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As I continue acquaint myself with my new Canon SX40 IS PowerShot, I thought you might like to see what that 35X Zoom can do for distance shooting. Olympus has already exceeded the Canon's zoom, so it's hard to tell just where this will go to, but in the meantime, it's fun, fun, fun. BTW my GPS says that the distance from my house to 5024 is 5.45 miles.

The first photo is a view of the Flat Iron from the front of my house in Apache Junction.
The second shot is using the 35X optical zoom at max.
The third shot is a combination of 35X optical zoom and digital zoom (140X zoom approx).
The blackened rock visible in the zoomed photos is where the airplane crashed the evening before Thanksgiving.

Impressive I have a Cannon Powershot 16mp with a 5 x mechanical ad 15X digital when you get into the digital zoom the trick is holding the camera steady enough to keep it from bluring I have found

Between you and Angela, now nowhere in the valley is safe for us skinnydippers!

Zoinks

@BEEBEE
To use these kind of zoom abilities, the tripod becomes a necessary part of the equipment. I have already found out that I can't even sit down and place my elbows on my knees to steady the camera enough. I can use a rock or tree to brace myself against and come out with a fairly good shot, but still not good quality. Along with the tripod, you have to use a shutter delay to allow the camera to steady after hitting the shutter button.

@Outdoor Lover
Skinnydippers in Arizona?

that is impressive

I turn off the digital zoom... you can do that on your computer just a crop of the image at the max optical zoom... they try to make it sound like you are getting more zoom but anyone can take the picture and zoom in on it in the computer....

Dschur wrote:I turn off the digital zoom... you can do that on your computer just a crop of the image at the max optical zoom... they try to make it sound like you are getting more zoom but anyone can take the picture and zoom in on it in the computer....

Yes, all you point-and-shooter's should remember that when buying a camera, the digital zoom is basically worthless, optical zoom is really what you should be concerned with

For the most part I agree and wrote up a similar post yesterday until I gave it a second look...

In the examples in the first post you do see some, albeit minimal, improvement since the camera adjusted the lighting.

Dschur wrote:I turn off the digital zoom... you can do that on your computer just a crop of the image at the max optical zoom

hippiepunkpirate wrote:Yes, all you point-and-shooter's should remember that when buying a camera, the digital zoom is basically worthless, optical zoom is really what you should be concerned with

I agree with all the comments about the digital zoom as I know framing the final image is a far better method of extracting the portion of the photo desired, than using the digital zoom feature. However, this camera has an interesting feature called Digital Tele-Converter that offers this explanation in the PDF manal;"The focal length of the lens can be increased by 1.5X or 2.0X. This enables a faster shutter speed and less chance of camera shake than the zoom (including digital zoom) used by itself at the same zoom factor." (Any help on that bit of info?)

So for that last photo in the sequence, I was using the Digital Tele-Converter set at 2.0X. The camera's display indicated that I was zoomed to 140X. I find that a little hard to swallow, but the camera was not on a tripod, but hand held and braced against the corner of my house.

Also the Digital Tele-Converter is not available when the camera is in Auto Mode, only when used in P, TV, AV or M mode. Therefore I shoot with Digital Zoom = OFF, but Digital Tele-Converter = ON.

mnlumberjack wrote:"The focal length of the lens can be increased by 1.5X or 2.0X. This enables a faster shutter speed and less chance of camera shake than the zoom (including digital zoom) used by itself at the same zoom factor." (Any help on that bit of info?)

They worded that kind of funny, I think. What the heck does increasing the focal length of the lens mean? Zooming in (optically) increases your focal length, but it sounds like some sort of digital converter is pushing the optics of the lens? It sounds vague and confusing to me. Further more, why does this enable a faster shutter speed? Does it allow a wider aperture to be achieved? Sounds hokey to me, but it is a Canon so I'm sure they're got some sort of mind-bending technology going on in there. Ever consider getting a dSLR, Jack?

Thanks for the comeback Jake, I was hoping you would have some insight to that particular feature, it sounds like a lot of technical double talk, but seems to work.

hippiepunkpirate wrote: Ever consider getting a dSLR, Jack?

I still have a Canon AE-1 at home with a good selection of lens', adapters and filters. The SLR was a good friend and I miss the camera and the creativity it provided, but I don't miss lugging it around. This camera is light enough to take along and has lots of bells & whistles hidden in the menu's. Now I have to get some 53mm filters (eg.polarizer, 8-point star, UV) to get creative.

mnlumberjack wrote:I still have a Canon AE-1 at home with a good selection of lens', adapters and filters.

I was going to offer to take some lenses off your hands, but then I realized the AE-1 is an FD mount...not compatible with my EF-S camera. That's one old school camera!

This sounds like an inexpensive way to use the older lenses... not sure how well they work
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Mount-Adapt ... B001D8X72G

coanbru wrote:This sounds like an inexpensive way to use the older lenses... not sure how well they work
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Mount-Adapt ... B001D8X72G

I've heard of those FD converter deals, I've heard they work fine. I'll probably stick to the EF/EF-S market though....for one, it's a lot easier to find lens reviews online about the recent models!

Just checked out the Canon SX40 IS on Amazon and such, looks like a great camera! For $400 you get the 35mm equivalent of a 24-840mm range of focal lengths! Says the sensor is CMOS, which is a nice addition, and it has a super powerful DIGIC 5 processor. This thing is like a miniature dSLR Sounds like a great buy, Jack. Of course, if I was still in the point-and-shoot market, I might spring for a Nikon S9100, pocket sized with 18x zoom: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383728,00.asp

I still have my old AE-1 too. I've thought about resurrecting it to see if I can find some special use for it - Like double exposures...
Plus, it's not worth my while trying to sell it. $1000s new, maybe $50 on eBay?

paulhubbard wrote:Like double exposures...

You can do that now with Photo Shop.

This must be the Canon AE-1 crowd as I have one of those also when FILM was actually popular. Have zoom and wide angle lenses as well as some special filters. Not worth it to try to sell so I'll hang onto it as it becomes an antique like me. ;)

I've heard good and bad about the lens adapters for using old 35mm lenses with DSLR. I actually was going to buy a Canon Rebel this year but the price of some of the lenses made me want to cry so I went with a point and shoot Olympus 14 megapixel. I also don't want to be carting pounds of extra weight when hiking or backpacking.