Telephoto lens

I am a newbie when it comes to telephoto lenses. I have never owned one but I have been looking into one. Im looking into the 70-200 f/4l. Ive heard it all saying I shouldn't get this lens because its not good in lowlight, no IS, ect. but now I would like to know what is the approximate zoom range on this lens, in meters/feet ect? (I have a T3i body. I don't believe it matters but i figured id throw it in) Is this website accurate? id be using this lens to shoot at the zoo so the max zoom range does matter to me.

alanadackiw wrote in post #17807422
I am a newbie when it comes to telephoto lenses. I have never owned one but I have been looking into one. Im looking into the 70-200 f/4l. Ive heard it all saying I shouldn't get this lens because its not good in lowlight, no IS, ect. but now I would like to know what is the approximate zoom range on this lens, in meters/feet ect? (I have a T3i body. I don't believe it matters but i figured id throw it in) Is this website accurate? id be using this lens to shoot at the zoo so the max zoom range does matter to me.

Hosted photo: posted by alanadackiw in
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forum: Canon Lenses

I'm not sure what you mean by zoom range. The lens provides a varying field of view depending on how far you've zoomed the lens, starting at the 70mm end and working up to the 200mm end. That field of view can be expressed as a certain number of degrees (a full circle is 360 degrees). The longer the focal length, the smaller the field of view. The magnification you get will depend on the application of the appropriate number of degrees to the distance to the subject. The further away the subject, the smaller area it will cover within the lens field of view, which covers a larger area the further the subject is from the camera. The field of view also depends on sensor size; your camera will give a narrower field of view for any given focal length compared to that same focal length on a camera with a larger sensor. Also, a large subject will obviously cover a larger area compared to a smaller subject.

In other words, it's all relative, and whether a given telephoto lens will do what you need depends on how big you want the subject to be in the image, the size of the subject, and the distance at which you'll normally be shooting that subject. Generally, for shooting relatively small subjects such as birds you'll want as much focal length as you can afford. My guess would be that 200mm would be the minimum focal length you'd want for shooting at a zoo; 300mm or even more would probably be preferable. An EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS (non-L) lens would be about the same cost compared to the 70-200 you're looking at, so you might want to check that out. The 70-300 might be a little less sharp, and is only f/5.6 at the long end, but it does have IS.

Nikon has a field of view visualizer that will help understand how this works - http://imaging.nikon.c​om/lineup/lens/simulat​or/. Use the "DX" button for sensor size.

should be decent for the zoo...depends on how close you can get 200mm really isn't that long though...on a crop though, if i were in your shoes, i'd probably opt for the 55-250STM instead

For wildlife 200mm really isn't that much. For smaller exhibits it'll do great, but for expansive areas like grasslands where the animals may be quite a distance away, you may find it less than stellar.

That said, a 70-200 is quite a versatile focal range for many subjects. So I'm sure you'd find a use for it somewhere. I'm just not sure it's the best use of your $ if you're primarily getting it for wildlife. I'd agree that a 300ish would be better for what you're wanting to do. I used to own the 70-300mm IS USM (non-L) mentioned above, and it was great all around short telephoto for everything but moving subjects in low light. IS is also a big help on the long end of the zoom, unless you always shoot in really good light where you can use fast shutter speeds.

EF-S lenses are made specially for crop frame cameras like the T3i. Look into the EF-S 55-250mm STM lens - very sharp, light, compact, low cost, and better zoom range than the 70-200. The max aperture at the long end (I mean when zoomed to 250mm) is smaller than the 70-200, f/5.6 compared to f/4, but that shouldn't be an issue at the zoo, where there will usually be lots of light. Anyway, you can compensate for the smaller aperture by increasing the ISO.

OK, if you are in dim places, then you will need a bigger aperture, like f/4, or (even bigger) f/2.8. Lenses with big apertures (small aperture numbers) are heavy and big and cost a lot.

A zoom range of 55-250mm or 70-200mm is probably fine for the zoo. As Lyndon points out, it usually won't be long enough for wildlife, whether for birds or bear or moose. But for now you may not be interested in wildlife shooting. (By "long", I am referring to the maximum of the lens's zoom range. For wildlife you will probably need around 400mm at least. The longer the lens, the closer it brings the subject.)

