General: Telephoto is for cowards. Why do I need a telephoto lens and a wide angle lens

Warning - this article is based on personal experience. The focus is on Canon techniques that I have worked with during my photography experience.

What is a telephoto lens for anyway?

Probably at least half of the owners of DSLRs with a standard zoom lens want to buy a telephoto lens. To the question "why do you need a telephoto lens?"

most often you have to hear the answer, which is hard to argue with - "to bring everything closer!" :) As a rule, a telephoto lens is really used to shoot objects that cannot be approached - from banal water lilies and houses "on the other side", ending with professional photography, sports photography, shooting aircraft and so on. Also, telephoto lenses, due to their ability to strongly blur the background, are often used for portraiture. Some telephoto cameras allow you to shoot good macro. In other words, the range of tasks that a telephoto lens allows you to solve is quite wide.

This article covers the main points during the selection, purchase and use of a telephoto lens.

Which telephoto lens to choose

Each manufacturer of photographic equipment, as a rule, has a huge number of telephoto lenses. If we consider Canon, then at least a dozen models come to mind (fixes are not taken into account yet)!

• Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6IS
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM L
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM L IS
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L IS
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L
• Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS
• Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM L IS
• Canon EF 100-300mm f/5.6L
• Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 USM L IS

Other manufacturers are in a similar situation. All this diversity is complemented large quantity telephoto models from Sigma, Tamron. The cost of telephoto lenses can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars! How to understand all this diversity and choose a telephoto lens with the best ratio of price, functionality and image quality?

First of all, let's do a little freestyle classification of telephoto lenses.

By focal length

Like all optics, telephoto lenses are divided into zooms and fixes. The zoom lens has the ability to change the focal length within certain limits, thus changing the scale of shooting an object from medium to very large (wide-angles give a small scale, they were discussed earlier).

Telephoto lenses with a fixed focal length do not have such an opportunity to crop with them will have to run. Moreover, taking into account their very small viewing angle, you will have to run very long distances, and sometimes even climb mountain slopes, stairs, ladders, trees - depending on what we are going to shoot. The use of long-focus fixes is mainly the lot of hunters, astrophotographers, sports photojournalists. As a rule, special areas are used for shooting, booths, the location of which is "adjusted" so that the scene is clearly visible and the distance to the subjects of shooting is optimal for using a given focal length.

Sports photojournalists with telephoto cameras

In everyday use, zoom lenses are much more practical. In most cases, they have the worst aperture ratio and image clarity, although there are also very sharp and beautifully drawing zooms - in this case we are talking about professional "moderate" telephoto lenses 70-200mm.

To more clearly give a concept of how the "degree of approximation" is related to the focal length, a lens simulator will help:

See how the field of view of the lens changes with focal length and when used on a full frame sensor (FX) and crop 1.5 (DX).

By luminosity

Aperture characterizes the maximum light transmission of the lens. The faster the lens, the more light gets to the matrix (with a fully open aperture) and the shorter the shutter speed is required. Another well-known pattern is that the larger the aperture ratio, the wider the depth of field can be changed. This is true for portrait photography, where lenses that give strong and beautiful background blur are highly valued.

High-aperture telephoto optics allows you to realize a large number of creative ideas. As a rule, these are very expensive professional-grade lenses. One of the elements of prestige for each manufacturer is "moderate" telephoto lenses with a focal length range of 70-200mm and a constant aperture of f / 2.8. These are professional zoom lenses, "sharpened" for portrait photography. They, as a rule, give excellent image quality - in the field of sharpness, the detail is huge, while the background is blurred very strongly and beautifully. Contrast, color reproduction, and light resistance are also very high level. The 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses are hugely popular among wedding photographers, allowing them to tackle portrait and reportage tasks at the same time. Lenses 70-200 mm also have "light" versions - with a constant aperture of 4. They are significantly cheaper and more compact than their "big brothers", however, they have fewer opportunities, although, in fact, this optics is very good.

The aperture of most amateur telephoto lenses is very low - at the short end of f / 4, at the long end - f / 5.6 and even less. This imposes some restrictions on the use of such lenses in artistic portraiture (which is most often carried out in the range up to 135-150 mm) and shooting fast moving objects - due to the small amount of light falling on the matrix for shooting with a short shutter speed, you have to greatly increase the sensitivity ISO.

If you look closely, among professional telephoto lenses sometimes there are not very fast ones! Here is an example:

• Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS (costs about 20,000 rubles)
• Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM L IS (costs about 45,000 rubles)

It seems that the differences are only in one letter, but "Elka" costs more than 2 times more. What's the catch?

