zoom vs reolution

Hi,
I'm in the process of replacing my Minolta Dimage Z1 (3.1MP) It takes
very good pictures BUT I just can live with the focusing problems when
taking pictures of landscapes, seascapes, on anything other than a
PERFECTLY CRYSTAL CLEAR day.
I like the 10X zoom capabilities.
I've been looking a many cameras with picture quality and zoom being my top
priorities
I saw quite a few Panasonics butr all the reviews mentioned poorer picture
qualities than other brands.
I'm focusing in on the Canon Powershot S5 IS, and the Canon Powershot A650
IS.
The S5 is 12x zoom and 8.1 MP (I think) The A650 is 6x zoom but is 12.1 MP.
The reviews say that the A650 provides very good pictures. The S5 reviews do
not make those picture quality claims.
I A650 seems to be what I want except for the 6x zoom. My question is: can I
accomplish zooming by croping and enlarging seeing that the resolution is
quite a bit higher?
Thanks in advance,
Tim fm CT

tim fm ct wrote:
Hi,
I'm in the process of replacing my Minolta Dimage Z1 (3.1MP) It
takes very good pictures BUT I just can live with the focusing
problems when taking pictures of landscapes, seascapes, on anything
other than a PERFECTLY CRYSTAL CLEAR day.
I like the 10X zoom capabilities.
I've been looking a many cameras with picture quality and zoom being
my top priorities
I saw quite a few Panasonics butr all the reviews mentioned poorer
picture qualities than other brands.
I'm focusing in on the Canon Powershot S5 IS, and the Canon Powershot
A650 IS.
The S5 is 12x zoom and 8.1 MP (I think) The A650 is 6x zoom but is
12.1 MP. The reviews say that the A650 provides very good pictures.
The S5 reviews do not make those picture quality claims.
I A650 seems to be what I want except for the 6x zoom. My question
is: can I accomplish zooming by croping and enlarging seeing that the
resolution is quite a bit higher?
Thanks in advance,
Tim fm CT

Tim,

My advice would be to rely on optical zoom, and not cropping. My wife and
I have Panasonic 5MP cameras (the FZ5 and FZ20) and the picture quality is
very good. The long, image-stabilised zooms suit our needs well. Compare
the handling of different cameras in the store to see if one suits you
better.

Cheers,
David

tim fm ct wrote:
is: can I accomplish zooming by croping and enlarging seeing that the
resolution is quite a bit higher?

That would be the same as what marketing departments advertise as "digital
zoom", suggesting that anything digital would be better than analog. In
reality cropping can better be classified by substituting the "o" with an
"a".
There simply in no substitute for optical zoom. No algorithm can fill in
that information that was not captured when taking the photo.

Besides, if you are comparing the 8.1MP and the 12.1MP then the resolution
isn't that much different anyway. Simplified the first one is 2x4 million
pixels, the other 3x4. Not much difference to me.

Oh, and it seems you may be confused about the zoom factor, too. 6x or 12x
or whatever is the total range from wide angle to tele. If the first camera
has let's say (made-up numbers!) 20-120mm and the second 10-120mm but you
never use the extreme wide angle because you are into bird photography, then
there is really no appreciable difference between those two zooms for your
application.

jue

"tim fm ct" wrote in message
et...
Hi,
I'm in the process of replacing my Minolta Dimage Z1 (3.1MP) It takes
very good pictures BUT I just can live with the focusing problems when
taking pictures of landscapes, seascapes, on anything other than a
PERFECTLY CRYSTAL CLEAR day.
I like the 10X zoom capabilities.
I've been looking a many cameras with picture quality and zoom being my
top priorities
I saw quite a few Panasonics butr all the reviews mentioned poorer picture
qualities than other brands.
I'm focusing in on the Canon Powershot S5 IS, and the Canon Powershot A650
IS.
The S5 is 12x zoom and 8.1 MP (I think) The A650 is 6x zoom but is 12.1
MP.
The reviews say that the A650 provides very good pictures. The S5 reviews
do not make those picture quality claims.
I A650 seems to be what I want except for the 6x zoom. My question is: can
I accomplish zooming by croping and enlarging seeing that the resolution
is quite a bit higher?


Take a look at the Canon SX100is 8MP with 10x zoom.

The C-net.com review claims it has a better lens and makes better pictures
than the S5.

NM

"~~NoMad~~" wrote in message
...

