Posted by David Ruether on 09/16/05 16:21

(your email is useless...)

> I'm looking to buy my first camcorder and I like the idea of an
> optical zoom in the 20X or greater range, but I'm wondering how a high
> zoom factor effects the image quality. I will be using the camcorder
> on a tripod so shake is not an issue. My budget is roughly $600. Are
> there any issues I should look out for with zooming to the max?

In general, the greater the zoom range, the lower the image quality of
the lens throughout, and the less light it admits toward the long end.
For this reason, you will rarely find Sony cameras with more than
10-12X zooms with their $1500+ cameras, and maybe 15X in the
low end cameras. BTW, the absolute numbers may look impressive,
but the view difference is not, even with lenses almost twice as long
(12X vs. 20X, for instance) - you would need to try this to see it,
though...;-)

Also BTW, I do have a good digital camera available here with less
than one tape through it. It is Digital-8, which can use any good Hi-8
tape, though its digital output is the same as Mini-DV and it goes to
the computer using the same FireWire connection. This camera was
a top-end D-8, with no current equivalent available. See:
http://www.ferrario.com/ruether/fs-misc-video-audio.htm
--
--
David Ruether
rpn1@cornell.edu
http://www.ferrario.com/ruether

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