In fact, these lenses are quite similar in appearance to each other (the usual 70-300 is black, the Elka is white and slightly larger in diameter). The difference is in the stuffing. Lenses have a different optical design and they use lenses different classes. As a result, the inexpensive "simple" 70-300 has acceptable picture quality only for 2/3 of its range (somewhere up to 200 mm), then there is a noticeable decrease in sharpness, chromatic aberrations appear. "Elka" gives a brighter, richer and sharper picture over the entire range of focal lengths.

By the presence / absence of stabilization

You probably know that Image Stabilizer helps to compensate for camera movement caused by hand shake (shake), thus allowing you to shoot at slower shutter speeds and still get sharp pictures. Now stabilizers are installed in almost all lenses, but stabilization is most relevant in long-focus optics, that is, in telephoto lenses.

There is such a rule - in order to get guaranteed clear pictures, you need to shoot with a shutter speed no longer than 1 divided by the focal length (in film equivalent). That is, if we have a focal length of 50 mm, then the "safe" shutter speed will be 1/50 second (or shorter). If the telephoto lens has a focal length of 300 mm, then the "safe" shutter speed will be 1/300 second on a full frame and about 1/460 second on a "cropped" camera (in terms of a 1.6 crop, 300 mm turns into 460 mm).

From this it follows that a handheld 300mm telephoto lens can only be shot on a bright sunny day! If the shutter speed turns out to be longer than safe, there are ways out - open a wider aperture (often sacrificing detail at the same time), increase the ISO (this increases the noise level), or use a tripod (this reduces the mobility of the photographer).

And here stabilization comes to the rescue - the included stabilizer is able to increase the safe shutter speed by 2-3 times. That is, instead of 1/300 second, the "safe" shutter speed for 300mm will be 1/100 second (1/160 sec on crop). Agree, the stabilizer gives a serious advantage and in most cases allows you to refuse to use a tripod and shoot at low ISO sensitivity not only in sunny, but also in cloudy weather, sometimes even in the evening.

Thus, it can be concluded that the image stabilization function is extremely useful for a telephoto lens. However, in fairness, it should be noted that the stabilizer is only useful when shooting stationary objects (for example, a landscape). If you are going to shoot moving subjects, such as athletes, stabilization will not help you - in order to "freeze" the movement, you need to reduce the shutter speed by opening the aperture and / or increasing the ISO sensitivity.

What you need to know when buying an inexpensive telephoto lens?

The main disadvantages of most budget telephoto lenses are low aperture, a noticeable decrease in image quality with increasing focal length, chromatic aberration, and vignetting at an open aperture. Some especially cheap models do not have image stabilization - such lenses are included in the special offers of stores and are "sold" along with budget DSLRs as a bonus (of course, not free). Thus, stores get rid of stale illiquid goods. Before "pecking" on such an offer, think about what you will photograph with this lens?

Portrait

Yes, compared to a whale lens, this lens will blur the background better. Below is a portrait taken with a Canon EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM telephoto lens (focal length 75mm, f/4, Canon EOS 300D)

As you can see, there is blur, but not very strong. To enhance it, you need to increase the focal length to about 200 mm. The following example is a portrait shot with a Canon EF 100-400mm f4-5.6L IS USM telephoto lens (focal length 210mm, f/5.6, Canon EOS 5D)

Already better, but I had to shoot from a very long distance (about 10 meters), which is not always convenient.

But if you try to shoot portraits with a fast fixed lens, even if it is inexpensive and not so long-focused, for example 50mm f / 1.8, you will probably completely lose the desire to continue shooting portraits with a budget telephoto lens and immediately there will be a desire to save up for a good “portrait lens”, for example, 50mm f / 1.4 (better for crop) or 85mm f/1.4 (better for full frame). They cost about the same as a budget telephoto lens, sometimes even cheaper.

The last photo was taken on a Canon EOS 5D with a Samyang 85mm f/1.4 lens wide open. You can see how much blur can be achieved when using a fast "portrait" fix. Moreover, the shooting distance in this case did not exceed 3 meters.

Landscape

Although landscape photography is not the main function of a telephoto lens, it can sometimes be successfully used to capture some interesting parts of the landscape. You can judge from these two photos what quality a cheap telephoto lens will provide when shooting a landscape:

Focal length 220 mm

Focal length 300mm

The pictures were taken with a 6-megapixel Canon EOS 300D and a Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens back in 2005. We see that at 220 mm the quality can be called bearable with a big stretch, but at 300 mm there is simply no sharpness! However, I recently saw a "double kit" in the store - an 18-megapixel Canon EOS 600D with an 18-55 mm kit lens and a Canon 75-300mm lens (you have already seen photos from it), and the version no stabilizer! Is it worth throwing out small, but still money for such optics?