"tim fm ct" wrote in message
et...
Hi,
I'm in the process of replacing my Minolta Dimage Z1 (3.1MP) It takes
very good pictures BUT I just can live with the focusing problems when
taking pictures of landscapes, seascapes, on anything other than a
PERFECTLY CRYSTAL CLEAR day.
I like the 10X zoom capabilities.
I've been looking a many cameras with picture quality and zoom being my
top priorities
I saw quite a few Panasonics butr all the reviews mentioned poorer
picture qualities than other brands.
I'm focusing in on the Canon Powershot S5 IS, and the Canon Powershot
A650 IS.
The S5 is 12x zoom and 8.1 MP (I think) The A650 is 6x zoom but is 12.1
MP.
The reviews say that the A650 provides very good pictures. The S5 reviews
do not make those picture quality claims.
I A650 seems to be what I want except for the 6x zoom. My question is:
can I accomplish zooming by croping and enlarging seeing that the
resolution is quite a bit higher?


Take a look at the Canon SX100is 8MP with 10x zoom.

The C-net.com review claims it has a better lens and makes better pictures
than the S5.

NM

Thanks, David, Jurgen & NM,
I'll certainly check the
Panasonic review again. Wow, I wish the SX100is had a view finder. I seldom,
if ever, use the lcd. I,m not sure about the 6x vs 12x is not a big
difference. Please explain again.
Isn't it something how no camera fits perfectly ??
Tim fm CT

On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:14:06 +0000, tim fm ct wrote:


"~~NoMad~~" wrote in message
...

"tim fm ct" wrote in message
et...
Hi,
I'm in the process of replacing my Minolta Dimage Z1 (3.1MP) It takes
very good pictures BUT I just can live with the focusing problems when
taking pictures of landscapes, seascapes, on anything other than a
PERFECTLY CRYSTAL CLEAR day.
I like the 10X zoom capabilities.
I've been looking a many cameras with picture quality and zoom being my
top priorities
I saw quite a few Panasonics butr all the reviews mentioned poorer
picture qualities than other brands.
I'm focusing in on the Canon Powershot S5 IS, and the Canon Powershot
A650 IS.
The S5 is 12x zoom and 8.1 MP (I think) The A650 is 6x zoom but is 12.1
MP.
The reviews say that the A650 provides very good pictures. The S5 reviews
do not make those picture quality claims.
I A650 seems to be what I want except for the 6x zoom. My question is:
can I accomplish zooming by croping and enlarging seeing that the
resolution is quite a bit higher?


Take a look at the Canon SX100is 8MP with 10x zoom.

The C-net.com review claims it has a better lens and makes better pictures
than the S5.

NM

Thanks, David, Jurgen & NM,
I'll certainly check the
Panasonic review again. Wow, I wish the SX100is had a view finder. I seldom,
if ever, use the lcd. I,m not sure about the 6x vs 12x is not a big
difference. Please explain again.
Isn't it something how no camera fits perfectly ??
Tim fm CT

You might also check the Kodak online store to see if you can still pick
up a Kodak P series - very good EVF, IMHO.

tim fm ct wrote:
I,m not sure about the 6x vs
12x is not a big difference. Please explain again.

I believe you are confusing terms.
In your original posting first you are talking about zoom range (6x, 12x,
10x). Then you are talking about croping and enlarging, which would indicate
that you are looking for a large magnification factor, i.e. a long
tele-lens.
Zoom factor and magnification factor are two totally different things and
have nothing to do with each other.

You can have a lens with a huge zoom factor where the maximum focal lenght
is small, e.g. 5-60mm would have a zoom factor of 12x, but the maximum
magnification/tele factor would be only 1.2 (60mm/50mm). And you can have
lenses like 400-800mm with a very small zoom factor of 2x (800mm/400mm) but
a maximum magnification/tele of 16x (800/50). Or even a fix-focus lens
(better known as prime lenses) with a zoom factor of 0.

So I suggest you clarify first, if the zoom range is the important criteria
for you, or if a long tele lens is what you are after. Those two are quite
different animals.

jue

"Jürgen Exner" wrote in message
news:TH6Wi.2502$hd1.313@trndny01...
tim fm ct wrote:
I,m not sure about the 6x vs
12x is not a big difference. Please explain again.

I believe you are confusing terms.
In your original posting first you are talking about zoom range (6x, 12x,
10x). Then you are talking about croping and enlarging, which would
indicate that you are looking for a large magnification factor, i.e. a
long tele-lens.
Zoom factor and magnification factor are two totally different things and
have nothing to do with each other.

You can have a lens with a huge zoom factor where the maximum focal lenght
is small, e.g. 5-60mm would have a zoom factor of 12x, but the maximum
magnification/tele factor would be only 1.2 (60mm/50mm). And you can have
lenses like 400-800mm with a very small zoom factor of 2x (800mm/400mm)
but a maximum magnification/tele of 16x (800/50). Or even a fix-focus lens
(better known as prime lenses) with a zoom factor of 0.

