 Kathy L. Pollick |
Difference between zoom & telephoto? I've been reading about zoom and telephoto and there appears to be a difference, but I don't know what it is? How do the lenses differ & is there a visual difference in pictures taken with one or the other lenses?
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David A. Bliss |
Zoom refers to a lens that can change focal lengths. Telephoto refers to a lens that has a focal length longer than lifesize (50mm on a 35mm camera). I have a 20mm-35mm zoom lens. It is a wide angle zoom, as opposed to a telephoto zoom. I have a 75-200mm zoom lens. This is a telephoto zoom (because it's longest focal length is more than one to one).
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Kathy L. Pollick |
OK. I have another question. What's the significance of purchasing a bunch of individual lenses; i.e. 20mm 35mm 85mm 200mm instead of purchasing one lens, say 28mm to 200mm? Wouldn't the one lens serve all the former jobs the same way?
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Karma Wilson |
It completely and totally depends on your needs as a photographer. If you are planning to become "professional" or even a very serious hobbyist you want better lenses and all purpose lenses like you mentioned just don't have the quality. Even the expensive all purpose lenses have quality issues because lenses just haven't evolved to the point where one lens can do everything well. But if you are just photo enthusiast who wants to get good pictures to put on your website and give to friends and family these all purpose lenses serve a great purpose. They are generally lighter and more versatile. A good "all purpose" is the Tamron 18-200 mm. It has macro capabilities (not true macro, but gets you pretty close), a fairly good zoom on a digital camera and gives a digital camera true wide angle capability. That's a lot for one zoom lens! And it's around $400. It will take pictures just fine for the eye of the average viewer. But for clarity, color, contrast etc...you can't beat really good lenses designed to do a specific job. They usually cost a lot and they give professional photographers an edge over the average enthusiast. I have one all purpose lens and several others. I decide which I need depending on the circumstance. Karma
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Kathy L. Pollick |
Thanks. That does answer my question.
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David A. Bliss |
Historically, that has been true. A prime lens (fixed focal length) had better quality, because it had less glass, and only one focal length to worry about with sharpness, etc... Todays zooms are of much better quality. A zoom lens will always have certain focal length and aperture settings that are sharper than others. If you know the specs of your lens, you can achieve the same sharpness as a prime. Of course, not all zooms are of this quality. Also, a shorter zoom will generally have better overall performance that a long zoom. I have a 28-105mm, and a 70-200mm. I shy away from the 28-300mm. Way too much difference between the shortest and longest focal length. But I have seen the shooting specs for certain photos of some (professional) photographers I really respect that were shot with zooms. I don't think you can say that to be professional you can't use a zoom.
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Kathy L. Pollick |
when my hubby bought our zoom, he got a 28-200mm. So you're saying the quality of my pix would probably be better if I had two shorter zoom lengths as opposed to one larger one?
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David A. Bliss |
No, not necessarily. Depends on the lens. I have seen some great reviews of 28-200mm lenses. I would suggest looking up the specs for your lens. Use a third party, instead of just what the maker says the specs are. Photo mags often have their reviews with test results on line. This will tell you what focal lengths and f stops will give you the best pictures. That doesn't mean you should only use the lens at these settings, but it will give you an idea of where the lens is best.
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Karma Wilson |
Oops, should have clarified...I meant "all purpose" zooms like the Tamron. I certainly know a lot of pros use zoom lenses. I lost track of the prime/zoom aspect of the conversation. One of my best lenses is a zoom lens. Duh! But I don't consider it an "all purpose" zoom. Karma
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