MF telephoto focal length choice for landscapes

[jamgolf]

I'm seeking advise regarding choice of a telephoto focal-length/lens primarily for landscapes.
Generally I rely on my image archives to determine which focal lengths I tend to shoot and do well with. But as I've been more of a wide angle & standard focal length guy, I do not have large enough collection of images on the telephoto end.

I find some images in the 500mm plus range very appealing with their compression and the isolation... but such lenses tend to become extra ordinarily large. I owned a Hasselblad 250 Superachromat with a Pentax 645D, (approximately ~190mm in 135FF terms). Its image quality was brilliant but sometimes I felt it did not have enough reach. With 54x40 MF it would be ~160mm in 135FF terms i.e. even a wider angle of view.

Questions:
1. What do you consider a good focal length (in 135FF terms), for telephoto landscapes?
2. What are your favorite lenses on the telephoto end, for landscapes?
3. Can you please share some images with some focal length, sensor info and approximate distance from subject?

Thank you very much for your insight.

PS: Some examples of the type of images I have in mind are here.

[E.J. Peiker]

As an owner of a 100mp MF back I look at it this way, I can crop 50% of the frame and still have a 50MP file...  My longest MF lens is 150mm (around 100mm in 135 terms) - there are definitely times though when I wish I had the 240 (around 160mm in 135 terms)

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

Depending on your definition, of course…

But I would say that a 50% crop leaves you with 25 MP.

Best regards
Erik

As an owner of a 100mp MF back I look at it this way, I can crop 50% of the frame and still have a 50MP file...  My longest MF lens is 150mm (around 100mm in 135 terms) - there are definitely times though when I wish I had the 240 (around 160mm in 135 terms)

[jamgolf]

A 100MP back allows significant cropping, but I dont consider cropping to be a primary option. I suppose there are not that many great options for MF on the telephoto side of things. My current thought is to repurchase a 250 superachromat or perhaps a 350 superachromat. They tend to have good performance even with a 1.4x convertor.

I do appreciate the input.
Thanks!

[E.J. Peiker]

Hi,

Depending on your definition, of course…

But I would say that a 50% crop leaves you with 25 MP.

Best regards
Erik

I was careful in how I worded it - cropping off 50% of the frame leaves you with half the frame or 50mp, cropping 50% per side leaves you with only one quarter of the frame or 25mp!  I said cropping off 50% of the frame (which would be a 0.707 linear crop)

[vjbelle]

I'm really glad that there are engineers around to define/quarrel/argue over numbers as there are some of us that really appreciate a distinct definition of what a 'percentage' means.

Victor

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

That was exactly what I meant with depending on your definition…

Best regards
Erik

I was careful in how I worded it - cropping off 50% of the frame leaves you with half the frame or 50mp, cropping 50% per side leaves you with only one quarter of the frame or 25mp!  I said cropping off 50% of the frame (which would be a 0.707 linear crop)

[ttssbbs]

I'm seeking advise regarding choice of a telephoto focal-length/lens primarily for landscapes.
Generally I rely on my image archives to determine which focal lengths I tend to shoot and do well with. But as I've been more of a wide angle & standard focal length guy, I do not have large enough collection of images on the telephoto end.

I find some images in the 500mm plus range very appealing with their compression and the isolation... but such lenses tend to become extra ordinarily large. I owned a Hasselblad 250 Superachromat with a Pentax 645D, (approximately ~190mm in 135FF terms). Its image quality was brilliant but sometimes I felt it did not have enough reach. With 54x40 MF it would be ~160mm in 135FF terms i.e. even a wider angle of view.

Questions:
1. What do you consider a good focal length (in 135FF terms), for telephoto landscapes?
2. What are your favorite lenses on the telephoto end, for landscapes?
3. Can you please share some images with some focal length, sensor info and approximate distance from subject?

Thank you very much for your insight.

PS: Some examples of the type of images I have in mind are here.

I did not see anyone test cambo actus + canon 800 5.6 or 1200 5.6, is the coverage enough for e.g. 44x33 sensor?
That's one possible and cheap way.

[Steve Hendrix]

I did not see anyone test cambo actus + canon 800 5.6 or 1200 5.6, is the coverage enough for e.g. 44x33 sensor?
That's one possible and cheap way.

Coincidentally, I happened to be playing with this lens yesterday match with the IQ3 100. I think for a 44mm x 33mm sensor, you'd only encounter a very modest amount of hard vignette, depending on the format you cropped to. Sorry for the un-level image, it was just a quick test specifically to see what I could get away with on the 100MP sensor with the Canon 800mm lens. Quality was excellent, btw.


Steve Hendrix/CI

[E.J. Peiker]

I took Steve's image and cropped it to the precise dimensions of the 44x33 sensor and this is what you should get with that combo...