Originally Posted by
TimothyH
@
canklecat, thanks. The TG5 looks nice. Really interesting that it accepts filters and add on lenses if I am reading correctly. I still have a few filters, not really interested in lugging them around but maybe a polarized filter would be nice to carry when not riding. I'll have to read up on the TG series.
You are probably the right person to ask... How do some cameras in this price range have 40x optical zoom while others have 3x or 4x? Is there a trade off somewhere else when a camera has 40x as opposed to 4x?
-Tim-
It's generally a trade-off with lens design. The 3-4x zoom will be lower f#, more compact and have better image quality or larger sensors. An f/5.6 40x zoom lens with small sensor isn't necessarily larger or more complex than an f/2 lens on a large sensor.
It really comes down to what photos you're looking to take.