What focal length do I need to photograph St Paul’s dome from King Henry’s Mound?

Question

I’d like to photograph St Paul’s Cathedral from King Henry’s Mound in Richmond Park, roughly 10 miles away. I’m mainly interested in the dome and want as much detail as possible. What kind of lens would I need, and about what focal length would frame the dome or cathedral tightly?

user57929 · Answer

Note: I answered the 'question within the question' rather than the stated title. For the title as it stands [stood, it's now been edited], see What is the difference between a telephoto lens and a zoom lens?

At 10 miles across central London, you're not going to get detail, you're going to get lots of blue haze, even on a clear day.

I can't see St Paul's from here, even though it's about 10 miles away, it's too flat between here & there - however, this is a quick test shot of the farthest thing I can see sticking up into the sky.

This delightful piece of architecture is about 1 mile from me & already is starting to blue & lose sharpness.
It is also bigger than St Paul's dome, if somewhat less photogenic.

Clarity aside, you'd need a very long lens. The above picture was taken with a 300mm lens, I already needed to crop it out from this so we could tell it was meant to be the main subject.

^{pics are shrunk down, not worth full detail.

&, yes, I know it's not straight ;)

& by pure coincidence of geography, even if I could see all the way to St Paul's from here, that darn building would be right in the way.}

Admittedly, I am shooting with the sun at my side not at my back, but I'm shaded so that's not veiling flare you're seeing. From Richmond if you waited til mid/late afternoon you would get warmer lighting with the sun at your back.
You would also get heat distortion in summer.

This might be a better prospect for a clear winter's day shoot.

What focal length do I need to photograph St Paul’s dome from King Henry’s Mound?

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