I Need Help With Telephoto Lenses?—By Garrett G
Ok I am looking for a decent cheap telephoto lens around $200 preferably cheaper. I am a little more experienced than an amateur, and don’t know everything about lenses (this is my first Dslr). Anyways, here’s my question(s), what does it mean when the zoom factor says like 4x or something. Is it the same as like on a point and shoot camera when it says like 20x zoom or what. I say that because my old powershot sx 20 is was 20x zoom. 4x zoom sounds a little weak for $150+, second what would be your recommendations for a good relatively cheap telephoto lens ?
Hahaha, I appreciate when yall get so candid and direct. I appreciate the answers and sorry I forgot to mention the lens mount, yes it is canon. And I have tight budget becasue (1) I am only 14 (2) I am paying for Everything and have no means of an income other than mowing, birthdays, and christmas and (3) I am already tight in money becasue I bought the canon eos rebel xsi. Being 14 I have found that I greatly enjoy photography and it is a wonderful way to express creativety.

Best Answer —By hipp5
When it comes to (D)SLRs, zoom means nothing. Zoom is the ratio of the lowest focal length to the highest focal length. A 100-300mm is a 3x zoom (300/100 = 3). This is a meaningful measurement on a point-and-shoot because all point-and-shoot lenses have a wide focal length that is roughly equivalent to 17mm or so. A 17-34mm is 2x. A 17-170mm is 10x. zoom here has a meaning because they can be compared directly, a higher zoom means your lens will “zoom in” closer. However, when it comes to SLR lenses this measurement is useless because not lenses start at the same focal length. You’re comparing apples to oranges. As I said before, a 100-300mm lens is a 3x zoom. A 15-45mm is also a 3x zoom (45/15 = 3). However, what you would see looking through those lenses would be VASTLY different from each other.

So is onnnnnly 4x a bad thing? Absolutely not. The whole point of an SLR is that you can switch the lenses so that you don’t have to have a 20x zoom. Being able to switch lenses means you can have lenses suited to a certain situation – your lens won’t have to compromise image quality in exchange for a large zoom. The lens on a point-and-shoot camera is like a swiss army knife: it has four different screw drivers, two knives, and a magnifying glass, but they’re all crappy. A good collection of SLR lenses is like a proper tool box with fully functional and useful screw drivers, knives, and magnifying glasses.

Does 4x mean you’ll never get as close to the action as your 20x lens? No. At 20x your camera was probably equivalent to a 340mm lens. You can get a 300mm SLR lens no problem (higher than that you’re looking at $1000+).

As to your specific lens: you need to give us your camera brand. Lenses are brand-specific. Without knowing that I can only offer general advice. $200 is scraping bottom for telephoto lenses. You’re more likely than not to be disappointed with any lens you get for that. Personally, I’d scrape together an extra $50 and get the 55-250mm Nikon and Canon offer. It’s at least decent and should give you good shots if the lighting is good (don’t expect to shoot indoor sports). In reality though, really satisfactory telephotos start at around $600.

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