideal for sports, action and other moving photography. It also offers a vibration compensation system (VC) that helps stabilize the image over long focal distances and in low light conditions. It would be in quality below 70-200 . The inconvenience is the lack of sharpness, especially at 300, but of course, we talk about a fairly economic objective. The best 300 euros (for Canon) and for Sony / Minolta.it's the stabilizer and the price-quality ratio you find it by To give you an idea, here is a sample gallery:5. TAMRON SP 70-200MM F / 2.8 DI VC USD (HIGH RANGE AT THE BEST PRICE)
Improving the previous telephoto lens, we find this great lens for somewhat more baggy pockets and more demanding photographers in love with nature, sport, fashion or journalism photography. High performance and with a construction that nothing has to envy to leading brands, sealed against dust and splashes. Very bright, with a very fast focus and a good image stabilizer. Compatible with full-format cameras and available for Canon, Nikon and Sony (for the latter it is called SP 70-200mm f / 2.8 Di USD, since it does not carry the VC stabilizer). The most important drawback is that af / 2.8 has a very noticeable vignetting and that begins to decrease af / 4 until it disappears completely. Its price is 1,250 euros (approximately) for Canon and Nikon and 1,210 for Sony / Minolta . In summary, the price-quality ratio is very competitive compared to other top brands and high-end objectives and of course, the sample :6. CANON EF-S 55-250MM F / 4-5.6 IS STM (THE CHEAPEST)
If you are from Canon and you are looking for a Canon lens, you are also a beginner and you like nature photography but not excessively that of action this is your ideal objective at a very economical price. And I say what you are looking for Canon target because there are many who agree that the TAMRON 70-300 that I presented to you just now is much better. But what we're going for, for the price it has, 165 euros! , it's not bad at all. An image quality more than decent, an effective stabilizer, good luminosity and great sharpness (with respect to those of this range, huh ?, do not get excited). The worst thing about this telephoto lens is that the approach is not too fast, so I told you at the beginning that it is not the most suitable for action photography. I leave a small gallery for you to get an idea of ??the kind of photos you could take with him:7. CANON 70-200 F / 4 L USM
This telephoto lens is one of Canon's best in terms of optics. Its users are delighted with it and recommend it openly. It has an excellent seal, very good construction and weighs only 700 g. The optical quality, as I just said, is excellent in all its focal ranges and very fast autofocus even in low light. The biggest drawback is that it has no stabilizer and at these distances it is quite important, so you will need to pull a tripod. The lack of stabilizer is what makes its price so interesting for the optics it presents ( approximately 600 euros ). If you have a bigger budget and you think the stabilizer is essential for you, you can opt for the IS version that costs about 990 euros . These two images are taken with this telephoto lens: Remember that each user has an ideal goal and your needs do not have to be the same as those of others. Think well what you are looking for and don't be guided by "the most expensive is better" because here that motto does not work. I hope I have clarified something in this maelstrom of offers, models and brands. If you have made the decision to buy a telephoto lens but you are not sure which one, these other articles can help you:- How to base your purchase decisions on photographic material?
- 9 Typical Errors When Buying SLR Lenses
- 16 Tips for Buying a Second-Hand Objective
