Cameras are looking more and more like telescopes. This year's CES saw several megazoom models emerge, including 60X and 70X from Sony and Panasonic camcorders and a 26X still camera from Olympus. (The higher the camera's resolution, the harder it is to extend the range of a lens. The Olympus is a 12MP camera, while the standard-def camcorders are under a megapixel.)
But it's hard to parse those numbers without a concrete example. Bob Perry from Panasonic captured it well when he said that using the companies 70X zoom is like "holding a piece of spaghetti in our hand that's about a half a mile long. And at the end when that spaghetti's moving up and down, we're taking a picture and we expect it to be fully in focus and sharp."
But perhaps the best way to picture this awesome zoom capability is, in fact, to see a picture.
Olympus SP-590UZ
Panasonic SDR-H80 Camcorder
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wouldn't so much zoom be useless unless you have very, very still hands or a tripod?
but how did the products perform aside from the zoom? $450 is a really good price, but are you paying for a crappy camcorder with really good zoom?
from Los Angeles, CA
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rocketwings:
How is it you are savvy enough that you would know that a long-focal-length (telephoto) lens makes it difficult to shoot sharp pictures, but you never heard of image stabilization?
Virtually all long-range lenses used for the last dozen years have incorporated some form of image stabilizing technology. In the article the rep from Panasonic says using their camera is like "holding a piece of spaghetti in our hand that's about a half a mile long. And at the end when that spaghetti's moving up and down, we're taking a picture and we expect it to be fully in focus and sharp." That's a definite sign they are using image stabilizers.
Panasonic SDR H80 camcorder has all the latest features. It is quiet an impressive camcorder. The optical zoom of the camcorder is 70x, which is remarkable. It is available at $340.00 - $399.99. For more information refer http://www.etechreviews.net/panasonic-sdr-h80-digital-camcorder-review-prices/