What the mm equivalent of 10, 12, 18X optical zoom?

dinneenp · 01-03-2010 10:06AM #1

Hi,
I have an 18X optical zoom on my bridge camera. Am going to buy a DSLR and trying to figure out what the equivalent for different zoom lengths?
Looking for a simple layman's answer please (if possible).

Cheers,
Pa

enda1 · 01-03-2010 10:12AM

If lowest focus length X 18 = highest focus length then its an 18x optical zoom.

Though you won't find many people talking about zoom numbers in relation to SLRs.

Nearest equivalent would probably be a Nikon 18-200mm or similar which would be about a 11X optical zoom.

DaireQuinlan · 01-03-2010 10:28AM

dinneenp wrote: »

Hi,
I have an 18X optical zoom on my bridge camera. Am going to buy a DSLR and trying to figure out what the equivalent for different zoom lengths?
Looking for a simple layman's answer please (if possible).

Cheers,
Pa

Its a bit of a nonsensical question. It's like asking "whats the CM equivalent of a piece of string that's ten times as long"

You'll never (or at least rarely) find one SLR lens that covers a range from (say) 10mm->180mm which would be required to toss around a 18x 'zoom range'. This is because compromises are increasingly made the more range you try and jam into a zoom lens.

In terms of compacts it's just another huge number that can be bandied around to distinguish one camera from another in the eyes of the buying public who use big numbers as a buying decision. Though, while misguided, its certainly better than the buying public who buy a compact P&S because it has a 'leica lens on it'. A little knowledge etc etc etc.

nilhg · 01-03-2010 10:32AM

You have a bridge camera at the moment? you need to know the 35mm equivalent of its lens. For example the Panasonic 18x cams have 35 mm equivalent of 36-432mm. The 36mm there is not as wide as most DSLR's start at, most being 28mm (ie Oly 14mm x 2x crop factor or canon 18mm x 1.6x crop factor)

If you really want ultra zoom in a DSLR kit the Oly 520 superzoom kit has to be top of the list. It'll give you the equivalent of 28-600MM with a bit of a gap in the middle.

stunt_penguin · 01-03-2010 11:21AM

This thread raises a question, though- I'm wondering if I could put together a rough simulator made in flash (or just as a video)for people who can't visualise lenses in mm-

It would start with a scene shot at , say, 35mm , and let you simulate different focal lengths with a slider- so it'd zoom the image to roughly what you get from a 50, though, 70, 100 and up to 200/300mm. Now, sensor size needs to come into it (though that's just a matter of cropping the simulation) and there are other small missing factors, but it'd give people some clue as to what to expect from different lenses.

DaireQuinlan · 01-03-2010 11:30AM

stunt_penguin wrote: »

This thread raises a question, though- I'm wondering if I could put together a rough simulator made in flash (or just as a video)for people who can't visualise lenses in mm-

http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_center/tools/focal-length-comparison.php

stunt_penguin · 01-03-2010 11:34AM

/dusts off hands

Now can we just post this on every thread where someone asks about lengths?

nilhg · 01-03-2010 01:12PM

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_center/tools/focal-length-comparison.php

Or even this

http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/208_21614.htm#/overview/14

stunt_penguin wrote: »

/dusts off hands

Now can we just post this on every thread where someone asks about lengths?

Yeah, good idea, off to the FAQ with this thread

Slidinginfinity · 01-03-2010 05:31PM

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/lens/simulator/index.htm

stunt_penguin · 01-03-2010 05:45PM

I think Nikon win that particular little pissing contest.... nicely done.

unreggd · 01-03-2010 06:45PM

DP Review gives the equivalent of SLR lenses
Most have slight differences anyways, and a diff angle

examples:
392 mm (14 x) 180 mm (5 x) 180 mm (5 x) 504 mm (18 x) 504 mm (18 x)
420 mm (15 x) 720 mm (30 x) 270 mm (10 x) 175 mm (5 x) 240 mm (10 x)

Will23 · 12-06-2010 02:30PM

sorry to resurrect this thread but it kinda begins to answer my question, which is on a similar topic!

i also have a digital bridge camera which is X18 zoom (28mm - 504mm).

i have mostly been using my non-digital 35mm SLR more recently for a number of reasons and because i really prefer film, and find it more fun!

so i have begun to really grasp aperture, shutter speed, focal length etc.. and credit some of this to using the digital and getting an instant visual sense of what they do through the little screen at the back (i use the digital on manual only)

i dont use the bridge as much any more although it did cost a couple hundred yo-yo's a couple years back, but would like to know the equivalent focal lengths for the zooms on it, i.e. if standard is 28mm, and 18X is 504mm, what is 1X, 2X, etc...

anyone have any light to shed on this? is it simply 2x 28mm= 44mm??!

Would like to know the focal lengths so i can adjust shutter speed and aperture accordingly!

thats folks!

charybdis · 12-06-2010 02:52PM

Will23 wrote: »

sorry to resurrect this thread but it kinda begins to answer my question, which is on a similar topic!

i also have a digital bridge camera which is X18 zoom (28mm - 504mm).

i have mostly been using my non-digital 35mm SLR more recently for a number of reasons and because i really prefer film, and find it more fun!

so i have begun to really grasp aperture, shutter speed, focal length etc.. and credit some of this to using the digital and getting an instant visual sense of what they do through the little screen at the back (i use the digital on manual only)

i dont use the bridge as much any more although it did cost a couple hundred yo-yo's a couple years back, but would like to know the equivalent focal lengths for the zooms on it, i.e. if standard is 28mm, and 18X is 504mm, what is 1X, 2X, etc...

anyone have any light to shed on this? is it simply 2x 28mm= 44mm??!

Would like to know the focal lengths so i can adjust shutter speed and aperture accordingly!

thats folks!

If it's an 18x zoom and the widest focal length is 28mm-e, you can tell the longest focal length is 504mm-e because 28 * 18 = 504.

Similarly, you can tell that 1x = 28 * 1 = 28, 2x = 28 * 2 = 56, etc.

Will23 wrote: »

anyone have any light to shed on this? is it simply 2x 28mm= 44mm??!

I think you need to check your calculations here.

Will23 · 12-06-2010 03:56PM

doh! i feel like a dumbass now!!

very good, thanks for pointing out the obvious!!

cheers!

What the mm equivalent of 10, 12, 18X optical zoom?

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