What a telephoto lens is used for - explained by wildlifephotography.com!

First, a few words about the wildlifephotography.com team, so you know who you're dealing with. The three French-speakers Joshua Preiswerk, Cédrik Strahm and Martin Ureta have set themselves the "wild objective" of setting out to discover nature and contribute to its protection. To do this, they have launched the Amazon "Objectif Sauvage" project, as well as other "Red List" projects: discover breathtaking films and photos. With their online documentary series "Red List", the young Swiss hope to draw our attention to the fate of endangered animal species. Find out more about the first season and the Ethiopian wolf at wildlifephotography.com. But now see what a telephoto zoom lens is for.

What is a tele(zoom) lens?

Concretely, it's a variable-range lens, whose physical length is shorter than its focal range. Depending on the model, the focal range varies and is described by two numbers that define its smallest and largest margins. In the field, telephoto zoom lenses allow you to get closer to your subject without having to move.

Which telezoom lenses do you use?

Over the years, we've worked with many telezoom lenses such as the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM. It's very versatile and suitable for portraits, as well as wildlife and landscape photography. It's ideal for travelling: we use it in many different situations and for different purposes, as can be seen in the photos below.

How to take the perfect photo with a telephoto zoom lens

Again; making the most of the focal potential of the lens to capture a framing that matches what you're looking for. Then comes the technique, the aperture of the diaphragm, the speed of the shutter release and the setting of the ISO sensitivity. Experience, talent and... luck do the rest. After that, it's all about patience. Sometimes you can spend days looking for the perfect photo without managing to capture a single one. That's the magic of photography.

What should you think about when buying a telephoto zoom lens?

It's all about considering your needs. If the bulk of the photos you plan to take are centred around portraits, a telephoto zoom lens may not be the wisest choice. I would say that this type of lens is mainly intended for people who want to diversify their photographic activities. Doing wildlife as well as landscape or portrait photography, and who want to maximise their equipment to make logistics and transport easier. After that, you need to define your priorities and budget [Take advantage of the CashBack Canon Lens.😉]. Choosing the right lens will come naturally once these few criteria have been taken into consideration. A 70-200mm telephoto zoom lens offers better quality than, say, a typical 16-300mm travel zoom. It is also important that your telephoto lens is equipped with an image stabiliser and has the correct luminosity. [All the telezooms featured in the article have this.]

Their secret to taking photos with telezoom lenses

Practice. Getting out with your camera and learning to adopt your equipment. The best photos we've taken often start from a more or less precise idea that we try to put into practice once we're out in the field. After that, you have to wait for the right moment for the magic to happen. But it's essentially a combination of factors that come together from an idea, through execution and right up to the computer processing phase. The great strength of telephoto lenses is their flexibility. We love to think that the lens serves the idea and not the other way round. The secret is probably knowing how to keep that in mind.

Thank you

We'd like to thank wildlifephotography.com and Canon for the interview. As you've probably already noticed, the group photo wasn't taken with a telezoom lens, but with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, which the boys like to use to make their photos and films. Find out more about their projects at wildlifephotography.com.

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