Even for zoo visits I find 200mm on a crop body too short a lot of the time. I prefer to shoot in tight at zoos to keep the background out of the shot and eliminate that "zoo look". That is difficult to do at times with a 200mm lens, especially if your zoo has large, expansive exhibits like ours. I always considered the 100-400L to be a much better zoo lens.

What's your zoo?

Except for the open safari area, I've found that, if anything, the 150-500 is too much zoom and there are plenty of times I'd want to go back down to 50 or so.

For the OP, for your uses the 50-250 is probably better than the 70-200 in everything except for focus speed and (if you pixel peep) image quality.

I'd get it, learn to use it and then upgrade once (if) you feel limited by it.

I would imagine the only time you'd need 50mm at a zoo is if one of the lions started chewing your leg.

Maybe 50 is a bit too low, but I've certainly had to do a lot of backtracking with my feet when taking pics of elephants and giraffes.

Also, sometimes the animals DO come close to the cage walls

Wider would come in handy in smaller exhibits like reptiles and amphibians where they sometimes have those class cases along the wall where you can get up close and personal. Otherwise, it would seem you want the longest lens you can get by with. For an all around lens, something like the superzooms might be handy. Depending on what you're going for. The Tamron/Sigma's with 18-250ish range with IS would be ideal for a one lens solution, although a bit slow unless you have good light.

A 100-400 would be great for our setup here, with a 24-105 for family photos or smaller exhibits.

primeone wrote in post #17809304
What's your zoo?

Except for the open safari area, I've found that, if anything, the 150-500 is too much zoom and there are plenty of times I'd want to go back down to 50 or so.

For the OP, for your uses the 50-250 is probably better than the 70-200 in everything except for focus speed and (if you pixel peep) image quality.

I'd get it, learn to use it and then upgrade once (if) you feel limited by it.

The Detroit Zoo -- we have a membership and usually visit 6-8 times per year. Most of the exhibits are quite large, with a lot of room for the animals to roam. Most of my shots are between 200-400mm, and sometimes I even need to crop the 400mm shots.

I used to carry a 40mm pancake in my pocket in case I needed something wider than 100mm, but found I was rarely using it, so I stopped bringing it along. I usually just walk around with the 100-400L mounted on either my 7D2 or 5D3 (whichever one I decide to bring for that visit). I have on occasion brought my 70-200 f/4 IS instead if I felt like carrying something lighter, but usually find that I want more focal length for some of the shots.

alanadackiw wrote in post #17807422
Im looking into the 70-200 f/4l. Ive heard it all saying I shouldn't get this lens because its not good in lowlight, no IS, ect. but now I would like to know what is the approximate zoom range on this lens, in meters/feet ect?

I am not sure what you mean when you ask for the "approximate zoom range in meters, feet, etc".
The zoom range is 70mm to 200mm. Zoom ranges do not have meters or feet or any other measurements affixed to them. The only measurement involved is the focal length, which is already given in millimeters.

There is a ratio, but that is not actually a measurement, it is just a ratio. In the case of the 70-200mm the zoom ratio is 2.857:1

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17810702
I am not sure what you mean when you ask for the "approximate zoom range in meters, feet, etc".
The zoom range is 70mm to 200mm. Zoom ranges do not have meters or feet or any other measurements affixed to them. The only measurement involved is the focal length, which is already given in millimeters.

There is a ratio, but that is not actually a measurement, it is just a ratio. In the case of the 70-200mm the zoom ratio is 2.857:1

Well, the zoom range is 0.23 to 0.66 feet.

Anyway, the OP doesn't seem to be around any more.

Archibald wrote in post #17810724
Well, the zoom range is 0.23 to 0.66 feet.

Anyway, the OP doesn't seem to be around any more.

I was wondering if the OP would show up again - maybe he's taking all of our wisdom in from behind the scenes.

May be of no help but I certainly loved the 70-200 F/4 lens. It was my first L series and some of the pictures it took when I look back now the quality was brilliant.