Why are there so few APS-C super-telephoto lenses?
Asked 9/25/2020
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I noticed that most super-telephoto lenses, such as 500mm f/4 or 600mm f/4, are designed for full-frame cameras and are still very large and heavy. Since many photographers use these lenses on APS-C bodies for the extra field-of-view crop, why aren’t there more APS-C-specific super-telephoto lenses? Wouldn’t a smaller image circle make them lighter and smaller, or are there optical and market reasons this usually isn’t done?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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Because making these lenses for APS-C sensors won't make them significantly smaller. The focal length and max aperture are the main criteria for the diameter of the front lens, that itself drives the size and weight of the lens. So you would have two lens line-ups (FF and APS-C), and given the smaller market for each the lenses could be more expensive than lenses sold for both.
On the other hand you can consider that the APS-C supertele lens exist, it is just a lens with shorter length. The APS-C version of a 600mm-f/4 is just the 400mm-f/4...
For shorter lenses (standard and wide angle) the smaller image circle is easier to take advantage of, and the market is big enough to warrant designing lenses specific to APS-C.
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
5y ago
0
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Mostly because APS-C would not make a super-telephoto dramatically smaller. For long lenses, size and weight are driven mainly by focal length and maximum aperture, especially the required entrance pupil/front element diameter. For example, a 400mm f/4 or 300mm f/4 still needs very large glass regardless of sensor size.
Using a smaller APS-C image circle helps more with shorter lenses, especially wide and standard lenses, where the rear of the optical design can be reduced significantly. In super-telephotos, those savings are relatively small compared with the large front elements required.
There’s also a market reason: it usually makes more sense for manufacturers to build one high-end telephoto line that works on both full-frame and APS-C bodies rather than separate versions for each format.
In practice, the APS-C equivalent often already exists as a shorter lens. A 400mm lens on APS-C gives a field of view similar to a 600mm lens on full frame, so photographers often use a shorter full-frame telephoto instead of needing a dedicated APS-C 600mm.
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