In addition to the Nikon 1 S2, Nikon has also unveiled the refreshed version of their prime telephoto lens which is officially dubbed as the Nikkor 400mm f/2.8e FL ED VR.
In comparison with the older version of the lens, the new Nikkor 400mm 2.8e is touted to have improved autofocus performance, better exposure accuracy and is equipped with “VR Sport Mode” for a more precise compensation for camera shakes during panning.
Nikkor 400mm f/2.8e FL ED VR specs:
Construction: 16 elements in 12 groups, including 2 ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glasses, 2 Flourite Elements, Nano-Crystal coating.
Inner focusing mechanism (non-rotating front element)
Metal body and mount
No Manual Aperture Ring
Filter thread: 62mm
Aperture blades: 7
Aperture range: f/1.2 – f/16
Min. Focus distance: 2.6m
Dimensions: 160 (Diameter) x 358mm (Length)
Weight: 3800g
The Nikkor 400mm 2.8e FL ED VR will be available in August and will have a suggested retail price of $11,999.
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, think again. In this segment, we’ve ranked the five most outrageously sized, non-military lens in the face of the earth. Warning: Lens-envy imminent.
In the world of photography, a lens’ size isn’t always everything. As a matter of fact, there’s no need for a lens to be any bigger than it has to be. However, in order to achieve greater reach, while maintaining a relatively fast aperture, manufacturers are left with no choice but to make their products bigger and heavier as is the case for the lenses on this list.
5. Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM – the first on our list is this 1200mm prime lens from Canon. It’s the second lightest among the bunch, tipping the scale at only 36.37lbs. I made it sound like this bad boy’s a paper weight, but I bet you’ll agree with me once you see the other three bazookas that made our list.
Canon didn’t disclose how many of these lenses were made and sold, but it’s been rumored that there are only more or less 20 units in existence. This lens was first released two decades ago with an MSRP of $89,579. However, because of its rarity, the price of the lens inevitably went up with the most recent one sold for $120,000 at B&H Photo Video in New York City.
Focal Length: 1200mm
Aperture range: f/5.6 to f/32
Construction: 10 groups / 13 elements
Diaphragm blades: 9
Minimum focusing distance: 14 meters/45.9”
4. Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 APO EX DG – Sigma wasn’t joking one bit when they tagged this monster “NO OTHER LENS LIKE IT”. That tag line couldn’t have said it any better as it currently holds the title as the fastest 500mm lens in the world.
Of course, in order to achieve such feat while maintaining the highest possible image quality, Sigma had to make some adjustments on the lens’ body, resulting to a behemoth lens that’s both compatible with full-frame and APS-C cameras. Give it a military-inspired paint job and you have yourself a lens that’s worthy of the term BAZOOKA.
Oddly enough, this lens is the lightest among the pack, weighing marginally lighter (34.6lbs) than the one above it. Although its $32,000 price tag is not something that’s within reach for most of us, it’s actually quite a steal particularly to those who are into wildlife and sports photography.
Focal Range: 200-500mm
Aperture range: f/2.8 to f/22
Construction: 13 groups / 17 elements
Diaphragm blades: 9
Minimum focusing distance: 78.7-196.9”
3. Leica APO-Telyt-R 1600mm f/5.6 – It’s no secret that Leica brand has been synonymous to quality and premium price. These two traits couldn’t be any more evident in this $2M lens which was custom-built for Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Thani, the former minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage of Qatar.
This 132-pound camera sports a bayonet-type mount that snugs perfectly into a Leica R-series camera. Because of its sheer size and weight, shooting with this lens requires a durable tripod. And as rumor would have it, Sheikh Al-Thani customized a 4-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz and turned it into a mobile tripod for his two-million-dollar lens. Talk about fancy, eh?
2. Zeiss APO Sonnar T* 1700mm f/4 – The term bazooka is often used to describe a humongous lens. However, coining this optics as a bazooka is an understatement as it’s more like a Torpedo than a missile-firing-weapon.
