What focal length
lens do you need to use?
I have provided these comparisons to give a feel for the field
of view you can expect from a variety of Canon L lenses. Please
note, that these framings are based on calculations and are not
meant to illustrate actual images taken with the lenses concerned.
The field of view will also change according to sensor size of
the camera (Full frame/1.3x or 1.6x) but each set of comparisons
below assumes the camera sensor size remains constant throughout.
1) Medium to long telephotos
The 70-200mm zoom is at the long end of its range. This lens works
pretty well with a 1.4x converter so I have included it as it
gives a way into bird photography. The 400mm length represents
the 400mm f2.8 or f5.6 or the popular 100-400 f4-5.6 at the long
end.
2) More medium to long telephoto options
These are telephoto options including the use of extenders on
the 300mm f2.8.
2) Long to very long telephotos
These are the long prime super telephoto lenses.
3) A bit of fun
Have you seen the BBC Top Gear programme where they compare the
acceleration of a hot hatch with a supercar ? Well, here is the
telephoto lens equivalent - lets put a 400mm prime up against
Canon's longest current production lens - the 800mm f5.6 plus
a 2x converter. The atmospheric distortion and camera vibration
would make this a challenging image to capture well.
4) Macro lenses
This comparison illustrates the considerable differences between
the three lenses when trying to photograph a skittish insect such
as this large tortoiseshell butterfly.
5) Wide angle lenses
In this comparison two popular wide angle zooms are calculated
at their widest settings and are compared to a 50mm " standard
lens".
6) Extreme wide angle lenses (fisheye)
These calculated illustrations show the field of view available
from these lenses but do not illustrate the distortions that they
typically demonstrate.
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