Relating to a camera lens that magnifies distant objects, making far-away subjects appear closer and larger, commonly used in wildlife and sports photography.
From 'tele-' (Greek 'tele' meaning 'far' or 'distant') + 'photo' (Greek 'photo' meaning 'light'). It's a 20th-century compound describing a lens that captures distant images using optical magnification.
A telephoto lens is basically a modern version of a telescope pointed at a camera—it uses the exact same optical principles that let you see stars to let photographers capture a goal-scoring moment from the opposite end of a stadium.
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