Someone will rightly argue that the new telephoto lenses have improved image clarity. Yes, but do not forget that at the same time, the resolution of the matrices has increased many times over, therefore, even if the situation as a whole has improved, it will not be radical - 100% of the cropped photos will be about the same. Budget telephoto lenses at the long end are not able to give a really high-quality picture.

Photo hunting

Due to the low resolution at the long end, photographs of animals and birds will only be suitable for printing in small format or publishing on the Internet. Due to the low aperture, you will have to significantly increase the ISO in order to photograph animals and birds in motion - this will cause increased noise in the pictures. It will quickly become clear that 250-300 mm is too small for shooting animals in natural environment their habitats, the maximum of whom you can shoot more or less close-up- these are animals accustomed to people (cats, dogs, pigeons, etc.). Wild animals with such a lens can only be photographed in a zoo (through bars and glass walls of pens).

Travel photography

For these purposes, "travel zoom" is much more convenient - a lens that has a range of focal lengths from wide-angle to moderate telephoto. The most popular travel zooms for crop are Canon 18-135mm, Nikon 18-105mm. Having two lenses - a standard zoom and a telephoto lens, you will inevitably face two difficulties - the dimensions and weight of the kit (two lenses are larger and heavier than one), as well as the need to swap these lenses (risking something to drop or pick up dust on the matrix). From my own experience, I can say that during excursions it is quite rare to take pictures leisurely - even if the guide gives you free time, there are a lot of people who want to take pictures and you will have to act quickly. In this regard, it is preferable to have one universal lens than two for different purposes. The image quality of travel zooms is quite good, they often outperform both a whale lens and a budget telephoto.

If you strain, you can still find a bunch of reasons to dissuade you from buying a cheap TV. But if the desire to buy has not yet disappeared, then I will give some recommendations - how not to make a mistake with a purchase and how to enjoy shooting?

1. The main recommendation is that if the lens is not fast, it is highly desirable to have a stabilizer. Image stabilization will significantly reduce the percentage of defective shots due to shake, and will also make it possible to cover the aperture to 8-11 - it is at these values ​​that the best sharpness is achieved.

2. Don't mess with "super zooms" - 18-200mm, 28-300mm, 18-270mm, etc. They have a useless aperture at the long end, the image clarity of such lenses can be an order of magnitude lower than, even, that of a whale 18-55 mm.

3. Be sure to check the lens for front / back focus.

Which lens to buy - "cropped" or "full frame"?

If you have a "cropped" device and you do not plan to switch to full frame, I personally don’t see much point in purchasing a “full-frame” 70-300 mm lens - it costs one and a half times more expensive, at least, and the quality is comparable to “cropped” lenses of the 55-250 mm family.

I remind you that budget televisions have only 2/3 of the "working" range, then there is a noticeable decrease in clarity. At the same time, the difference in "effective" focal lengths between 55-250 and 70-300 generally disappears.

The 55-250 lens is not devoid of mechanical design flaws - it does not have dust protection, with a telescopic design this will inevitably cause dust to get inside and settle on the lenses. But for such a price - this is a very good purchase, especially if it is included in the so-called "double kit" - then its price is generally ridiculous.

There are still very interesting option - Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM. Its cost is about 40 thousand rubles (second-hand can be found cheaper). Despite the fact that this cheapest version of the lens does not have a stabilizer, its picture quality is significantly better than that of the above-mentioned telephoto lenses (). For some, this will be a strong argument - when using a tripod, this lens will allow results that are simply unattainable for budget optics.

The lens has exclusively robust design, which provides for internal focusing and internal zooming - this prevents moisture and dust from entering the lens. Disadvantages - rather large dimensions and considerable weight. There is a version of the lens with a stabilizer, but it costs 1.5 times the basic version.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM IS

Third-party budget telephoto lenses - is it worth getting involved?

The most popular third party manufacturers are Sigma and Tamron. As a rule, their lenses are cheaper than the original ones, but often they are no worse in their characteristics and provide comparable or even the best quality Images. But there are also pitfalls. The main one is a greater likelihood of running into a low-quality copy. If you are inclined to buy a Sigma, Tamron telephoto, I recommend not taking the first lens that comes across, but testing several copies and choosing the best one.

How to choose the best?

