💡 Looking for your ideal goal? In this guide we solve your doubts about terminology, acronyms, numbers and we leave you a good list of recommendations.
If you are thinking of buying a telephoto lens, you are in the right place. In today’s article I am going to introduce you to the best telephoto lenses you can find for your SLR camera. Of course, we are talking about lenses for beginners and amateurs, because if you do not dedicate yourself professionally to long-distance photography, you do not need to take a mortgage to pay for a lens 😉 As you will see, there are two types, some more affordable for beginners and tighter pockets and another somewhat higher-end group for more demanding fans with a larger 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 lens?
There are several factors that you should analyze before launching to buy a new lens:
- Brightness. The brighter a lens, the easier it is to focus in low light conditions. Also, if you don’t have a tripod, a brighter lens allows you to make shorter exposures, reducing the possibility of camera shake, something inevitable with these focal lengths. Now you are thinking that you are going to buy the most luminous, right? Well, beware, the brighter the more expensive 🙁 #estoesasí
- focal range. The focal length covered by the objective is another aspect to take into account. It is very tempting to choose a telephoto lens that has “a lot of zoom” because then you have a wide focal range with a single lens. Here you must also be very careful, because the quality declines. Some lenses work better at one focal range than another, so you’ll want to think about which focal length you’ll be working with more often. You should also keep in mind that if your camera is not a full sensor, in practice, the focal length will be different. You will have to count on the conversion factor. And if you have a full-frame camera, my advice is not to opt for the cheapest optics, your camera deserves a lens to match it 😉
- 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 the blissful shakes.
You already know the most important points to take into account, now, before continuing, I have to insist on the same as always, that there is no best team, there is a suitable team for each person and, furthermore, that you do not expect it to be the whoever takes the best photos, he will give you the opportunity, but you take the photos, no matter how much you have the best lens or the best camera, if you don’t know how to take the photos, if you don’t control the light, the exposure, the composition, etc… you will not achieve great results. That said (for the umpteenth time, in case there is someone lagging behind) I leave you a list of recommended telephoto lenses (no order of priorityokay?):
1. Sigma 150 – 500mm f/ 5 – 6.3 DG APO HSM OS (for “playing” paparazzi)
This is a telephoto lens that offers one of the highest maximum focal lengths. It is as popular as it is affordable (for the positive evaluation it has). It has a good stabilizer and offers excellent sharpness up to 300mm and good up to 500mm. Round approximately 750 euros (for Nikon and Canon ) on Amazon. Although it is also available for Sigma.
Their drawbacks They are that it shows excessive vignetting throughout the focal range and that it is very difficult (or impossible) to focus in automatic mode in low light situations.
Here you can see some pictures 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 a focus motor and stabilizer. If your budget is very tight, this can be a very good option. The quality for the price it has is very good, you can buy it for 685 euros on Amazon And it’s not too heavy. It is ideal for beginners looking for portraits, moon photography and daytime photography. It is also a lens to photograph landscapes where you want compact plans. Less suitable for action, macro or low light photography.
The best it is the sharpness that it offers between 100 and 200mm and the stabilization system.
Between his drawbacks We must mention the loss of sharpness at maximum aperture and from 200mm and that it is not very bright.
Here I show you some examples of photographs taken with it:
3. Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED VR (high quality at moderate price)
If your budget is somewhat higher and/or you have been immersed in the photographic world for some time, you can opt for this great lens at a moderate price, which does not have the brightness 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 with respect to the shooting speed, 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 a 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, nice and cheap)
It is the first Tamron lens with USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), an ultrasonic autofocus motor mechanism that facilitates fast focusing. This makes it ideal for photography of sports, action and other moving objects. It also offers a vibration compensation (VC) system that helps stabilize the image at long focal lengths and in low light conditions. It would be in quality below 70-200. The drawback it is the lack of sharpness, especially at 300, but of course, we are talking about a fairly cheap lens.
The best it is the stabilizer and the value for money 😉 You can find it for 300 euros (for Canon) and for Sony/Minolta.
To give you an idea, here is a sample gallery:
5. TAMRON SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD (high-end at the best price)
Improving the previous telephoto lens, we find this great lens for somewhat larger pockets and more demanding photographers in love with nature, sports, fashion or journalism photography. High performance and with a construction that has nothing 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-frame cameras and available for Canon, Nikon and Sony (for the latter it is called the SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di USD, as it does not have the VC stabilizer).
The drawback more important is that at f/2.8 it has a very noticeable vignetting and that it starts to decrease at f/4 until it disappears completely.
Its price is 1,250 euros (approximately) for Canon and for Nikon and 1,210 for Sony/Minolta.
In short, the value for money is very competitive compared to other top brands and high-end lenses and of course, the sample 😉:
6. Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM (cheapest)
If you are from Canon and are looking for a Canon lens, you are also a beginner and you like nature photography but not excessively action photography 😉 this is your ideal lens at a very affordable price. And I say that you are looking for a Canon lens because there are many who agree that the TAMRON 70-300 that I presented to you a moment ago is much better. But to what we are going, for the price it has, 165 euros!, it’s not bad at all. A more than decent image quality, an effective stabilizer, good luminosity and great sharpness (regarding those in this range, huh? Don’t get excited).
Worst One of this telephoto lenses is that the focus is not excessively fast, which is why I told you at the beginning that it is not the most suitable for action photography.
I leave you a small gallery to give you an idea of the type of photos you could take with it:
7. Canon 70-200 f/4L USM
This telephoto lens is one of Canon’s best when it comes to optics. Its users are delighted with it and openly recommend it. It has an excellent seal, very good construction and weighs only 700g. The optical quality, as I just mentioned, is excellent in all its focal ranges and the autofocus is very fast even in low light.
The oldest drawback is that it does not have a stabilizer and at these distances it is quite important, so you will need to use a tripod. The lack of stabilizer is what makes its price so interesting for the optics it presents (600 euros about). If you have a larger budget and you think that 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 carefully about what you are looking for and do not be guided by “the most expensive is the best” because that motto does not work here. 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 are still not sure which one, these other articles can help you:
Thank you very much for coming this far, and if you found it interesting, share it on your favorite social networks, this article may come in handy for one of your contacts 😉 Ah! And when you buy it… Tell us about your experience (or show it to us! 😉 ) and if you want to recommend from your experience some other that I haven’t included, don’t hesitate, use the forum 😉 Until next time!