Read the distant world and understand the world of super telephoto cameras.

When other factors are determined, the longer the focal length of the camera lens, the narrower its shooting field of view, so as to achieve the telescopic effect. The focal length of our human eyes is fixed, and the farther away an object is, the harder it is to see. Through a telescope or telephoto lens, we can see or photograph distant objects more clearly.

The legendary world's longest telephoto lens Canon 5200mm 1: 14.

For a 35mm camera, we generally call the focal length of 50mm, that is, the perspective effect similar to that seen by human eyes, as the standard focal length, and any lens with a focal length longer than 50mm can be called a telephoto lens. Sure, as for what? Super telephoto? Lens, this is only a relative concept, there is no exact definition. In the development of camera technology, people's pursuit of telephoto lens has never stopped. But the longer the focal length of the lens, the more difficult it is to make, and a good telephoto lens is often expensive. Besides those legendary super telephoto lenses, do sports reporters outside the stadium also use them in reality? Cannon? The lens is a typical telephoto lens.

Olympus Super telephoto camera SP-590UZ

In the years when digital cameras were in full swing, consumer digital cameras also gained the benefits of super telephoto. Because the image sensor of consumer digital camera is small, it does not need such a long actual focal length to achieve the telescopic effect, and the manufacturing cost of the lens is far less than that of the ultra-telephoto lens of 35mm camera. From the shooting point of view, the current consumer camera has been able to obtain the focal length of more than 600mm equivalent to that of a 35mm film camera, and the variable range has reached 26 times.

For ultra-telephoto cameras, the telescopic effect is the easiest thing to think of. With the help of the super telephoto camera, we can really make the distant world close at hand. In fact, the perspective effect of super telephoto shooting can not only narrow the field of vision, but also help us to take photos with simple background more easily.

Photos taken by a super telephoto camera.

In super telephoto shooting, the sense of spatial distance between the background and the subject is compressed, so the background objects in Jiao Wai are imaged larger than what we usually see. Under such perspective effect, the background is more likely to appear concise, thus highlighting the main body. Therefore, super telephoto is also very suitable for shooting portraits, close-ups of flowers and other topics.

Photos taken by a super telephoto camera.

Super telephoto camera not only has obvious characteristics in shooting effect, but also can bring us some convenience in practical use. Compared with a camera with a shorter focal length, in order to obtain the same picture range, it is not necessary to use a super telephoto camera with a very close shooting distance. This is very practical for some situations that don't want to disturb the subject, and it is easy to shoot the most natural state of the subject.

Although we say that the super telephoto camera has various advantages in shooting, everything is contradictory, and the actual use of the super telephoto camera also has its inconveniences. First of all, because the lens volume of super telephoto camera (usually high zoom ratio camera) is larger than that of ordinary lens, it will run slowly when focusing and zooming. Especially when shooting moving objects with this super telephoto camera, it is often difficult to focus accurately.

The lens of the ultra telephoto camera is also very large.

It is not easy to keep the picture taken by the super telephoto camera stable.

Another problem that needs to be faced in ultra-telephoto shooting is the stability of the picture. Because of the small viewing angle and large object distance, the camera shake is more likely to blur photos than ordinary cameras. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the shutter speed as much as possible and keep the fuselage stable when shooting with a super telephoto camera.

Photos taken by a super telephoto camera

If the zoom range of the lens is too large, the imaging quality will inevitably decrease, especially at the telephoto end, the imaging resolution may decrease obviously, the picture detail performance ability is poor, and the sensor pixel is very high, which cannot change the fact. However, shooting at the wide-angle end is often plagued by barrel distortion and dark corners, and the chromatic dispersion at the edge of the picture is more serious.

Driven by Olympus, super telephoto cameras have also developed in the direction of high specifications and low prices in the past two years. So you came in? Why don't I buy a more versatile model at the same price? Driven by the new mentality, people's attention to ultra-telephoto cameras is still very high. However, before buying a telephoto camera, you still need to pay attention. In addition to the difficulties mentioned above, telephoto has some unique functions. Knowing this, you will know whether it is suitable for you.

