A camera lens has to be able to focus at a range of distances from fairly close to infinity. It also has to be reasonably compact. That requires a complex design and some significant design compromises.
A telescope is designed to focus at infinity. It doesn't need to be as portable. A well designed refractor with a simpler design and high quality optics will beat the crap out of a camera lens for that specific task.
I have seen several examples of long distance terrestrial shots where a good scope is obviously sharper than an expensive lens. If you google a little I'm sure you'll be able to find examples.
That's not to say that you wouldn't be better off with a good camera lens instead of a lower quality scope, of course.
Cheers,
Rick.
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