Telephoto Lens Photography - [What you SHOULD know!]

[@freddyBeatrijs23]

My beloved telephoto lens is the OLYMPUS 14-150 mm f4-5.6 ED MSC. The lens is light and of good quality. Moreover, reasonable price. Gives me all the possibilities to do both a standard shot and still a reasonable telephoto

[@peterblackthorne1262]

I totally agree. If I could only carry one lens, this would be the one.

[@55whiplash]

I bought a 100-400 Panasonic Leica and got some nice bird shots with Omd-EM5 III but t's harder than I thought I use the lens stabilization. I also have the Zuiko 50-200 and I love it.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Bird photography is not easy. Sometimes it is very hard to even find the bird with a long lens. It takes some practise.

[@joerghummerjohann4854]

@@ForsgardPeter The dot sight EE-1 helps very much at focal lenght of 300mm or langer

[@55whiplash]

@@joerghummerjohann4854 ? explain please it might help.

[@joerghummerjohann4854]

@@55whiplash Hi Mark :-) The EE-1 from Olympus is a device to be mounted on the flash shoe. It uses a projection of a red dot to your target on an extra screen. It helps a lot when the magnification of the lens very high and you might losing time to find your target. As Peter said, wildlife photography needs a lot of practice. Have fun!

[@lamboiah]

Peter, your attention to detail in your A & B roll footage and your discussions, is why I have kept on viewing your videos. Thanks for a comprehensively informative sharing of perspectives that extend beyond the science of photography into the practical results of adjustments of aperture and field of view . Really good job here!!

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thank you very much.

[@gavinedmondstone316]

By far, my most used lens is the Olympus 300 mm f4. My main subjects are birds. They are small and tend to fly away if photographers get too close! The same applies to dragonflies and butterflies. Long lenses are also useful for wildflowers; they give great subject separation and the photographer can stay on the trail and not trample everything.

[@michaelshoup2703]

Excellent use of the bright red pole in your discussion regarding compression! One of the best (The Best?) examples I've seen on the subject.. Two thumbs up, Peter!

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thank you. Glad it was helpful!

[@extremelydave]

A very nice video Peter! Seeing the difference in view of the same subject at different focal lengths made me much more aware of the differences in the way an image looks. Good stuff!!!

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thank you. Glad it was helpful!

[@25musicmaker]

It's the relative distance from camera to object and background which determines the depth of field (besides the aperture obviously).

[@MrJapanforce]

i m in love with short telephotos. For me the bokeh and compression is a marvell in photography. I use exclusively Panasonic Nocticron 42.5mm 1.2 and Olympus 75mm 1.8 primes. I m more than happy. Telephotos can give you more emotional ,private,personal,sentimental pictures. You feel one with your camera grabbing it with both hands and "fire" with it,like a gun from a distance. Great sense... Great connection...

[@morrisbagnall2690]

I just bought a 135mm F/2.8 Super Ozeck lens and am using an adapter to fit it to my EM1 MkII. It cost me £30 for the lens and £20 for the adapter and I now have 270mm eq. reach. Manual only of course but such fun to use and the Oly focus peaking and magnify make accurate focus much easier.

[@AndiMeyer]

Reading your question, my guess was I use wide angle and tele in a balanced way. Then I checked the metadata of my shots from 2018-2020: 32% 7.5mm to 20mm, 13% 21mm to 30mm, 55% 31mm to 150mm. I mostly used the 12mm-40mm 2.8 and 40mm-150mm .28. Just a few weeks ago I got the M.Zuiko 17mm 1.8 to get a lighter set for photo walks, and I really got to love this lense. It will be interesting to see, how the numbers change this year.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting to see how much you will be using the 17mm f1.8 lens.

[@ramon-photo-austria4838]

Interesting like always, you keep us following you.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Glad to hear that!

