Digital camera

[Sarratt]

My wife and I have tons of photos camping of Loons on the lake ..... yet when we got our photos back the Loons turned into wee dark spots on lovely lakes.

Does anyone here know about 10x optical zoom?

Is there a huge difference between 10x and 3x ?(well yes I know but is it appreciable?)

I know about "digital zoom"

If you were to buy another camera what would it have ?.. what is useless? What is a "must" ?

 

[ACMarina]

If you actually use the zoom, the higher the better. Of course, you'll pay more for a quality optical zoom..

 

[Leathermanwave]

My brother has a Kodak Z740 10X optical zoom My other brother has a 3X optical zoom digital camera and there is a huge difference between the cameras. Olympus just came out with a 18X optical zoom camera

I tried it out at walmart It rocks

If you are going to take any pictures of wildlife you want tons of zoom.

 

[prof]

Not exactly an answer, but consider this lens

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009R6X4/?tag=cpf0b6-20

If you already have a 35mm or a dslr, and *IF* you have the cash, this will outperform anything you can imagine (except the 600mm version...).

If you need more, well, get a telescope. A big one.

No, I don't have one either. Want one, but would not use it nearly enough to justify...

Smile. It's just money. You know, a large portion of a car...a few months' house payment...a heap of lights...

 

[Kilovolt]

If you are interested in pocket digital cameras, I have just bought this Casio Exilim EX-V7:

http://exilim.casio.com/v7/

that has a 7X optical zoom plus an additional 4X digital one.

I am very happy with the zoom performance.

:twothumbs

 

[Flymo]

Best is the Panasonic, 10 X optical zoom with optical image stabilizer (you need that for a 10 zoom for sharp pictures !!)
see for more info www.dpreview.com

 

[Coop]

Best to forget about digital zoom. I have never seen a digital zoom that gave decent results.

If you are splashing out for a cam with a good optical zoom, you might want to consider looking into an entry level DSLR. The price difference between high end compact and entry level DSLR isnt that big, and the DSLR will give you a lot more functionality. And ofcourse the option to switch lenses will allow you to mount the right lens for every situation.

 

[WNG]

Don't bother with digital zoom. It only reduces the quality of the picture by blowing up the pixels of the chosen region.

Digital zooms can be used with little degradation when taking digital videos with most digicams.

Optical is the only choice to preserve photo quality.
Bear in mind, the quality of the lenses, and their overall size matters too.
The larger the lenses, the more light passes through, and less edge distortion.
A 10x zoom of smaller elements compared to one using large elements, will differ in picture quality, and capability.

 

[Bright Scouter]

Since you already know that digital zoom is worthless, I won't go there. What was said about dslr and separate lenses is good info. The very best point and shoot with a 7x, 10x, or 20x optical zoom is probably not going to be anywhere near as good as a dslr with a 300mm lens on it. The P&S may appear to get closer, but the lens is not as good quality and therefore the pic will not be as good. As long as the lens is good to start with, you can always crop the image and effectively "zoom" the picture afterwards.

Most entry level dslr have a magnification factor of 1.6x what ever lens you are using. I have a Canon dslr with a 70-300 image stabilizer zoom lens. That means maxed out, it is an effective 540mm lens in 35 mm terms.

I also say that anytime I can, for long shots like this, I use a tripod. If that's not possible, I use a monopod. If that's not possible, brace yourself as well as you can.

 

[prof]

I would agree with MayCooper depending on circumstance. If you intend to go full digital and need zoom, get a DSLR. For the money, film still (at least for now) outperforms digital, but digital has some definite advantages. I just ordered (today) a canon a570is. It will serve as a secondary camera to my canon eos elan iie. After a recent hiking trip in the smokies, I decided to get a small easily carried digital. I had taken a small point&shoot 35mm hiking (got some good pics with it) but needed more film than I had taken. If I'd taken the full bag and the canon, I would have had plenty, but the weight was too much of a factor. The digital will supplement and fill this purpose. Also, it runs on a pair of AA batteries--handy when you're in the middle of nowhere and cannot recharge a li-ion. Just carry multiple spare rechargable AAs.

If I were going totally digital and replacing my canon, I'd look at a high-end (16 megapixel) canon with a full-frame sensor. Nikon has some great options also but do not use a full-frame sensor. Nikon will not confirm or deny plans to change to full-frame, which could lead to incompatible lenses in the future if they do change formats.

By the way, if you need long zooms, take a tripod or monopod. It's far better than image stabilization. You can get some lightweight ones or tabletop ones. I have one that can also clamp to a tree, etc. I've seen plans to make them out of .5 liter water bottles also.

 

[Eugene]

I just bought my wife a new one, wasn't quite ready for a DSLR yet so I got the the Canon S3 IS. Its a 12x zoom with image stabilization and has a full auto mode like a P&S then has several manual modes like a SLR. Its a good middle ground between the two.