There are two ways - to take photos with all the test lenses, and then looking at a large screen (for example, on a laptop taken with you to the store) choose the one with the best picture quality. The option is reliable, but not always acceptable - it is not always possible to use a laptop.

The second way - put the camera on a tripod, fix its settings and put all the lenses from the test set in order on it, shoot the same thing and look at file size! The larger it is, the better the detail of the photo. This method allows you to quickly select the sharpest instance. But, I repeat, for all lenses you need to create absolutely equal conditions. The most suitable for photography are colorful objects that completely fall into the depth of field zone, for example, a page with text, a shop window, a poster on the wall.

It often happens in professional television production, both in the studio and in the field, where the only way you can hope to get an effective shot of your subject is to use a telephoto lens.

However, the telephoto lens also has some disadvantages.

Disadvantages of a telephoto lens

Depth can be unnaturally compressed, making the distance between the foreground and the background seem much smaller than it really is. Solid objects appear shallow with "crushed" depth.

Distant objects appear much closer and larger than with normal lenses. It seems that objects with increasing distance to them do not visually decrease, as one would expect.

Anyone moving towards or away from us seems to take an infinitely long time to cover a very small distance, even if they are running fast. At the hippodrome, the horses are galloping towards us, but despite their best efforts, they seem to cover a very short distance.

Portrait shooting

When a telephoto lens is used to shoot a subject from the front, the subject on the screen or in the picture will appear much shorter than it actually is. For example, a large oil tanker might look like it is only a few meters long.

If a long telephoto lens is used to take close-ups of people who are at a considerable distance, you will notice that their appearance will be uncomfortably flat and facial contouring will usually decrease. Having discovered this, do not rush to look for a repairman, it's not about the device. Such distortion is a consequence of the choice of lens. Keep in mind that the effect described above can be especially noticeable in shots taken from the front (front) or at a slight angle (three-quarters of the face).

Subtleties of focal lengths

As the focal length of a telephoto lens increases, it becomes more and more difficult to handle cameras. Even slight camera movement, caused by the handheld camera shaking slightly or the camera cart driving over an uneven floor, will result in irregularities in the image. It's not an easy job to follow fast moving subjects such as a bird in flight, keeping them in the small frame of a telephoto lens and keeping the frame properly formatted throughout the maneuver! In addition to the difficulty of holding the camera, there are additional dangers associated with focus settings at shallow depth of field!

When using a telephoto lens, it is difficult to hold the camera still for a long time, as even slight shaking can be caused by breathing, heartbeat, or muscle fatigue. A gust of wind can lead to disaster! But holding the camera in your hands with a long telephoto lens is almost impossible. In order to maintain a stable image when using a telephoto lens, it is generally necessary for the TV operator to use a tripod or other form of camera support, and be sure to turn on the pan/tilt head lock.

The weather matters

In hot weather, close-up shots of distant objects using a telephoto lens can be spoiled by haze rising from the ground. The diffraction of light creates an overall flicker that distorts the picture and destroys fine details. The only way out in this situation is to move the camera closer to the subject and use more wide angle lens.

A telephoto lens (telephoto) is an optic whose focal length is much larger than the diagonal of a full-frame matrix. Telephoto lenses are the most difficult to manufacture. The property of optical magnification was discovered a long time ago. It is actively used in spyglasses, telescopes, binoculars and microscopes. But the design of most of these items is simple. A person with his own eye "focuses" on a particular object. In the case of a camera, the lens must be focused manually, otherwise the picture will turn out to be smeared. Recently, this task has been assigned to autofocus. It is because of the focusing motors that telephoto lenses are difficult and expensive to manufacture.

Now on sale you can find optics with a focal length of 150, 300 and even 600 mm. For example, the Nikon 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR AF-S Nikkor is considered a telephoto lens. As the name implies, this lens has a variable focal length. Finding telephoto lenses with a fixed focal length is very difficult. They are inconvenient to use.

Features of telephoto lenses

Telephoto lenses have a very small angle of view. The longer the focal length, the smaller this angle becomes. The size of the matrix in the camera does not change, so the picture seems to be closer. Unfortunately, this type of optics is subject to the same rules. It is not possible to equip a zoom lens with a wide aperture. Because of this, some photographers still prefer to buy telephoto lenses with a fixed focal length. For example, there are 200mm f/2 models. Such optics has a high aperture ratio, it can be removed even in poor lighting conditions. But it also costs much more than conventional telephoto lenses. Also, a photographer with such optics regularly has difficulties with the layout of the composition, which have to be solved only with the help of legs.

