What camera or lens setup gives the longest possible telephoto reach?
Asked 12/28/2010
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2 answers
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I want the most extreme zoom/telephoto reach possible. Priorities:
- Maximum reach matters more than image quality
- Video and low-light performance are not important
- I don’t need close-focus ability
- Size and weight are not a concern
- I’m willing to trade convenience and quality for more magnification
Should I look at a superzoom compact camera, or a crop-sensor/interchangeable-lens setup? What kinds of lenses or combinations provide the longest effective focal length?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
4
The greatest zoom range of any camera is the Canon Powershot SX30 IS. It has a 35X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 24 to 840mm. The Olympus SP-800 reach just as far but does not start as wide. It's a simple search to find this out on Neocamera, just select the biggest value for the longest focal on the Camera Search page. This is the result which shows you both of these cameras.
You can do the same search in the Lens Search page to find out that 800mm is the maximum focal-length available among major manufacturers. If you put such a lens on a Four-Thirds body it will be equivalent to 1600mm. You can always add a tele-extender if that is still not enough for you.
EDIT: Since you may not be familiar with what focal-length is, here are the specifics: From the lenses this means you would need the Sigma 300-800 F5.6 for Four-Thirds on a camera like the Olympus E-5, basically any of these. Between the ultra-zoom and the lens+DSLR, the lens goes further but you are looking at $369 USD vs $8500+ USD.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
If your goal is simply the longest reach, think in terms of focal length and sensor crop factor, not just “zoom ratio.” A big zoom ratio can be misleading if it starts very wide.
From the answers given:
- Among superzoom compacts mentioned, the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS reaches 840mm equivalent, and the Olympus SP-800 reaches similarly long telephoto.
- For interchangeable-lens systems, an 800mm lens is about the longest commonly available focal length mentioned.
- Putting a long lens on a smaller-sensor body increases the effective field-of-view: on Micro Four Thirds, 800mm gives an angle of view similar to 1600mm on full frame.
- A teleconverter can extend reach further, though usually with some image-quality and light loss tradeoffs.
- A mirror (catadioptric) lens can be a cheaper way to get very long focal lengths like 500mm, 600mm, or 800mm.
So, for maximum reach, a small-sensor interchangeable-lens setup with a very long lens is the strongest option. If you want the simplest all-in-one solution, a superzoom compact is easier, but it won’t usually beat a crop-sensor body plus a long telephoto or mirror lens for sheer reach.
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