Survey: 10 stabilised digital cameras (page 18: Optic zoom)

Optic zoom

The title « Optic zoom » is a little simplified. The quality of the image in this test, the detail of a sculpture on a wall, depends on the zoom of course, but also on the sensor (the more megapixels, the more you zoom in the picture) and the processor, which correct the outlines of the sculpture’s face. We chose two reference pictures: one from the Canon EOS 350D with the basic lens, which the sensor leaves the image quite raw. So it will seem less sharp than with some of the compacts.

The other comes from one of the “trendy” big zooms, the Panasonic DMC-FZ7. It’s a 12X zoom with a 6 megapixel sensor. Its price is comparable to many cameras tested here at 400 euros.

The camera is in P mode at the lowest sensitivity. The picture is taken without a support.

Canon EOS 350D, 8 Mp, zoom 3x

Panasonic DMC-FZ7, 6 Mp, zoom 12x

Canon Ixus 800-IS, 6 Mp, zoom 4x	Casio Exilim S600, 6 Mp, zoom 3x
FujiFilm FinePix F11, 6 Mp, zoom 3x	Konica Minolta Dimage X1, 8 Mp, zoom 3x
Nikon Coolpix P4, 8 Mp, zoom 3x	Olympus Mju 720 SW, 7 Mp, zoom 3x
Pentax Optio W10, 6 Mp, zoom 3x	Panasonic DMCFX01, 6 Mp, 3x
Ricoh Caplio R3, 5 Mp, zoom 7x	Sony DSC-T9

Despite only 5 megapixels and the overall lack of detail compared to other cameras, the Ricoh captures one of the most precise images with a zoom. This is normal as it’s a 7x as compared to 4x for Canon and 3x for all the others.

The competitors do not take marvellous pictures. There is a zoom, it’s handy, but these lenses aren’t designed for a common use of this type. You just need to compare any of these extracts to the FZ2 above, which is impressive. Of course, this camera’s result is no surprise.
In other words, it is interesting to note that a 4x zoom with a 6 megapixel camera (Canon Ixus 800-IS) has an equivalent level of zoom to the 8 megapixel with 3x zoom (Nikon Coolpix P4, Konica Minolta X1).

The result isn’t surprising: the bigger the zoom and the more pixels the sensor delivers, the more details will be captured.