Volume comparison between card machine and telephoto camera

Like a professional white lens, the longer the focal length, the bigger the lens. Consumer large zoom cameras are often much larger than ordinary cameras, especially card cameras, which have no light advantage to carry with them. The appearance of super telephoto cameras should consider the usability and coordination of the fuselage more, most of them are black, and the appearance will basically not follow? Fashion? It's very close

Super telephoto cameras often have a complete manual function.

Consumer telephoto cameras are different from professional SLR lenses. Ultra-telephoto cameras are often cameras with large zoom ratio, and the focal length will extend to two extremes. In other words, a camera with an equivalent focal length often has an advantage in equivalent wide angle. Therefore, from the scope of application of the lens, the super telephoto camera is an all-round model that can be applied to various themes such as landscapes and portraits. So-called? A mirror travels around the world? This is the effect, so the super telephoto camera has good adaptability for travel and home use.

In addition, the positioning of ultra telephoto camera tends to be quasi-professional, showing more versatility in manual exposure, manual focusing and some basic shooting functions, and even the range of aperture and shutter speed is wider, which can meet the requirements of beginners to learn basic photography techniques to some extent.

As mentioned above, the super telephoto camera has its characteristics different from the general camera, so what indicators or functions should be paid special attention to when purchasing? As mentioned above, the picture taken by the ultra telephoto camera is easily blurred by the vibration of the fuselage, so we should pay more attention to its high sensitivity, large aperture and optical anti-shake function, which can play a positive role in keeping the picture stable. Generally, the aperture of a lens will be marked on the lens or on the fuselage near the lens in the form of 1:2.8-5.6 or f/2.8-5.6. The maximum aperture at the telephoto end (the following number, such as 5.6 mentioned above) is particularly important. The smaller this number, the more conducive to shooting a stable picture.

Focal length and aperture identification on the lens

Optical anti-shake mark

Most of the ultra-telephoto digital cameras sold in the market now have optical anti-shake function, some are realized by lens offset, and some are realized by sensor offset, which can keep the picture stable to a certain extent. As for the actual effect, we will test and compare it in subsequent articles. From the perspective of the whole digital camera industry, basic components such as image sensors and lenses are often produced by a few brand manufacturers, so the specifications of many cameras in these aspects are often completely consistent. However, different camera brands have their own characteristics in the digital operation mode of image processing, so the image quality will be slightly different, which we will also compare in subsequent articles.

In this year's new super telephoto camera, the highest zoom factor has reached 26 times, and the equivalent focal lengths of the wide-angle end and telephoto end have reached 26mm and 626mm respectively. In addition to the increasing zoom factor and longer focal length, the new ultra-telephoto camera also shows the following characteristics:

Canon PowerShot SX 1 Yes

The new CMOS image sensor brings higher response speed and video shooting ability. With the maturity of technology, CMOS has gradually appeared in consumer digital cameras, and its advantages in response speed have gradually emerged. Canon PowerShot SX 1 IS and Sony Cyber-shot HX 1 are typical examples. Both cameras can shoot high-definition images of 1080P, which is outstanding in high-speed continuous shooting.

Kodak EASYSHARE Z980

The professionalism of ultra-telephoto cameras is constantly improving. The professionalism of these ultra-telephoto cameras is not only reflected in the manual exposure mode, but Kodak EASYSHARE Z980 even provides a vertical handle to support the storage of RAW files, which facilitates the professional application of cameras to some extent.

Sony super telephoto digital camera Cyber-shot HX 1

The new function expands the expressive force of shooting. Beauty mode that makes people look more beautiful is a very popular function this year, and it is no exception in most ultra telephoto cameras. The panoramic scanning shooting mode of Sony Cyber-shot HX 1 and the dynamic monitoring of Nikon COOLPIX P90 can all bring special effects to shooting. In addition, the reversible screen is common in ultra-telephoto cameras, which provides convenience for shooting at special angles.

Regarding the performance and functional differences of these ultra-telephoto cameras, we will make detailed comparison and test in subsequent articles, so please continue to pay attention.