[@joerghummerjohann4854]

Nice clip, dear Peter! Well, IMHO, all depends on your project and style. In my old analogue times, I was happy to enjoy the flexibility of one of the first superzooms (34-300mm FF). Now 45mm/1.8 for portraits, the 300mm/4 plus sometimes TC1.4 for wildlife. The 40-150mm/2.8 was stunning in the rain forest of Costa Rica. Not only for birds but also for plants, e.g. hanging from a tree in a sun spot surrounded by forest darkness, much too far away for standard lens. If I would have the choice for only two lenses, I'd choose 12-40mm/2.8 and 40-150mm/2.8

[@LarsLarsen77]

I usually want as much compression as possible, so I stand as far away as possible from my subject and use the longest lens I can at that distance. Occasionally I want the opposite effect and I get as close as possible with a fisheye to "expand" the depth of the scene to give it a more 3d feel.

[@ytr8989]

I purchased a 35mm f1.8 for my APS-C camera and it has replaced my 18-105 kit lens. I also have the 70-300 for those shots that need the reach. And on my kit, I would use 105 for portrait, so I have a dedicated 135 telephoto that I like using for portraits. The 50 f1.8 I use occasionally to get different effects. So, the 35 1.8 DX lens is now on my camera most of the time.

[@ShaggiD10]

I've only been snapping for a little over a year, so still very much an amateur, I've been predominantly using telephoto lenses for animals/birds and your explanation of compression vs aperture has really clicked for me. It was a concept I was struggling with, Thank You! Hoping to dabble a bit more with wide-angle soon!

[@marcuswagar7246]

I have a 150-600mm telephoto lens. Thats my favorite lens. I like the compression and the possibilitys to get the details.

[@ramon-photo-austria4838]

Peter, very clever how you explain in a non complex language so clear words. I use both Telephoto and wide angle when I walk our in the nature. Just with the 12-150 standard lens I have made all my photos. Even if I not professional I am curious to move every where and look for uncommon way of looking the frame I like.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thanks.

[@donaldgould1293]

They may have been channel markers to indicate the channel for boats to travel. You keep the red to the left - port side - and the green to the right side - starboard when travelling up stream. Enjoyed the video thanks Peter.

[@ForsgardPeter]

That is what those were. There are a lot boats during summer time going by.

[@MooseBear82]

I use telephoto much much more than wide-angle!

[@datachamp]

Hi, I use the 40-150 f2.8 mainly with 1.4 or 2.0 teleconverter for birds on the beach. I was looking forward to the 100-400 but it’s bigger than I hoped. Also my 40-150 + x2.0 is f5.6 and I do struggle with ending up using higher ISOs at 1/1000th, so perhaps f6.3 at 400mm will be that much worse. I tried Topaz noise reduction and this does help especially on the white areas of birds. As you say I am not sure the very long lens is really worth it, just have to creep closer to the wildlife!!!

[@ForsgardPeter]

Yes, the 100-400mm M.Zuiko lens is quite big. Have you tested DxO PhotoLab 4 for noise reduction? The DeepPrime is better than Topaz DeNoise. There is a trial version available.

[@datachamp]

Thanks very much for the tip, I’ll try it. 👍

[@ridealongwithrandy]

Good stuff Peter, I have always been a "long" lens shooter. I still have my Minolta 100-500 f8 zoom lens that weighs as much as my car. I think nowadays, my all time favorite is the 40-150 f2.8 pro. Cheers, from Randy

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thanks Randy!

[@conradxzavier4913]

I dont mean to be so offtopic but does any of you know a way to log back into an Instagram account..? I somehow lost my login password. I would love any help you can offer me!

[@karsynzakai9000]

@Conrad Xzavier instablaster ;)

[@conradxzavier4913]

@Karsyn Zakai Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site thru google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@conradxzavier4913]

@Karsyn Zakai It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy:D Thank you so much, you saved my ass :D

[@jeffdrew625]

Good video & tips! I use telephoto more frequently to give subject(s) a bit more separation from background. I also like & use longer wideangle lenses for the converse.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thank you.

