NotebookForums.com › Forums › Off Topic › Mobile Devices Discussion › Digital cameras: why 10x??
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Digital cameras: why 10x??

post #1 of 17
7/6/06 at 10:27am
Thread Starter 
I have my eyes on a new kodak with 10x zoom.

However, I have been asking myself: "why on hell would I need a 10x zoom??"


Since I am quite "noob" to photography, I was wondering: what is the use of a large zoom besides taking pics of stuff far from you?

thanks
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 17
7/6/06 at 12:27pm
well its big because its optical zoom... so you can get pretty close up without it distorting. Personally I wouldnt spend too much on a compact digi cam because theres a limit to how much you can use them for. Get something that suits your needs and if you realy find you like it then you should go with an SLR camera. Check out Nikons D50... I dont know what your price range is but if you can afford that it should do everything you need and more.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 17
7/6/06 at 12:36pm
Quote:
well its big because its optical zoom... so you can get pretty close up without it distorting. Personally I wouldnt spend too much on a compact digi cam because theres a limit to how much you can use them for. Get something that suits your needs and if you realy find you like it then you should go with an SLR camera. Check out Nikons D50... I dont know what your price range is but if you can afford that it should do everything you need and more.
The original poster just said that he was a noob to photograhy, so the question that I ask, is why are you recommending him to buy a semi professional, prosumer DSLR?
Quote:
I have my eyes on a new kodak with 10x zoom. However, I have been asking myself: "why on hell would I need a 10x zoom??" Since I am quite "noob" to photography, I was wondering: what is the use of a large zoom besides taking pics of stuff far from you? thanks ______
If you know that your not going to use the 10x zoom then good, you know your limits. Then zoom will be pointless if your not shooting far away from you. I suggest you buy an ultra compact camera then, plenty of those out right now. A good site for enthusiasts and noob's is www.dpreview.com check out review's of what's good out there for your price range.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 17
7/6/06 at 1:16pm
thats why I said buy what you need (not an slr) and if you realy like it get an slr. Just dont throw all your money in a compact digital camera because it can only take you so far.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 17
7/6/06 at 3:41pm
Photography is all in the glass and more often than not, any company that's gonna put an actual 10X zoom on their camera is also going to use good glass in that zoom...
BTW, my current is a Canon SD550 (which only has a 3X zoom, but it's made with excellent glass) and I'm guite happy with it, although there have been times when I wish I could zoom in just a little more to get a better frame on the shot..
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 17
7/6/06 at 9:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kumaiti
I have my eyes on a new kodak with 10x zoom.

However, I have been asking myself: "why on hell would I need a 10x zoom??"


Since I am quite "noob" to photography, I was wondering: what is the use of a large zoom besides taking pics of stuff far from you?

thanks


As mentioned in other posts if a manufaturer makes a camera with a 10x optical zoom they will have a better quality lens in the camera. Since it costs more to get that 10x zoom that same camera will almost allways come with a lot of additional fetures as well. What you need to do is compare other cameras in the same price range and see if your getting a decent bang for your buck.

Now if we are talking about 10x digial zoom and not optical it is a whole diffrent story.

What will you use the 10x zoom for? Your the only one that can answer that question. How often have you wanted to get jsut a bit closer in the past when you have been taking photos. If it has happend a lot then the zoom is a good idea. If it has never been a problem you could look for a diffrent camera, unless the zoom was just a bonus.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 17
7/6/06 at 9:29pm
and digital zooms have a serious negative impact on photo quality. Computers are very smart and do amazing things, but clear, crisp photos seems to be one thing they really suck at
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 17
7/7/06 at 6:02am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies.

The zoom is optical, I am aware of the crappiness of digital zooms.

Let me try to explain better where I stand:

I am 100% set up to buy a small, slim, compact camera. I HATE carrying a big bulky camera, I want something that I can put in my pocket most of the time and take a picture when the moment comes. I also don't like lenses sticking out of the camera (like most slim models have...). I would gladly use my phone's camera if it wasn't so completely useless....

Then I saw the new kodak model which has pretty good Mpixels and the 10x zoom (I don't want to put links to the model here so that nobody will think that I am trying to advertise for kodak...).
It has basically all the features that I want (small, slim, SD card, movie-recording ability, no sticking out lenses and so on) but reading some reviews about it, turns out that it is just an "average" camera which the main selling point is the 10x zoom.

The only other model that gets close to what I want is a Sony, but I don't like the proprietary card they use... And that have 3x zoom.

