Telephoto zooms for landscape photography? Have we gone mad? Absolutely not! Most landscape photographers have a telephoto zoom in their camera bag because of their versatility.
Using telephoto zooms for landscapes isn’t as weird as it might sound. It’s quite possible that, when you’re out in nature, you’ll see a scene where gorgeous standout details could become lost; a gorgeous tree being hit by a ray of light, for instance. Telephoto zooms, allow you to isolate distant subjects and details with ease. Telephoto zooms also create gorgeous compression, which can make far-away objects appear much closer than they are.
In this roundup, we’re going to take a look at five superb telephoto zooms that are lightweight, weather-sealed, sharp and incredibly versatile. These lenses will serve any landscape photographer well during winter, spring, summer or fall.
Telephoto zooms — Fujifilm XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR
The Fujifilm 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR has a long list of features that make it great for landscape photography. This lens has the longest equivalent focal range out of any lens on this list. With the Fujifilm crop factor of 1.5x, you’re looking at an equivalent focal range of 107-457mm. Fancy doing some wildlife photography between landscape shots? Well, that’s no problem with this lens.
The weather-sealed design will come in handy during wet months. It’s light at 1.3lbs, and the 5.5 stops of stabilization will help you save time by not having to set up a tripod. The colors this lens renders are nice and vibrant, so your images will pop. It’s incredibly affordable as well.
Telephoto zooms — Olympus 12-100mm f/4 PRO
The Olympus 12-100mm f/4 PRO is just a stunning lens. Its manual focus clutch will let you quickly override the autofocus so you can nail your shot. The weather sealing will fight off inclement weather when you’re in the field, and the colors it renders are beautiful.
When used with an Olympus or OM SYSTEM Micro Four Thirds camera, dual body and lens stabilization kicks in. This means you can leave your tripod at home. The 24-200mm equivalent focal range means you can shoot sweeping scenes and you can focus on one gorgeous feature. It weighs just 1.23lbs and is small enough that it won’t burden you on long hikes. It’s a must-have when it comes to micro four-thirds telephoto zooms. Check out our full review here.
Panasonic Lumix S Pro 70-200mm f/4
There isn’t many telephoto zooms out there for L mount photographers. However, when you have one that’s as good as the Panasonic Lumix S f/4 Pro, it doesn’t matter. This lens lives up to its Pro moniker thanks to its stellar build quality, incredible weather sealing and sharp optics. Whether you’re focusing on a lone tree in the distance or the peak of a mountain, this lens will capture all of the glory.
The constant aperture of f/4 is more than enough for landscapes, and the lens stabilization makes it easy to handhold. However, there is a built-in tripod collar if you prefer to use a tripod. The double focus motor system (one linear and one stepping motor) will ensure that you never miss a shot. It weighs 2.17lbs, which isn’t bad for a full-frame 70-200mm lens. If you shoot landscapes with L mount cameras, check this beautiful lens out.
Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
It took a while for Canon to get an f/4 70-200m lens to market. Still, the wait has been worth it. The Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 is a stunning lens that features sharp L series optics. Weather sealing, optical image stabilization, rapid autofocus motors, solid construction, and fluorine coatings make this an ideal lens to take with you on your landscape photography adventures.
This lens, when paired with the EOS R5 or EOS R6 will give you 7.5 stops of image stabilization. The configurable control ring can be set to control just about any setting you desire. This will help keep you in the moment and out of the menus. Amazingly, it weighs just 1.5lbs! This full-frame telephoto zoom is approaching micro four-thirds lens weights. Now that’s impressive.
Telephoto zooms — Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD
Tamron’s 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is another stellar choice for landscape photography. Because it’s a third-party lens, you can get a significantly faster maximum aperture for roughly the same price as a first-party f/4 zoom without making compromises in any other area.
This option from Tamron for Sony E mount photographers features dual linear focus motors. There are a whopping six low dispersion elements that help create gorgeous colors, high contrast, and low ghosting and flaring. The bright f/2.8 aperture will make capturing landscapes during dawn and dusk easier, and the weather sealing will protect your investment while out in the elements. Check out our full review.
I have always used telephoto zooms and the humble telephoto in landscape photography for as long as I can remember. Using these lenses gets you to look at the landscape in a different way and can sometimes give you some stunning shots that would have been missed when using just a wide angle lens.
I love taking landscapes, but have always used a wide angle lens. I will certainly be giving my telephoto lenses a workout with landscapes.
Odd no options for Sony or Nikon?
The Tamron 70-180mm is a Sony E mount lens.
Too high prices for the common photographers.
For my money the Nikon 18-200 zoom is my goto landscape lens
Useless article. At this point you pretend photographers are making lists just because you think it’ll get clicks.
Not to mention an article about telephoto lenses for landscape photography that doesn’t include a 100-400 shows blatant incompetence.
Want to help folks, how about mentioning the absolute 2 best zooms for landscape. The Tamron 28-200 and the Nikkor Z 24-200. The only two “super zooms” to have “holy trinity” image quality throughout the range.
Ridiculous to dismiss Nikon from this list. I shoot landscapes with the 70-200 2.8 Z lens and when travelling the 24-200. Superlative quality and performance. Why do articles like this appear in print. It makes the publication look somewhat ignorant and poorly researched.
I actually just picked up the Canon RF 100-400 for my EosR for this exact reason. Super light weight, compact, relatively cheap, and the slow aperture isn’t a problem for landscapes, with the bonus if I find some wildlife along the way. I routinely take my 70-200 f4 so I’m thinking the new lens will serve me well as an alternative.