[@jeffdrew625]

Faves: for 1 lens street/travel kit = Olympus PenF w/12~40mm Pro Zuiko! Alternate = Pentax K3ii + DA20~40mm f/2.8 and I may slip the DA70mm Ltd in a pocket. Both kits cover 90% of my usual interests. For critters etc, I go way bigger and cringe at the carry weight! Lol! Good to see sunshine in winter!

[@jeanminguy5831]

Thanks so much for your videos. They help me progress a lot in my photographic skills. Keep up the good work!

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thank you. Great to hear!

[@Daveesrc]

I use a 12 - 200 as my go to lens. Also a Canon 100-300 adapted. Because I have Canon lenses my 50mm adapted lens is always with me.

[@Ed-bj5eq]

Thanks for those cool DOF and compression examples really clear and easy to understand. Great ferris wheel + moon photo. I use the Oly 14-150 ii for traveling and hiking, it is compact, versatile and weather sealed, also quickly turns into a practical macro with the Raynox M150 and M250 macro converters. Overall an excellent lens for good lighting conditions.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thank you.

[@joeltunnah]

Technically “compression” is not due to the lens choice at all. As your 3 shots from the same spot show, it’s entirely due to the distance from the subject.

[@sabymondal]

Agree. It is the ratio of distance from the camera, not the lens.

[@Biosynchro]

Yes. That's what I was going to say. 😉 Telephoto lenses magnify, they don't compress. I would expect that by now this misunderstanding was corrected.

[@mattisulanto]

My favorite is a 35mm or EQV wide angle and the next would be a 50mm or EQV. Good info in the video, thanks for sharing.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Cool, thanks.

[@bmiller025]

I shoot much more with the 300mm f4 plus mc14 than any other lens I own, but I do a lot of birding. I do a fair amount of macro and have a wide angle zoom too, but I prefer the reach of the 300. When I go hiking, I find myself hoping to compose shots with the long telephoto, and not just get close-ups of the birds. It’s a fun challenge. What interesting backgrounds can I use behind the birds? It isn’t easy. You can’t walk around to set up the shot, when your subject is likely to take off at any moment!!

[@klaaslangendoen4613]

I have the 40-150 2.8 pro as a standard lens and the use of the 1.4 mc will cover a lot. Sometimes for real tele shots I will take my old bigma (50-500) and mainly manual focus.

[@ofmetalphilosophy4837]

I don't have any wide pro lenses. I only have a Sigma 56mm 1.4 for portraits, and a Lumix 20mm 1.7 as a standard lens. I recently ordered the Olympus 40-150 2.8... my first pro telephoto. I don't mind shooting head shots at 150mm. Shame it is not stabilized. I am looking forward to testing how slow I can go with my SP...I hope for 1/50th. I think it is too ambitious though.

[@johnyutzey6504]

Excellent video as always, Peter, and thanks for that. But most importantly, I like the hat. I want one.

[@mariusm2402]

Looking into the lenses I own I'm clearly more towards wide angel lenses. I'm always feeling sort of bad because of not using my Tele lenses very often although having a nice 35-100mm 2.8 and the 75-300mm. Especially the last one is so seldom in use. Mainly because I don't have a clue on how to compose with a Tele. Maybe it's worth an assignment for a week or two. After the video I'm slightly confused about depth of field being reduced by the focal length. From my experience I would clearly say it's aperture and focal length... But now not sure anymore

[@ForsgardPeter]

It is a bit complicated. Yes, you are right it is both the aperture and focal length.

[@gordp8482]

Red right when returning for marine buoys. At least in Canada.