Much like the lens before it, the APO Sonnar T 1700mm f/4 is commissioned by one hella rich customer who has a particular taste for long-distance wildlife photography. The name of the person who bought this gigantic lens was never disclosed, nor the price he/she paid to acquire it. However, it’s been speculated that the wealthy photography aficionado also hailed from Qatar as suggested by the Arabic markings and the State of Qatar emblem on the side of the lens.
Focal Range: 1700mm
Aperture range: f/4 to — (unspecified)
Construction: 13 groups / 15 elements
Diaphragm blades: Unspecified
Minimum focusing distance: Unspecified
1. Canon 5200mm f/14 – from Bazooka, to missile, now a Cannon Canon. Rounding up our list is the granddaddy of all prime telephoto lenses – the Canon 5200mm f/14 lens – which holds the title as the world’s largest SLR lens.
A combination of glass and lens, this massive lens’ aperture is controlled not by turning a dial or pulling down a lever, but by inserting an ND filter near the rear element. And with a reach that’s approximately a tenth of what the Hubble Space Telescope’s capability, this lens is constructed to zero in on a subject as far as 52 kilometers away.
That is, of course, if you’ve mounted a full-frame camera to it. However, if a dSLR camera with a cropped sensor was attached to it, say Canon EOS 7D, the lens should give you an eye-popping 8,320mm reach.
Here’s the Canon 5200mm f/14 in action:
It’s believed that only three of these Titans were ever built. One of those was posted on eBay a while back with a forty-five grand asking price. Given the rarity of the lens, I’d assume that some rich shutterbug would take it in a heartbeat, but it seems that Sheikh Al-Thani and the other guy who owns the lens #2 (which is probably the same guy) were not into Canon.
Focal Range: 5200mm
Aperture range: f/14 to – f/32
Construction: Not specified
Diaphragm blades: Unspecified
Minimum focusing distance: 4716”
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, think again. In this segment, we’ve ranked the five most outrageously sized, non-military lens in the face of the earth. Warning: Lens-envy imminent.
In the world of photography, a lens’ size isn’t always everything. As a matter of fact, there’s no need for a lens to be any bigger than it has to be. However, in order to achieve greater reach, while maintaining a relatively fast aperture, manufacturers are left with no choice but to make their products bigger and heavier as is the case for the lenses on this list.
5. Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM – the first on our list is this 1200mm prime lens from Canon. It’s the second lightest among the bunch, tipping the scale at only 36.37lbs. I made it sound like this bad boy’s a paper weight, but I bet you’ll agree with me once you see the other three bazookas that made our list.
Canon didn’t disclose how many of these lenses were made and sold, but it’s been rumored that there are only more or less 20 units in existence. This lens was first released two decades ago with an MSRP of $89,579. However, because of its rarity, the price of the lens inevitably went up with the most recent one sold for $120,000 at B&H Photo Video in New York City.
Focal Length: 1200mm
Aperture range: f/5.6 to f/32
Construction: 10 groups / 13 elements
Diaphragm blades: 9
Minimum focusing distance: 14 meters/45.9”
4. Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 APO EX DG – Sigma wasn’t joking one bit when they tagged this monster “NO OTHER LENS LIKE IT”. That tag line couldn’t have said it any better as it currently holds the title as the fastest 500mm lens in the world.
Of course, in order to achieve such feat while maintaining the highest possible image quality, Sigma had to make some adjustments on the lens’ body, resulting to a behemoth lens that’s both compatible with full-frame and APS-C cameras. Give it a military-inspired paint job and you have yourself a lens that’s worthy of the term BAZOOKA.
Oddly enough, this lens is the lightest among the pack, weighing marginally lighter (34.6lbs) than the one above it. Although its $32,000 price tag is not something that’s within reach for most of us, it’s actually quite a steal particularly to those who are into wildlife and sports photography.