Telephoto zoom lenses are much more popular. Usually it is such optics that photographers who follow sports competitions use. Problems with the aperture do not bother them, if only because the field is illuminated by hundreds of spotlights. This allows you to shoot at fast shutter speeds even at f/7 or f/10.

Known deficiencies

The disadvantage of such lenses is their too high weight and large dimensions. Even binoculars with multiple magnification are of decent size. Here you need to enlarge the picture not for a small human eye, but for a matrix whose diagonal is approximately 35 mm. At the same time, numerous motors and optical distortion-correcting lenses should fit under the optics body. All this translates into the fact that the most powerful telephoto lenses can be a meter long and weigh several kilograms. No photographer could hold such a monster still. Therefore, telephoto lenses are almost always equipped with a special stand. With its help, you can lie down on the ground, while all the weight is transferred to this handle-stand. You can also attach a tripod to it. This is used by those same photographers who follow a football match or athletics competitions. Without a tripod, a lens with a kilogram mass would easily break off the mount to the camera, called a mount. If this is your first time using a telephoto lens, proceed with extreme caution. A bayonet failure is critical, after which you will have to buy a new camera.

There are also universal lenses that have the ability to greatly increase the image. They can have a focal length range of 24 - 300 mm. Technically, these are also telephoto lenses, although they are called universal lenses much more often. Sometimes such optics are included in the kit with reflex camera. Such lenses are rarely used by professionals, since the narrow aperture of the aperture does not allow shooting at a fast shutter speed. Fans can easily try their hand with such optics, for this you just need to stock up on a tripod.

Telephoto lenses are not very common. This should not be surprising. Such optics are just very rarely used. Such lenses are very heavy, it is impossible to take them with you on vacation. Telephoto lenses are primarily used for professional purposes. They photograph sports competitions, they are used by paparazzi, and such optics are indispensable for professional shooting of concerts. You can not do without a telephoto lens when hunting for birds and animals. In wedding photography, such optics are almost never used. For ordinary amateur photographers, a universal zoom lens is enough.

A high-quality telephoto lens with a long focal length and excellent aperture is a high-tech product. The cost of such optics can reach several thousand dollars. Canon has achieved the greatest success in the production of such lenses. It is her cameras and telephoto lenses that are used by about 60% of professional journalists and reporters.

Wide-angle lenses have optical distortion in the form of barrel distortion. Unfortunately, something similar is observed with telephoto lenses. The image appears to be concave in some cases. This optical distortion is called pincushion distortion. Manufacturers of modern optics are quite successfully struggling with this factor. Also, the SLR camera itself is trying to suppress distortion.

How to shoot with a telephoto lens

Telephoto lenses force the photographer to shoot at very fast shutter speeds. Otherwise, the so-called shake will be observed in the photo - blurring of moving objects. The longer the focal length, the shorter the shutter speed should be. As you understand, it is precisely because of this that telephoto lenses with a focal length over 1000 mm cannot exist. Using such optics, you would have to shoot at ultra-short shutter speeds. But with such parameters, a standard matrix simply would not have time to receive a sufficient amount of light, most of it would be lost in the lens glasses. However, modern technologies allow you to create such optics. But it makes no sense, if only because of its gigantic size.

Now, no telephoto lens is complete without an integrated image stabilization system. It allows you to slightly increase the shutter speed when shooting handheld. Some lenses are equipped with ultrasonic focusing technology. It is required for video recording. The sound of the focusing motors becomes almost inaudible in the video. This is very important in cases where the photographer does not use an external microphone, limiting himself to the built-in one.

macro telephoto

Telephoto lenses do not blur the background very much, but in a special way. Because of this, all attention is focused on the main subject of the shooting. Because of this, some telephoto lenses are even used for macro photography. In this case, you do not even need to get very close to the object being photographed. This is how some photographers shoot insects and flowers. However, a separate class of lenses has been created for macro photography.

The use of telephoto lenses for such shots has several advantages over dedicated macro lenses, which have a longer minimum focal length. The risk of disturbing the composition or the subject being photographed is minimized due to the fact that telephoto lenses allow photographing from a working distance to the object of about 1 meter (for standard macro lenses it is 15 - 30 cm). In addition, due to the additional distance between the camera and the subject, the risk of camera obscuring the subject is greatly reduced, and there are more choices. the right lighting- both natural and flash.

Photo taken with a Tamron 70-300 telephoto lens

Using a telephoto lens for such high-precision work cannot be without some difficulties, so here are some tips to help you increase your chances of getting close-up shots with a telephoto lens:

• Due to the extremely short focal length, the risk of loss of sharpness due to camera vibration is higher here. Therefore, it is extremely important to use a tripod and a remote shutter release to try and minimize camera/lens movement.