[@Helldiver83]

Hello Peter. Actually I own EM5 mkII body along with M.Zuiko 12-40 mm f/2.8 (used mostly for landscape photography) and M.Zuiko 14-150mm f/4.0 - 5.6 II (rather travel lens due to it's versatility). Lately I started thinking about something with extra reach for my landscape mountain photography (cause 14-150mm not always allow me to be "closer" to some areas). Providing I would do most of my pics using travel tripod -> what would you recommend more?: go into cheaper and older Olympus/Panasonic 100-300mm lens or maybe spend more bucks and go into M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS ? I tend to do more landscape pics and stitch them into panorama for objects taken at least 200 - 300mm focal lenght. I do not consider f/4 300mm due to it's price :-D and lack of zoom option. Warm greetings & stay safe

[@ForsgardPeter]

M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5-6.3 is a good option for landscape photography. I have not tested the 100-300mm lenses so I cannot say much about those.

[@444montreal]

Bird photography is very popular during the pandemic. The two new telephoto lenses are in so high demand. How are the shipments to stores? In eastern canada the lead times are long for the less expensive telephoto 100-400 . Is Olympus having supply troubles?

[@ForsgardPeter]

Yes, there are still some delays. OMDS has not fully started yet due to different reasons.

[@petercardow2083]

This is one of the best video`s you have made Peter, keep up the good work ! Just like Randy - my favorit is the 40-150mm f2,8 PRO lens.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Wow, thanks!

[@catrionathomson8981]

Thanks for the video Peter. It seems your appointment as an OM Digital Ambassador is progressing as fast as their UK online store unfortunately. Can I just add that as important as (if not more so) is for heavy lenses to have tripod collars. I’d argue that even the 12-200 is too heavy to mount unsupported on a tripod. Just out of interest, do you still have your 135mm lens and have you ever tested it against the 40-150mm f2.8? Our snow is long gone in London thankfully.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Yes, the delay is due to the byrocracy in EU. OMDS is not all set in EU yet. Also, the tax year ends in march for Olympus. That is also something that delays the process. From April 1st things should start to move more smoothly.

[@catrionathomson8981]

@@ForsgardPeter I’ve finally laid my hands on a Tiffen Haze 2A filter and it arrived today. I’m going to take it for a spin tomorrow. Fingers crossed it filters the high CA on the 135mm f2.8...

[@systemanaturae105]

The reason why we have a range of different lenses is so all types of image, never mind the distance, can be shot. As basically an amateur wildlife and nature photographer and videographer I need everything from my 12-35mm and 100-400mm pana lenses to my 60mm macro, 40-150mm and 300mm Oly lenses. And then there is the question about what lens can be used on a camera mounted on a 3-Axis Gimbal. And then there is the question about how to shot a flower directly underneath with virtually no space for a camera. Never mind the underwater video ha ha!!!! That is what makes my hobby of Photography and Videography more interesting. Still waiting for availability of the 150-400mm + x1.25 TC to be available in London 😉😉

[@Biosynchro]

Peter, you ought to do a video correcting the misconception that telephoto lenses cause compression. They do not compress. They magnify, but they don't compress. It's standing back that causes the compression between the subject and the background.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Well it is kind of compression. That explains the concept of getting the feeling what happens when using telephoto lenses. The background seem closer.

[@Biosynchro]

@@ForsgardPeter Sorry, maybe I confused you there. The concept of compression is 100% real, but it is not caused by focal length. It's caused by the distance between the camera and the subject.

[@pasihuotari5138]

I use most 12-45 mm zoom lens. When I take pictures of birds and sometimes plants I use 75-300 mm zoom lens. I want to bay 60 mm lens because of macropictures. Is it possible to get video, how to take pictures from moving object like births?

[@catrionathomson8981]

I really hope that’s a typo ‘how to take pictures from moving objects like births’...

[@ForsgardPeter]

Most likely it is a typo. Here is a video from January 2019 when I visited Jari Peltomäki and his Eagle hide: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqqrgHWcd6etjLs

[@pep98]

Hi, maybe you can help me with this? Im thinking bigger :-) But i cant afford the Olympus pro lenses. So i tought 75-300 mm. But in a lot of youtube video' they advise not to use it above 200 or 225 mm because of the lack of sharpnes? Then i have a 12-100 Olympus. What if (instead of buying the 75-300) i buy the 2x Olympus converter? Then im at 200 mm aswell?