Focal Range: 200-500mm
Aperture range: f/2.8 to f/22
Construction: 13 groups / 17 elements
Diaphragm blades: 9
Minimum focusing distance: 78.7-196.9”
3. Leica APO-Telyt-R 1600mm f/5.6 – It’s no secret that Leica brand has been synonymous to quality and premium price. These two traits couldn’t be any more evident in this $2M lens which was custom-built for Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Thani, the former minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage of Qatar.
This 132-pound camera sports a bayonet-type mount that snugs perfectly into a Leica R-series camera. Because of its sheer size and weight, shooting with this lens requires a durable tripod. And as rumor would have it, Sheikh Al-Thani customized a 4-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz and turned it into a mobile tripod for his two-million-dollar lens. Talk about fancy, eh?
2. Zeiss APO Sonnar T* 1700mm f/4 – The term bazooka is often used to describe a humongous lens. However, coining this optics as a bazooka is an understatement as it’s more like a Torpedo than a missile-firing-weapon.
Much like the lens before it, the APO Sonnar T 1700mm f/4 is commissioned by one hella rich customer who has a particular taste for long-distance wildlife photography. The name of the person who bought this gigantic lens was never disclosed, nor the price he/she paid to acquire it. However, it’s been speculated that the wealthy photography aficionado also hailed from Qatar as suggested by the Arabic markings and the State of Qatar emblem on the side of the lens.
Focal Range: 1700mm
Aperture range: f/4 to — (unspecified)
Construction: 13 groups / 15 elements
Diaphragm blades: Unspecified
Minimum focusing distance: Unspecified
1. Canon 5200mm f/14 – from Bazooka, to missile, now a Cannon Canon. Rounding up our list is the granddaddy of all prime telephoto lenses – the Canon 5200mm f/14 lens – which holds the title as the world’s largest SLR lens.
A combination of glass and lens, this massive lens’ aperture is controlled not by turning a dial or pulling down a lever, but by inserting an ND filter near the rear element. And with a reach that’s approximately a tenth of what the Hubble Space Telescope’s capability, this lens is constructed to zero in on a subject as far as 52 kilometers away.
That is, of course, if you’ve mounted a full-frame camera to it. However, if a dSLR camera with a cropped sensor was attached to it, say Canon EOS 7D, the lens should give you an eye-popping 8,320mm reach.
Here’s the Canon 5200mm f/14 in action:
It’s believed that only three of these Titans were ever built. One of those was posted on eBay a while back with a forty-five grand asking price. Given the rarity of the lens, I’d assume that some rich shutterbug would take it in a heartbeat, but it seems that Sheikh Al-Thani and the other guy who owns the lens #2 (which is probably the same guy) were not into Canon.
Focal Range: 5200mm
Aperture range: f/14 to – f/32
Construction: Not specified
Diaphragm blades: Unspecified
Minimum focusing distance: 4716”
Having a good set of lens is as equally important, if not more important, as having a good camera body. As such, it is important to know some of the different kinds of lenses, some of its basic features, and why pro photographers invest heavily on good optics.
The “brain-eye” analogy is the simplest life-like explanation that I can think of as to why photographers are bit picky with their lenses. Think of the camera body as our brain and the lens is our eyes. The amount of details and accuracy of a certain object depends on our eye’s ability to perceive it. Therefore, a photographer will only be able to truly harness his camera’s prowess if it’s paired to an equally-capable optics.
Types
Camera lenses are classified in many different categories (focal length, AF performance, etc.), but the most common of the lot is focal length which divides the lens in to two major groups –the Prime and Zoom lenses.
Prime lenses or commonly known as Primes are characterized by a fixed focal length (measured in mm or millimeter in photography). Often times, Primes possess a fast aperture (denoted by a lower F number which means bigger lens opening) which makes it a popular choice among photography aficionados as it allows them to compose shots with nice Bokeh (shallow depth of field, blur).