• Sometimes even when using a tripod, the slightest movement of the camera can spoil the picture. Try attaching the lens using the tripod coupler directly to the tripod as you will significantly reduce the chances of it wobble. If you do not have a clutch, then it is recommended to set the shutter speed to 1 / focal length. Personally, when choosing a shutter speed to minimize the effects of jitter, I always use 1/primary focal length (that is, I multiply the focal length of the lens by the crop factor of the sensor to correct it to a focal length of 35 mm).

• Consider the depth of field setting. Using marginal focal lengths at such a close distance can result in a reduction in depth of field to fractions of a millimeter. Therefore, to ensure that the subject is sharp throughout the frame, a fairly small aperture is used (there are websites and applications that will help you calculate aperture sizes).

• Make sure the subject is parallel to the sensor. If you want your entire subject to be in focus, ensure that the sensor is parallel to the subject being photographed. Note that under these conditions the range of depth of field will be limited to a few millimeters. By choosing the right position, angle, shooting angle, you will significantly increase your chances of getting a clear image.

• Set the lens to manual focus mode. If your telephoto lens has an AF/MF switch, switch it to manual focus mode and manually focus it on the subject. You may find that when focusing manually, the minimum focusing distance is reduced, allowing you to get closer to your subject, and thus be able to get more magnification.

• To increase the focal length, use a teleconverter while maintaining the same minimum distance focus. This will allow you to zoom in significantly without having to move the camera farther from the subject. Increasing the focal length will thus affect the choice of shutter speed and aperture, but as long as it is taken into account, the teleconverter can be successfully used to increase the reproduction ratio.

Comparison of budget telephoto lenses Tamron and Sigma

Review of one of the most expensive Nikon TVs

Using a telephoto lens as a portrait lens

The telephoto lens is necessary thing for any photographer. But not mandatory. Such optics are not required when working in the studio. A specialized telephoto lens is not useful even for beginner amateur photographers; instead, it is better to use a universal lens.

Samyang 500mm f/8.0 Mirror - super cheap, super light super-telephoto lens with manual focus. A feature of the lens is its mirror-lens optical design, which does not allow changing the aperture and forms a characteristic 'donut'. Image quality is very poor. If you exaggerate, then the lens is for 'try to shoot birds, the moon, and then throw it away or sell it.'

First of all Samyang 500mm f/8.0 Mirror is designed for shooting distant objects and hunting for birds and animals. In the viewfinder, it brings objects very close.

Main technical characteristics of Samyang MC Mirror Lens 1: 8.0 f=500mm:

Instance name from review	Samyang MC Mirror Lens 1:8.0 f=500mm ⌀72 No.903910
Basic properties	Lens Suitable for full size cameras, in this case for Nikon FX cameras Mirror lens- Mirror-lens, or catodioptric lens type MC(Multi Coated) - multi-coated optics T/T2 universal mounts - 'T / T2' interchangeable mount system for easy and quick lens mount change Macro- the possibility of pseudo-macro photography Only manual focus Unregulated fixed at F/8.0 Light filters screwed near the rear lens of the lens (rear-mount filters) Light weight and dimensions A set of filters and a soft case included in the delivery the possibility of turning into a spyglass using a special nozzle ‘bagels’ in Ability to use Samyang 2X teleconverter Pain, terrible pain in the eyes, when viewing the footage
Front filter diameter	72 mm
Rear (mount side) filter diameter	30.5 mm (A light filter was used in the review)
	500 mm, EGF for Nikon DX cameras is 750 mm, EGF for Nikon CX (Nikon 1) cameras is 1350 mm.
Zoom ratio	1 X (this is a lens, it does not have a zoom).
Designed	for full-format film cameras of different systems
Number of petals	0 (zero), no iris control mechanism
Tags	focusing distance scale in meters and feet. 'Macro' scale, which shows the maximum magnification factor, there are values ​​1:4.3, 1:3.7, 1:3.3, 1:3.0, 1:2.7
	without aperture control mechanism, always set to F / 8 (in fact, the T number responsible for is at T 11)
MDF	1.72 m, maximum magnification ratio 1:2.7.
The weight	320 g (Soviet weighs about 2 times more)
Optical design	7 elements in 6 groups The image of the optical scheme is clickable
Blenda	not included, the lens can use a lens hood that is screwed into the thread of the front filter
Manufacturer country	LENS MADE IN KOREA (lens made in Korea)
Production period	Approximately from 2009 to our time (at least until the spring of 2016)
Price	look real prices on Samyang MC Mirror Lens 1:8.0 f=500mm in popular online stores, and you can also buy this lens at this link.