[@ForsgardPeter]

The converter is not compatible with the 12-100mm f4. It is usually with these long telephoto lenses that are not the pro-versions the longer end tend to be a bit soft.

[@pep98]

@@ForsgardPeter Thank you so much for taking the time.

[@bumweaselsr]

Did anyone mention about the channel markers? Red are called "nuns" and green are called "cans". Red on your right (starboard), green on your left (port) and rum in your glass. No idea what they're called in Swedish or Finnish.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thanks for the explanation.

[@mikes4408]

When using the new 100-400mm with an m10 do you have to shut off the camera ibis or is it off automatic. Plan to get the e1 mii in spring is same true?

[@ForsgardPeter]

Just leave it on, it should be no problem. The same goes with E-M10 MKII.

[@RDMracer]

If you keep the 1/f number the same, you'll have a bigger aperture diameter with a bigger focal length. Maybe this is what causes the DoF discussion? Maybe you could calculate the aperture diameter and try that DoF test again. Regarding my photography: I'm starting to like more tele more and more. This is actually why MFT is so important to me, because the longest lenses are much cheaper. When photographing rower, I find it really important to get the image inside of the the boat, but that does mean that you need a very long lens (depending a lot on wether your subject is in lane 1 or lane 8). But it's worth it, a boat looks like not much is happening in a large frame, but it does get so much more dramatic when you can get up close.

[@hedydd2]

This is the answer. A constant f number is not the same as a constant aperture.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Yes the dof, aperture, compression are a bit confusing things. I tried to explain the terms so that it is easy to understand and makes sense for everyday photography.

[@mart872uk]

A Pro Presentation, thanks.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thanks!

[@jiffijoff9780]

Nice pans at the beginning, Peter. Did you have someone working the camera or did you use some kind of tracking device? Very nice!

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thanks. I used Insta360 One X2 action cam. It is a very good camera for pans like that. It records 360 image and then I can choose later what to show.

[@jiffijoff9780]

@@ForsgardPeter thanks for taking the time to answer. 👍 Wonderful idea using a 360° cam for post-pan and crop 💪🤘🍻

[@Swaggerlot]

It's very simplistic, but it doesn't matter how 'long' your lens is, as it will never be long enough. Plenty of analogies to use :-) With a 1.4 convertor I have a wonderful lens that hits the stops at 425mm equiv. I cannot justify the mega $ to buy a 300 or 400 OM Pro lens.....

[@koos48]

4:35 sensor cleaning in order.

[@ForsgardPeter]

It is something on the lens. I used Insta360 One X2 and it has fixed lenses.

[@sweden_ove2074]

I use a lot more wide angle photographing so far. I want to take more long Tele photos, especially airplane spoting photos. But it's a matter of cost. And I also need practicing taking long telephoto, and most courses is about bird photography, and that i sa totally different matter. So I'm a bit confused how to invest in gears and how to begin 😂. Thanks for a super nice video, as always.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Long lenses are expensive. Do you have a possibility to rent one? Also a used 50-200 Zuiko lens could be an option. I have video about that lens: kzbin.info/www/bejne/np7XaouKlNRkhsU

[@pekkahyvonen7823]

Thank you for not telling that perspective changes with telephoto lens, because it does'nt. Compression is the right term. 40-150 mm 2.8 Zuiko Pro lens is amazing and my mostly used lens. Birds, details, portraits...you name it.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Thanks.

[@petervandijk4044]

Telephoto lenses are also very useful to photograph flowers and insects without disturbing the insects.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Very good point. I missed the fact that long lenses are great for macro.