Another thing that shutterbugs love about primes is its size. Most prime lenses, especially those with double-digit focal length (28, 35 or 50mm), have a compact design which lessens some of the burden that’s brought by their big ass dSLR cameras. Some of these Prime lenses are also called Pancake lens because of short and almost flat body.
Zoom lenses, on the other hand, are the complete opposite of Primes as it has variable focal lengths. Because of its zooming properties, photographers can close in on a subject while still keeping the same distance; a feat that would otherwise be impossible when using a prime lens without physically moving closer to the subject.
One of the tradeoff of most zoom lens is aperture. As you zoom in, the lens’ opening narrows which lessens the amount of light coming in to the camera sensor, resulting to an underexposed (darker) image. As such, it forces the photographer to compensate for the slow aperture by slowing down the shutter speed and increasing the ISO which can sometime lead to a bad photo due to noise and blurring.
It’s worth noting that not all zoom lenses are slow and not all primes are fast. There are zoom lenses with fixed opening, meaning the aperture remains constant even on the telephoto end (longest focal distance of the zoom) and there are prime lenses that have a relatively narrow opening especially those with 200mm and above focal length. The next segment of this article will give you more insight about Aperture of a lens.
Aperture
A lens maximum aperture (widest opening which denotes a lower number) is probably the single most significant feature of a lens that oftentimes dictates its price. This explains why a Prime lens with an f-stop (another term for aperture) lower than 1.8 and zoom lens with a fix aperture equivalent or less than f/2.8 costs a fortune.
The reason why these lenses are expensive is because constructing a fast lens isn’t exactly a walk in the park for lens manufacturers. It requires a great deal of imaging know-how and some top of the line materials to produce a high-end lens. Now, I’m not gonna go in to the technicalities of constructing a fast lens, but if you feel the need to know more about it, you’ll find plenty of information about lens construction around the web.
Focusing
In the past, when film cameras were still at the top of the food chain, lenses only have manual focus. Nowadays, almost all of the lenses currently in production are already equipped with a built-in motor that makes autofocusing possible. The option to manually focus is still there, but is often times disregarded as autofocus is most of the time more reliable in getting the focus right.
Although most of modern-day lenses have an autofocus feature, some lenses, especially the high-end ones, are equipped with a better motor that cuts the amount of time for it to focus and the noise it emits when it does. All lens manufacturers have a different term for such feature (as seen above), but it’s pretty much does the same trick.
Lens Mount
Wikipedia defines lens mount as “an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a photographic camera body and a lens.” In a less technical term, it’s basically the portion of the camera that comes in contact with the rear end of the lens and where it’s being locked in place.
Lens manufacturers, particularly those who also manufacture camera bodies, have their own proprietary lens mount designed specifically for their lenses. Hence, a lens from a camera maker will most likely not fit a camera body made by a different manufacturer unless a lens adapter (if such exist) is used. Which is why third-party lens providers, like Sigma and Tamron, create a lens in different lens mounts in order to cater to different camera bodies.
Image Stabilization
Commonly known as IS, image stabilization is an added feature of the lens that reduces the possibility of getting an image blurred because of a slow shutter speed. This feature can be turned on or off through a switch that’s usually located at the side of the lens.
Summary
There you go, those are some of the basic things you need to know about lenses. Here’s a quick recap of the things we’ve discussed earlier:
• Primes have a fixed focal length while zoom lenses have variable focal length.
• Fast lenses are generally more expensive than lenses with narrow opening.
• Some lenses have special motor for faster and quieter autofocusing which adds to the total price of the lens.
• Lens mount dictates the compatibility of a lens to a camera body. Make sure to check the lens mount first before you purchase a lens.
To cap things off, we’ve prepared a short video to give you more insight on the different external parts of a lens, what are the various markings on the lens and what it stands for. Hope you enjoyed the post!
