digital vs. optical zoom on dgtl cameras

[mattiedread]

Which of these is more important? I'm not even sure of the difference? Does one have to do with eyepiece vs. the LCD screen? If I'm looking at about a grand on 4+ Mpixel camera, what should my minimum digital/optical focus be?

 

[raxafarian]

don't use digital zoom. Only use the optical zoom. If you have to crop into a picture to enlarge something, you'll get better results in an editing program than you will get from a digital zoom.



read THIS

 

[Dee]

That link is an excellent explanation of the differences between optical and digital zoom. I've always been told to stay away from the digital zoom, and could see the difference but never knew exactly how to put it into words!

Thanks....I'll be using this one!

 

[mattiedread]

That is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. The optical zoom is truely an optical zoom with a '35mm equivalent' range.

 

[raxafarian]

just in case you didn't know.... they use "35mm equivilant" because almost all digicams use a sensor that is smaller than a 35mm neg. So the camera magnifies the image that the lens sees (ie. 50mm acts like 65mm or so) .... I don't know if 'magnify' is the right word to use, but you get the idea. The newer slr digitals are coming out with sensors that = a 35mm negative in physical size. This is more critical with a digital slr.... especially if you've spent some cash on wide angle prime lenses. Without a "full-sized" sensor, your expensive 16mm lens just isn't as wide as it would be on a 35mm.

Most housing can utilize a wide angle adapter, which will give .... I'm guessing a 35mm equiv. in the low 20's.

You can also get telephoto and wide adapters to use above water for some(most?) cameras. I have a fisheye converter and a 3x telephoto. The 3x gives me a 456mm equivilant.

 

[mattiedread]

Good to know about add on filters. I'm basing a lot of my decision on on the 35mm equivalent and knowing that I can add a simple lens (which, makes sense) I can bring the '35mm eqivalent' up.

This is the third time I'm doing research on purchasing a digital camera, and I think I'm going to pull the trigger this time (I have to walk right by B&H next week). I'm still up in the air about several things...

What does SLR stand for and more importantly what does it mean? What advantages/disadvantages?

The volume of the Nikon CPs seems a bit large... but, I want a 4MP camera... what are some good ones (that have a 35 mil equivalent of say 35-200mm or are easily adaptable).

I've checked out a lot of websites, but there is one with a black background, doesn't specialize in UW photo but rather just equipment in general. I'm pretty sure I found it on this site, but I can't locate it. The most memorable part of it, it has message boards for all types of cameras and very high volume.

As usual, any help is greatly appreciated... Keep in mind, the vast majority of my photos will be taken above ground and packability is a major factor.

 

[raxafarian]

a digital slr is based on a 'regular' 35mm body. It uses interchangeable lenses, etc... picture a regular nikon or canon 35mm slr (n90s, a1, etc) that is digital.



Steve's has a black background ??

 

[miesemer]

Is this it?

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

It has reviews and a forum.

Here's another:

http://www.dcresource.com

 

[mattiedread]

Thanks.

 

[mattiedread]

When they say a lens is threaded for an attachment (like a 49mm) is this effectively taking the optical zoom up proportionally? (making a 28-200mm a 56-400 or whatever the ratio works out to be; I used 1:2 for simplicity).