SUPER-TELE LENSES

For birds and timid creatures, you need a super-telephoto lens. Here are some top options

- 

When you're shooting birds and anything else you can't get close to, you really need to cover the distance. As versatile as it is, a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens just won't get you there. A popular option is to add a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter into the mix, but there's usually some degradation in image quality and overall performance. One exception is coupling the fabulous Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S with the Nikon Z teleconverters, where the loss of quality is negligible. A more obvious exception is the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM, which isn't compatible with Canon's RF 'extenders! Either way, the best solution is to get the proper tool for the job, which is where super-telephoto lenses come in.

For this group test, we've rounded up lenses for Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and Sony mirrorless cameras that give you serious stretch without costing a fortune. The Canon and Sony lenses lead the group for telephoto reach on full-frame cameras, whereas the Fujinon gets a boost in effective focal length from the 1.5x crop factor of its X system cameras. You can use the other lenses on APS-C bodies for a similar multiplication in focal lengths, where applicable.

All the lenses are also compatible with each company's teleconverters. For example, the Fujinon XF100-400mm gives an effective zoom range of 152-609mm, taking the APS-C crop factor into account. Add a 2x teleconverter and it's bumped up to 3051,219mm, in full-frame terms. The Canon RF 600mm lens gives you a 1,200mm focal length with a 2x teleconverter, even on a full-frame camera, albeit with a slow aperture rating of f/22. Even so, autofocus is perfectly viable on mirrorless cameras and recent advances in high-ISO image quality make quick shutter speeds achievable.

Canon RF 600mm F11 IS STM