Toronto. Star Wars movies always began with a scroll beginning … in a galaxy far, far, away … . We often call any lens that brings in distant objects closer and compress the perspective a telephoto lens.
But the actual lens can be either a long focus or a telephoto. So what’s the difference? Basically, at infinity any long focus lens focusses about the same distance back to the camera as its focal length while a telephoto lens has a distance physically back to the camera that is shorter than its focal length.
For example, the 13.5cm Elmar or Hector is a long focus lens while the more compact Tele-Elmar 13.5cm lens is a true tele-photo lens design. Either design makes for a great lens but the more compact tele design is easier to use/carry.
NB. While I was thinking of Star Wars when I named this post, Slade have a song of the same name…