For shooting sporting action, as well as for capturing wildlife and even for portraiture at weddings and other events, a telephoto zoom lens is an essential bit of kit. A couple of months ago in issue 220, we focused on 'budget lenses', which included no fewer than four Canon telephoto zooms. This time we're concentrating on the finest examples of the breed. And if your budget doesn't stretch that far, we'll revisit the best budget options at the foot of the following pages.
For shooting sports and wildlife, you'll often find you can't get close enough to the subject.
Long 'super-telephoto' reach pays dividends, so a zoom lens that stretches to anything from 400mm to 600mm at the long end can really cover the distance. For event portraiture, a 70-200mm zoom is generally considered the tool of choice. A 'trinity' zoom with a relatively fast constant aperture of f/2.8 is favoured by most enthusiast and professional photographers, while an f/4 lens is naturally a stop slower but tends to be much more lightweight and affordable.
A couple of lenses in this test group buck the time-honored trend. The Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM stretches to a relatively mammoth telephoto reach. Then there's the Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM | S (Sports), which covers everything from a standard viewing angle right up to really long telephoto power.
£1769/$1599 CANON RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM
The RF edition of Canon's 70-200mm F4 is ultra-compact thanks to its retractable design
Telephoto lenses often won't fit in a small kit bag but, amazingly, this 70-200mm is only about the size of a can of drink, at least for stowage, thanks to its retractable design.
That's great news if you like to travel light, less so if you fancy adding an extender, as the proximity of the rear element to the mount makes it incompatible.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2024 من PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2024 من PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
The Art of Copying Art - James Paterson shows you how to use your Canon gear to capture artwork and paintings the right way with simple camera and lighting skills
Whether you want to capture a painting like the above, digitise old prints or reproduce any kind of canvas, there's real skill in capturing artwork with your camera. Not only do you need the colours to be accurate, you also need to master the spread, angle and quality of the light to minimise glare and show the work at its best.This painting by the artist Bryan Hanlon has a wonderfully subtle colour palette. To reproduce the painting in print and digital form, it needs to be captured in the right way.
Fright night
Canon photographer and digital artist Alexander loves to craft incredible fantasy scenes with a spooky horror twist
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Sharpening a digital image also increases contrast at the edge of details
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Canon's new 'kit lens' is actually a half-price f/2.8 trinity lens!
The Canon RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM lacks a red ring, but borrows premium features from its L-series siblings
DREW GIBSON
Pro motorsports photographer Drew on why he hasn't (yet) switched to Canon's mirrorless system, why old-school techniques can be the most reliable, and the lessons learned from more than a decade shooting the world's biggest car brands
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The Angel Malibu
Light painting an American movie producer in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan was a highly unlikely evening out for David!