A good telephoto lens can cost the earth, are there alternatives?
When choosing a telephoto lens, there is probably more to consider than with any other type of lens. The cost of a good quality telephoto can be quite literally astronomical! You need to make sure that you are getting what you need and what will do the jobs that you have in mind. A fixed focal length or “Prime” lens can give outstanding results in terms of quality, if you get a quality telephoto lens! Settle for low quality and your photography will suffer as a result, why? As you magnify the image you are photographing, you are also magnifying the imperfections in the glass or lens and these can really stand out. Things such as “Chromatic abberation” or poor edge focussing will destroy good images. You really do get what you pay for! The longer the telephoto lens, the more glass is needed. You see, if you have say, a 500mm telephoto lens, the chances are it will be quite long. The longer it is, the more light is needed to get through the barrel, and the more light that is needed, the
