Are APS-C telephoto primes meaningfully smaller than full-frame versions?
Asked 4/13/2011
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I understand why APS-C-specific wide-angle lenses can be much smaller and cheaper than full-frame designs, because they only need to cover a smaller image circle. But does that also help with fast telephoto primes?
For example, if a maker produced an APS-C-only 200mm f/2.8 lens, would it be noticeably smaller, lighter, or cheaper than a full-frame 200mm f/2.8? Or are the savings much less significant for telephoto designs than for wide-angle lenses?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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It would be smaller, lighter and cheaper. A smaller image circle requires less glass, less glass will get by with a weaker (lighter, cheaper) AF system. Fewer materials reduce weight and price. Compare a 80mm f/2.8 medium format lens (Hasselblad, Pentacon Six) to a 80mm f/1.8 35mm SLR lens, the size difference is noticeable.
And that's why it probably won't get made.
This is a common problem a lot of people who discuss cameras on the internet fall into: they want cheap, premium-quality accessories for lower-level gear. Canon has it's market pretty well divided: cheaper cameras for people who are willing to go with a 1.6x crop and more expensive, higher-end cameras for people willing to pay the non-crop premium (the 7D being an exception to this). I will say this plainly: if you didn't bother to buy a high-end body, you will probably never buy an expensive lens. Most crop sensor camera buyers never spend more on lenses than they do on bodies.
EF-S/DX lenses only really make sense when a) dealing with focal lengths that are unwieldy on full frame and b) creating cheap kit lenses that have to be small and cheap. Great examples of a) are the 17/18mm-50/55mm 'kit' lenses made by pretty much every crop sensor manufacturer. A 17mm lens on full frame is extremely wide and requires a lot of glass to get anything close to a high quality image. Compare the size of a 17-40 f/4L to a 18-55 kit lens. A good example of b) would be the 55-250mm. It's a tiny, cheap lens. Compare it to the 100-400 f/3.5-5.6L - a tremendous difference.
The thing with the 200mm f/2.8 is this - by creating an EF-S model, Canon would likely sell a few more lenses than just by having an EF model. The problem is, it would cannibalize sales of the more expensive, higher margin EF lens. Most people who want a 200mm f/2.8 prime will just buy the EF, the number of people who'll forgo getting it just because it's not an EF-S lens is incredibly small. To create an EF-S version Canon would have to lay out money for R&D, promotion, etc. They would create a lens that many people would avoid, thinking "if I ever upgrade to full frame, I'll never be able to use this lens."
Generally speaking, Canon telephotos are excellent, expensive pro lenses. You need to be serious about your photography if you're willing to drop 5 grand on a 300mm f/2.8L. I doubt there are many people - and I'm sure Canon will agree with me here - who look at a $5000 lens and say, "if this was only $4000, I'd buy it in a heartbeat".
Originally by user3050. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3050
15y ago
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Yes—an APS-C-only telephoto prime can be somewhat smaller and lighter, because it only needs to project a smaller image circle, which can reduce the amount of glass and the size of the focusing/AF group.
But for telephotos, the benefit is usually much less dramatic than with wide-angle lenses. Telephoto lens size is still driven heavily by focal length and aperture, so a 200mm f/2.8 remains a fairly large lens even if it only covers APS-C. In practice, APS-C telephoto designs may be modestly smaller/lighter, but not necessarily much cheaper.
Why not? Manufacturing economics matter: if a company already makes a full-frame 200mm f/2.8, creating a separate APS-C-only version adds design, tooling, and production complexity. The savings may not justify a second lens unless demand is high.
A useful real-world comparison from the discussion suggests APS-C telephoto primes can indeed be a bit smaller/lighter than similar full-frame lenses, but price does not automatically drop.
Also, on APS-C you can often choose a shorter focal length to get a similar angle of view to a longer full-frame lens, which may be the more practical way to save size and weight.
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