Then it came to my mind: "heck, that 10x is going to never be used. Pics taken at THAT much zoom are sure to get shaky if I don't use a tripod or somehow stabilize it somewhere..." Since the main point (for me) to have a camera is to take casual pics, I wouldn't want to carry a tripod around (maybe those bottlepods that I once saw on google would do), thus making the 10x zoom (and the main selling point of the camera) almost useless...

After thinking about that I decided to come here and ask other people with more experience with digital cameras: what is the use of a 10x zoom besides taking pics of stuff far far away from you... Is it any good for taking macro pictures?

And, extending my question, what is the zoom range that most people uses? 3x is enough? (yeah, I know that Dman22 mentioned it already, his opinion was appreciated). 4x, 5x?

Thanks again for the replies.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 17
7/7/06 at 11:11am
You're basically going to use the zoom for two different things. Most common will be getting a better image frame of something in the distance that you either can't get closer to or don't care to walk up to (two examples: wife and son on a rollercoaster (this happened a few weeks ago to me and was when I really wished I had more than a 3X zoom) or a wild/dangerous animal).
Using the zoom for macro photography is where it'll shine most. It's easy to make great photos with macros, usually with flowers or small animals as subjects.
One note on sticking the camera in your pocket though. That'll probably scratch the hell out of the LCD and I don't know about you, but I seriously hate scratched LCD's (especially with my SD550 which has a monster 3" LCD on it (a very good benefit BTW)). I just attach a small camera bag to my belt and carry the camera around in there. Most cameras are really small now and they easily fit in the really small bags. Just need a little extra room for a second card and a couple extra sets of batteries (which are also really small now).
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 17
7/7/06 at 11:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kumaiti
Thanks for the replies.
And, extending my question, what is the zoom range that most people uses? 3x is enough? (yeah, I know that Dman22 mentioned it already, his opinion was appreciated). 4x, 5x?

Thanks again for the replies.

Nobody seems to be asking what you'll use the camera for. I have a Panasonic FZ-5 with 12X optical zoom and image stabilization. It is a few years old at this point. It is reasonably small and I use it for all my general purpose photo needs. The optical zoom is great for taking nature pics, as well as close-ups for all kinds of things. I use the optical zoom much more than I thought I would.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 17
7/13/06 at 5:50am
A 10x optical zoom is great for everyday photography, if it gives you good pics. I have the Panasonic FZ-7 (similar to the FZ-5 mentioned above). It has a leica lens, a 12x optical zoom, and image stabilisation...which takes care of a lot of shaking when you don't have a tripod. Here are two photos I've taken recently...using the zoom, but everything else is essentially point and shoot:

This shot was taken at the Sydney Zoo - through a glass wall - it's NOT a professional quality photo, but it's a great snapshot of my day at the zoo:



Taken from a boat while whale watching in Sydney Harbour...



Note that the Panasonic DMC FZ-7 is bigger then you want (it's small and lightweight - but has the form factor of a small SLR camera) - but Panasonic also makes a range of compact models with a zoom...

I'm not pushing Panasonic...just trying to show that a mediocre point and snapper can get decent photos. I'd be lost without the zoom feature, and find I use the camera much more because of this.

Check out www.dpreview.com for lots of info on camera models.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 17
7/13/06 at 4:40pm
i have a lower-end 5mp not sure about zoom kodak, and i'll assure you my next camera will NOT be a kodak... from what i am seeing Canon > Kodak in terms of lense quality.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 17
7/15/06 at 12:23pm
Canon 100000000X>kodak
Nikon also 1000000000X>kodak
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 17
7/15/06 at 4:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dman22
Canon 100000000X>kodak
Nikon also 1000000000X>kodak

Reply
Reply
post #15 of 17
7/17/06 at 3:49pm
In my opinion, if you start to go above about 5-6x optical, you will need a tripod for it to take clear images. I bought a nice quality extension lens for my 4x optical zoom Cannon A95 which doubles that to 8x, and I can't take pictures that don't get blurry without setting it down on a solid surface, which basically means I need a tripod.
I love the camera, and the extension lens really does help with outdoor shots getting me the framing I want, but if it had image stabilization, that would be groovy. Otherwise, I'd say the 10x optical isn't going to be too useful.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 17
7/17/06 at 4:05pm
especially when you have the old man shakey hands disease

I'm surprised I can get them in focus at all anymore as much as my hands shake..
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 17
7/17/06 at 4:27pm
Generally want as high optical zoom as you can get or afford. Any digital zooming is bad for picture quality.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Mobile Devices Discussion
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Off Topic › Mobile Devices Discussion › Digital cameras: why 10x??