Talk:Telephoto lens

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Telephoto / Zoom

I have placed a request on zoom lens to merge into this article. There is duplication between this article and zoom lens. I think the two articles should be combined. I think a zoom lens should be a subcategory of telephoto lens, as the distinction is basically a zoom lens has a varying focal length. The issues as to what a focal length is, what an angle of view is, and how these things are related are common to both. Furthermore, the artistic aspects of using a telephoto and zoom to me seem to be the same. Bottom line, there is information in the zoom article that relates to telephoto and vice versa. --Lenehey 22:32, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

NO ! It's a common confusion. A telephoto is not a zoom. And the artistic aspects of using a telephoto and zoom aren't the same especialy if we extend the topic to the use of zoom in movies and video. There's a (very incomplete BTW) article about photographic lenses another, another about wide-angle lenses, another about normal lenses, another about zoom lenses and I think it should stay like this. Ericd 21:40, 23 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Correction

There seems to be a little bit of confusion in this article. It starts by saying that a telephoto lens is any lens with a focal length significantly longer than the focal length of a normal lens but then saying that a telephoto lens must include a telephoto group.

I think the article needs clarifying. Specifically, I think these points need to be made:

1. A lens with a focal length significantly longer than the focal length of a normal lens is a long lens.

2. A telephoto lens is an optical design that has the property of allowing the lens to be physically shorter than the focal length would suggest. A telephoto lens need not be a long lens but generally is.

3. The term telephoto is commonly misused to describe any long lens.

Stephen Short 20:10, 14 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Clear definition

This article could use a sentence or two before where it currently starts or a bit of rewording. It would be more helpful to include a short (if somewhat imprecise) definition of what a telephoto lens is. To someone just coming in, the first paragraph's focus on what isn't telephoto will probably not be entirely helpful.