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Not sure why this gets down voted, it is the correct definition of "telephoto" (i.e. "the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length").
by oxxoxoxooo 6y ago
Not sure why this gets down voted, it is the correct definition of "telephoto" (i.e. "the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length").
- pkd 6y agoEh, no? It's based on the field of view, not on the physical length of the lens. Fuji's 27mm pancake lens is only 23mm tall. A telephoto lens it is not.
- roelschroeven 6y agoIt's the original/technical definition. In common parlance telephoto means small field of view. The commonly used meaning has drifted from the original/technical definition. The same has happened with other things. 'Lens' for example, is technically one single element; the whole assembly is technically an 'objective'. But in photography the latter is what is commonly referred to as 'lens'. Language isn't always precise and often context dependent (I don't always like that but there's not a lot I can do).
- sprobertson 6y agoGP was more correct in that it's the construction (using a telephoto group) that makes it shorter. Being shorter does not in itself make it telephoto.