Features & Functions

Give Your Landscape Photos Extra Reach with a Telephoto Lens Go beyond standard landscape photos through the unique perspective and extra reach provided by telephoto lenses

Isolate Subjects and Focus on Details

Telephoto lenses allow you to close in on distant details, which is useful when you’re trying to isolate specific features like a lone tree, rock formations, or distant mountains. This approach helps you avoid distractions in the foreground or background, resulting in more focused and impactful images.

Tip: Look for strong subject matter, such as interesting textures, lines, or contrasts. These will be the source of visual interest in images containing few other subjects.

Photo 2022 © Mio Monasch | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR, 1/640 sec at F6.4, ISO 160

Use Compression to Your Advantage

One of the key effects of telephoto lenses is compression. This happens because perspective is flattened, making objects in the background appear closer to those in the foreground. This can result in visually striking compositions, where elements that would normally feel far apart suddenly feel part of a cohesive scene.

Tip: Look for distant layers of landscape elements like mountains, valleys, or clouds. Use the compression effect to create a sense of depth and unity between different elements in the scene.

Golden sunlight casts shadows on rolling desert dunes with distant rugged mountains under a clear sky.

Photo 2024 © Bryan Minear | FUJIFILM GFX100S II and FUJINON GF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1/170 sec at F14, ISO 200

Focus on Lighting and Atmosphere

Because telephoto lenses often form visual interest out of one specific part of a landscape, they are particularly effective at encapsulating any mood and atmosphere found there. Look for areas with dramatic lighting breaking through clouds, for example, to create a more intimate connection with the environment.

Tip: The golden hours – just after sunrise or before sunset – are excellent for telephoto landscape photos because the light is softer and long shadows add depth. Look for interesting lighting effects, like sun rays or backlighting, to enhance the mood of your composition.

Sunset over rippled white sand dunes with distant rugged mountains in the background, creating a serene and dramatic landscape.

Photo 2024 © Bryan Minear | FUJIFILM GFX100S II and FUJINON GF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1/50 sec at F16, ISO 200

Work with the Weather

Telephoto lenses are great for creating landscape photos in challenging weather conditions, like fog, rain, or mist. Longer focal lengths create a shallower depth-of-field, or smaller in-focus zone, than wide-angle options. This selective focus can highlight unique elements in a scene.

Tip: Look for visually striking pockets of weather, like sunlight breaking through clouds or a mist-covered valley, which can make for dramatic images. Telephoto lenses excel at rendering these atmospheric effects.

So which Fujifilm telephoto lenses should you choose for landscape photography? As a starting point, here are some great options for FUJIFILM X Series cameras with great portability and performance:

FUJINON XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR

This is a great long-range zoom lens. It’s lighter and more compact than FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR due to its slower and variable aperture, but provides a similarly useful zoom range, equivalent to 105-450mm on a full-frame system.

XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR is also a weather-sealed lens, ideal for documenting outdoor scenes like distant landscapes or even wildlife. While the variable aperture will mean shutter speeds have to remain a little lower, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) helps keep scenes sharp and shake-free.

FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 is one of the most compact and lightweight telephoto zooms you can get for X Series cameras. As such, it’s an excellent choice for landscape photographers who want to minimize weight while still being able to zoom in on distant scenes. It offers a full-frame equivalent focal length of 82-300mm, giving you a wide range of creative possibilities.

FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR

This telephoto zoom is among the highest performing for X Series. Its optical quality ensures it creates exceptionally clear images like a prime, and its fixed F2.8 aperture means you’ll have the ability to work handheld in low light, keep shutter speeds high, and create a shallow depth-of-field at all focal lengths.

XF50-140mmF2.8 also features OIS to keep scenes steady and is weather-resistant, so you can create virtually anywhere. At only 995g (2.19lb) there’s not a huge trade-off in portability compared to other options.