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Few lenses intrigue nature photographers more than super telephotos — 400mm to 600mm lenses with apertures of f/4 or wider. These are serious lenses, both in terms of their size and weight as well as cost. The 500mm and 600mm focal lengths in particular are the favourites of wildlife photographers. But there's little agreement as to which focal length is the preferable choice, and few would or could own both.
Making the wrong purchasing decision can be a costly mistake, and so over the past year as my interest in wildlife photography has broadened I have been pondering which super-tele to purchase. I use Canon equipment, and so my purchase decision was limited to lenses with Canon EF lens mount. But my experience will be relevant as well to someone considering such a lens for the Nikon or other lens mount system.

500mm f/4

600mm f/4

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Testing On Location
If you have never worked with a large-apertur...

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Michael Reichmann
Michael Reichmann
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Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.
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