[@steveknight878]

The shallower depth of field is nothing to do with the focal length of the lens. If you take a photo of an object from the same position with different lenses, then enlarge the wider-angled photos so that the object is the same size as in the telephoto photograph, the image will look the same (apart, of course, from grain or pixel sizes and other quality issues). Similarly the increased sizes of objects in the background has nothing to do with the focal length of the lens - it is to do with the distance at which you took the photo. Again, take a photo of the red pole with different focal lengths, but without moving your position, and then enlarge the centre of the wide angle frames so that the pole is the same size, and the photos will look (essentially) the same. The telephoto lens simply means that you don't need to enlarge a part of your photo to get the result that you (presumably) want - and it will be better quality because of that. If someone invented a relatively wide-angle lens that was optically perfect, and a sensor with so many pixels that they effectively don't exist, then you would really only need one lens - and enlarge parts of the photo that you want. This ties in with the arguments regarding sensor sizes. A 25mm lens on a four-thirds sensor is equivalent to a 50mm lens on a 35mm sensor only in the sense that it will produce a similar perspective when a photograph is taken so that the same object fills the frame to the same extent. But to do that you have to be closer, so the perspective changes, and hence your depth of field and apparent size of background objects. Use a 25mm objective on a four-thirds sensor, and a 25mm objective on a 35mm sensor, and take a photograph with each from the same position, then crop the 35mm image to the same size as the four-thirds image, and they will be the same.

[@ForsgardPeter]

Check the time 7:32 from the video. I enlarged the image that was made with 70mm to match the one made with 150mm. There is a difference in dof. It s clearly visible. Then after that check out the samples at 08:01. At 06:05 there is the example of compression. A clear difference. The way I showed these are a very practical way of showing the differences. makes more sense to the average photographer. I also showed some images how it is in practise. The m4/3 vs. FF you are right. 25mm is a 25mm no matter what the sensor size is. It is the same focal length. That is the reason the images look the same.

[@steveknight878]

@@ForsgardPeter I shall try some experiments myself, but as far as I understand it, all things being equal, the depth of field is not noticeably affected by focal length, but is affected by the distance from the object. See, for instance, www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm Looking at the images you have there, the depth of field looks similar - try enlarging each of the three so that the windows in the buildings at the back are the same size, rather than the object (I'm looking at the three photos at about the 08:00 to 08:13 position). I think that you will find that they are all roughly similar in terms of focus. I can't do that with your photos, but perhaps you could do it. The reason that they look more out of focus in the telephoto picture is because the backgrounds (the windows) are enlarged, and so the lack of focus is more obvious, but if you look closely there is a similar level of blur in all the windows (taken as a proportion of the windows), if you see what I mean. It's late at night, so I might be getting confused, of course :-)

[@ruuddirks5565]

You are confusing me with your compression explanation. In my opinion, compression is caused by perspective which depends on the position of the photographer, not the focal length. A cropped wide-angle shot will look the same as a telephoto shot from the same position.

[@Janihonkalaxx]

No, it not look same. There is different background with different lens. More or less.. because cropping do not make background bigger. Even if you move near object with wideangle, it look different also. Because bokeh.

[@borderlands6606]

@@Janihonkalaxx Perspective doesn't change with focal length. Cropping gives the same perspective as changing the lens to a different focal length, only image quality differs. Compression is a metaphor for changing the relationship between objects, there is no actual compression of perspective.

[@Janihonkalaxx]

@@borderlands6606 test it. Look backround look for example 14mm and 400mm. Try crop.

[@borderlands6606]

@@Janihonkalaxx Compression is a misnomer. Shoot a scene on a tripod with a 50mm lens, then a 135mm in exactly the same position. Crop the 50 to match the 135 and the relationship between objects in the frame will be identical.

[@Janihonkalaxx]

@@borderlands6606 yes, object look same, but look backround for examle 200m behind object. With long lens, background is different blurry. Maeby that 50/135 you cant see this, but try more longer, like i before say .

[@alanf8564]

A 50mm on a full frame sensor or 35mm film camera gives a 'natural' view similar to how the human eye observes the scene. This is not angle of view but perspective. Back in the day camera manufacturers offered the 50mm as a standard lens. If you want similar angle of view to you eye use a 35mm. Just remember that your eye only sees about 2% sharp center focus as opposed to a plane of focus seen with optics.

[@ForsgardPeter]

You are right.