MFD - tele primes vs zooms

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MarkG

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It seems that most of the prime telephoto lenses have much longer MFD than equivalent (in FL) zooms.

Zooms -

Sony 200-600 MFD = 2.4m
Nikon 180-600 MFD = 1.3m
Canon 100-500 MFD = 0.9m
Canon 200-800 MFD = 0.8m

Primes-

Nikon 600 F6.3 MFD = 4m
Nikon 800 F6.3 MFD = 5m
Canon 600 F4 MFD = 4.2m
Sony 600 F4 MFD = 4.5m


One exception seems to be MFT system, that has primes with short MFD/high magnification. I realize not everyone needs or cares about short MFD, but I find it very useful with small subjects (eg Piping Plover chicks) that move from far away to close by very quickly.

Olympus 100-400 MFD = 1.3m
Olympus 150-400 MFD = 1.3m
Olympus 300 F4 MFD = 1.4m

I was looking forward to considering Nikon 600 6.3 + Z6iii until I realized that its MFD is 4m. On Sony, I currently use 200-600 (MFD = 2.3m which is not that great already), on Olympus OM-1 I use 300mm F4 (600mm F8 FF equiv) MFD is 1.3m, that's really good.

Is there an optical design reason that FF tele primes have such a long MFD?

Thanks!
 
If you compare the same focal length it is not so severe. For example the Canon 200-800 at 600 mm the mfd is 2.8 meters compared to the 4.2 meters of the 600 f4. The Nikon 180-600 mfd is 2.4 meters at 600 compared to the 4 meters of the 600. Still different but not as much.

I also wonder why. I guess they optimize the lens for certain ranges of performance.
 
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MarkG said:
It seems that most of the prime telephoto lenses have much longer MFD than equivalent (in FL) zooms.

Zooms -

Sony 200-600 MFD = 2.4m
Nikon 180-600 MFD = 1.3m
Canon 100-500 MFD = 0.9m
Canon 200-800 MFD = 0.8m

Primes-

Nikon 600 F6.3 MFD = 4m
Nikon 800 F6.3 MFD = 5m
Canon 600 F4 MFD = 4.2m
Sony 600 F4 MFD = 4.5m


One exception seems to be MFT system, that has primes with short MFD/high magnification. I realize not everyone needs or cares about short MFD, but I find it very useful with small subjects (eg Piping Plover chicks) that move from far away to close by very quickly.

Olympus 100-400 MFD = 1.3m
Olympus 150-400 MFD = 1.3m
Olympus 300 F4 MFD = 1.4m

I was looking forward to considering Nikon 600 6.3 + Z6iii until I realized that its MFD is 4m. On Sony, I currently use 200-600 (MFD = 2.3m which is not that great already), on Olympus OM-1 I use 300mm F4 (600mm F8 FF equiv) MFD is 1.3m, that's really good.

Is there an optical design reason that FF tele primes have such a long MFD?

Thanks!
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I use the canon 100-500 and can get really sharp detail up close for things like butterflies, dragonflies and flowers.
 
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MFD increases as you zoom out, at least for the Nikon and Sony zooms I've used. Are these at maximum reach? Not sure what the publishing standard is for each manufacturer, I assume all the way pulled in (best number).
 
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jerrylwatson said:
If it is a prime Tele I would assume it is used for distance. Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 S is 0.96 ft. (0.29m).

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Not always. It depends on how big the things you photograph are. For Ospreys I certainly don't need low MFD as they are shot at great distances, but to capture small chicks in or our of the nest the 4m MFD would be very limiting.
 
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Nimi said:
MFD increases as you zoom out, at least for the Nikon and Sony zooms I've used. Are these at maximum reach? Not sure what the publishing standard is for each manufacturer, I assume all the way pulled in (best number).
Click to expand...
Not sure about all of the lenses, but my Sony 200-600 has an MFD of 2.3m at max 600mm reach. Same for the Olympus 100-400mm that I also own.
 
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