So I suggest you clarify first, if the zoom range is the important
criteria for you, or if a long tele lens is what you are after. Those two
are quite different animals.

jue
Jue,
Ok, I think I get it now. You are using 50mm as a "normal" lens for
magnification. My Minolta z1 is 10x and results in 38-380mm but 380/50 ~
7+ mag.
The A650 is 6x and results in 35-210mm ~ 4+ mag., while the S5 is 12x and
results in 36-432mm ~ 8+ mag.
I don't think I'd be satisfied with only 4 magnification but I am very
concerned about picture quality for printing.
Should I expect to get as clear 8x10 prints with the large zoom (S5) with
8.1 MP as to a lesser zoom (A650) with 12.1 MP?
I checked the Panasonic zooms again and picture quality is not their strong
point as the Canons. Is this valid?
Tim fm CT.

"David J Taylor"
wrote in message . uk...
tim fm ct wrote:
Hi,
I'm in the process of replacing my Minolta Dimage Z1 (3.1MP) It
takes very good pictures BUT I just can live with the focusing
problems when taking pictures of landscapes, seascapes, on anything
other than a PERFECTLY CRYSTAL CLEAR day.
I like the 10X zoom capabilities.
I've been looking a many cameras with picture quality and zoom being
my top priorities
I saw quite a few Panasonics butr all the reviews mentioned poorer
picture qualities than other brands.
I'm focusing in on the Canon Powershot S5 IS, and the Canon Powershot
A650 IS.
The S5 is 12x zoom and 8.1 MP (I think) The A650 is 6x zoom but is
12.1 MP. The reviews say that the A650 provides very good pictures.
The S5 reviews do not make those picture quality claims.
I A650 seems to be what I want except for the 6x zoom. My question
is: can I accomplish zooming by croping and enlarging seeing that the
resolution is quite a bit higher?
Thanks in advance,
Tim fm CT

Tim,

My advice would be to rely on optical zoom, and not cropping. My wife and
I have Panasonic 5MP cameras (the FZ5 and FZ20) and the picture quality is
very good. The long, image-stabilised zooms suit our needs well. Compare
the handling of different cameras in the store to see if one suits you
better.

Cheers,
David

Thanks David,
I've been checking the longer zooms by Panasonic and
that seems to be where the reviewers are not stressing picture quality. Me
being such a "novice" maybe their concers about picture quality would not
even be noticed by my eye.
I'm now leaning towards the Canon Powershot S5 IS.
Thank goodness Jue explained the zoom stuff.
It would be good to know where the Minolta Dimage z1
fits in the picture quality specs..
Tim fm CT

On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:56:02 -0400, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

I wish I has a dollar for every time I heard
someone picking up their vacation photos and being disappointed with their
photos of the mountains that they used a telephoto for. Sure mountains are
far away, but they are really big and usually are far more impressive when
photographed using wide angle.

I think it all depends on your distance to those mountains. I keep a 1.7x
tele-converter and 0.33x fish-eye adapter in my P&S kit. With the fish-eye I can
go from 180 degrees, 11mm (35mm eq.) on up, seamlessly to the widest angle of
the P&S's lens. Then on through the full range of the P&S's ultra-zoom +
tele-converter. Just because a camera doesn't come with an 18mm ultra-wide
doesn't mean you can't have that on any P&S camera.

When traveling the zoom + tele-converter was used frequently on wildlife in the
mountains, but when photographing the vistas then only the 18-26mm (35mm eq.)
wide-angle obtained with the fish-eye would suffice. At times that fish-eye
adapter remained on my P&S camera for weeks at a time, commonly used at 18-26mm
settings. Only rarely being taken off or swapped out for the tele-converter.
Then when traveling to less majestic and rugged terrain I hardly ever used the
wide-angle all, just for the occasional sunset or indoor group photo.

This is the wonderful thing about a high-quality P&S camera with an ultra-zoom
that affords fast f/stops for the full range of its zoom. With a 0.33x fish-eye
adapter plus1.7x tele-converter you can fit the whole kit in one large
jacket-pocket. Camera plus 2 lenses and get a seamless focal-length range from
11mm to 735mm with an f/2.7-f/3.5 wide-aperture range on a common 36-432mm 12x
super-zoom. Or 9mm to 857mm at f/2.8 to f/4.2 for widest apertures on a
28mm-504mm 18x super-zoom. Not only will you not be able to fit that in a large
pocket if going with a DSLR you wouldn't even be able to buy that range for a
DSLR by just carrying 2 lenses. You'd need an extra wheeled suitcase just to
haul around all the lenses you'd need to obtain that much range at those
f/stops.