Please note that the lens was / is produced under other names / brands: Vivitar, Bower, Rokinon, Walimex, Phoenix, PRO-Optic, Opteka, and can also be installed on Micro 4/3, Samsung NX, Olympus 4/3 cameras , Pentax K-mount, Sony/Minolta A-mount, Nikon F-mount, Canon EOS EF-mount, Fujica, Konica, Contax using a special adapter that comes with the package. Necessary or additional adapters can be bought separately, however, in the CIS countries, their search will cause certain difficulties.

Assembly

Samyang 500mm f/8.0 Mirror is built well, but somehow rough, without any finesse. Lenses with such a rough design were made 30 years ago, and for a modern lens, this is rather strange. The lens body consists of an alloy of metals, the focus ring is very wide, rubberized. Samyang 500mm f/8.0 Mirror is made in Korea (no, not North).

The lens comes with several filters: Normal (IA Skylight), ND 2x, ND4x. Optionally, you can buy original color filters Y52 (Yellow), O56 (Orange) and R60 (red). These filters are installed on the bayonet side, near the rear lens. This method of installing filters is typical for many telephoto lenses. Also, you can use conventional filters that are screwed into the thread near the front lens and have a diameter of 72 mm. For the review, I used a rear ND/Normal filter and an Extra digital 72mm front filter.

I could not find information anywhere on whether it is necessary to install some kind of filter in the thread under the rear filters. That is, it is not clear whether the light filter is included in the optical scheme of the lens, for example, as it happens with the lens. I can assume that Samyang 500mm f / 8.0 Mirror is still better to use without any filters.

Focusing

Focusing is smooth, without jerks or slips, with a pleasant 'oily' stroke of the focus ring. The focus ring rotates approximately 200 degrees due to the fact that the lens has large diameter, focusing is quite convenient, but very difficult. During focusing, the front part of the lens body, together with the thread for the filters, rotates, and the barrel of the body (lens trunk) moves forward. Unfortunately, the lens does not have a hard stop for quick focusing - the focus ring has a large 'infinity flight', which is associated with the temperature limitations of the body.

The minimum focusing distance is only 1.72 meters, which allows you to shoot from maximum magnification 1:2.7, which is very, very good for such a lens. Samyang 500mm f / 8.0 Mirror has a focus distance scale in meters and feet, as well as a scale indicating the magnification for 'Macro'.

Some resources and users mistakenly add the prefix 'IF' (example) to the lens name, indicating the presence of internal focusing. There is no such prefix either on the lens body or on its box, and adding it is a hoax. It is also possible that Samyang means something else by this abbreviation. God only knows what these Koreans have in mind.

In the instructions for most Nikon cameras the threshold of the maximum relative aperture of the lens is indicated, with which the 'electronic rangefinder' function will be available, which helps manual focusing. The electronic rangefinder indicates in which direction to turn the focus ring for fast and accurate focusing, and also gives confirmation of accurate focusing with green dot in the bottom left corner. When the dot lights up and is constantly on, focusing is done correctly. Most Nikon cameras are only designed to work with lenses. no darker than f/5.6. For example, the electronic rangefinder of cameras and , with which test shots were taken, cannot correctly tell me about accurate focusing.

Samyang 500mm f/8.0 Mirror on camera

Diaphragm

Lens no aperture control. Shooting always takes place at F / 8. Because of this, certain features and difficulties are obtained:

• Exposure control becomes more difficult. You have to control the exposure without changing it with the help of manipulations with ISO, filters and the power of additional lighting;
• The depth of field is controlled only by the focusing distance, it cannot be forced to increase or decrease by aperture;
• you cannot forcibly (by closing ) improve the quality of an image, especially sharpness and contrast. The lens always 'shoots the same';
• it is very difficult to focus in low light, even the Live View mode does not help much.

Most likely, the real one for this lens is much lower than F / 8. It seems that T-stop (a measure of real aperture) is equivalent to T 10 - T 13.

Image quality

The image quality is very bad. Very weak sharpness. Very weak contrast, the multi-coating used does not help the lens in any way. There are, which, in principle, given type lenses should be completely devoid of, but apparently, something went wrong during its creation.

In such a situation, I must definitely add a spoiler: ‘perhaps I had an unsuccessful copy on the review, found in the nearest trash can.’

Photo examples

All sample photos were taken on cameras and with a T2 / Ai adapter, the gallery shows pictures without processing, only resized for quick viewing and imprinted data from the module. The pictures were taken without front and rear filters.

17.01.2017

Why might I need a different lens?

So you've just bought your first interchangeable lens camera. Great!) Your camera most likely came with a lens, so why do you need another one?

Mostly, different lenses can expand different kinds photos you can take and increase the number of “genres” you can work in. Different lenses can allow you to take better pictures of different subjects and work more effectively in different situations. It's all about what you want to shoot.

What are the options?

At first glance, choosing an additional lens may seem overly complicated: there are a huge number of options, lens names are written with strange code values, and very small changes in these values ​​\u200b\u200bmake a huge difference in price.

Important to remember: You don't need a "complete" set. So don't worry about the huge number of lenses listed on the manufacturer's websites, you don't have to buy from them all.

Your interests and style of photography will determine what you need. And while there is always a risk that your photos will depend on the lens you have, there is nothing to suggest that you need a lot of lenses to achieve what you want.

The effect of focal length (and aperture) depends on the size of the sensor in front of which the lens is mounted.

The two main characteristics of a lens are the focal length (which determines how the lens sees the world around it - what kind of view it has and at what approximation) and the maximum aperture value (which determines how much light the lens can let through).

Prime and zoom lenses

The most common type of lens, often sold as a standard "zoom kit" with a camera, is a zoom lens. They are equipped with a sophisticated mechanism that allows them to display a specific range of focal lengths, which means you can visually zoom in and out on objects. Zoom lenses are very flexible in use.

An alternative to zoom lenses are lenses with a fixed focal length (fixed lenses). As the name suggests, they have only one focal length and cannot zoom in or out. Why would anyone need such a limited lens? From a practical point of view, it is easier to design a prime lens with good optical performance and a bright maximum aperture, letting in more light, since such a lens is designed to do just that. And, from an artistic standpoint, many photographers find that prime lenses force them to choose the composition of their shots more carefully.

What is a telephoto lens?

Although the term has certain value, most people use "telephoto" to mean anything longer than 50mm equiv. In simple words, telephoto - anything that can be magnified more than the naked eye would allow.

Telephoto lenses with long focal lengths allow you to take photos that look closer to the subject, so they work well in wildlife and sports photography.

Many camera manufacturers offer telephoto lenses that can be purchased as part of a “twin lens package” when purchasing a camera. As with your standard zoom kit, this will most likely be a F3.5-5.6 variable aperture lens. This lens is great in many situations, but it won't necessarily be the clearest or most effective.

Short and medium telephoto lenses can be great for portraiture.
Photo: Dan Bracaglia

Telephoto lenses are suitable for completely different things. Short and medium lenses are good for portrait photography. Longer lenses are great for shooting sporting events, while super-long telephoto lenses are perfect for shooting birds.

If your budget allows, you should look at telephoto lenses with a constant aperture, which maintain the F-number throughout the zoom range.

If you feel like the long end of your zoom lens isn't getting close enough, consider purchasing a telephoto lens.

What is a wide angle lens?

As you might have guessed, wide angle lenses are the opposite of telephoto lenses: they are short focal length lenses that have a wider angle of view than can be seen with the naked eye.

The wide-angle lens has a wide field of view, making it ideal for landscape photography.

These lenses can be used for all kinds of landscape and environmental photography, and can also add a "dramatic" effect to your shots. If you find yourself constantly shooting at the widest focal length Your standard zoom lens, a wide-angle lens can be a great choice for you.

What is a macro lens?

Macro lenses are special lenses designed to get as close as possible. These lenses are especially popular with those who shoot insects, flowers, and other small objects with lots of detail.

Macro lenses allow you to zoom in on small objects.

If your standard zoom lens refuses to focus and the selected objects constantly look too small in the photo, you should consider a macro lens.

What about a standard zoom lens?

A common mistake is that since your standard zoom already covers the medium-wide to medium-tele range, there is no need to buy a new lens for that range. In fact, it could be just the opposite.

The standard zoom lenses that come with your camera let you go shooting right after you take your new camera out of the box, but they're usually made to save as much money as possible. Such a lens may have poor optical performance and a slow maximum aperture, which, for example, will limit the camera's ability to shoot in low light conditions.

Need to try.

Whichever lens you choose, it will take some time for you to adapt your "photographic eye" to "see" the photos that the new lens can take. It only takes practice - after some time, you will almost instinctively feel the new viewing angle.

And even if you change your mind, a good lens will usually retain a significant amount of its value if you take proper care of it, so you can always sell it and try something else.