How much does this lens zoom in? Canon - 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Zoom Lens?

Question

I love photography and up until now have been content with my point and shoot camera. Now, I am starting to look into SLR camera and am interested in a package deal at Best Buy. It comes with a "Canon - 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Zoom Lens" and I was wondering how good this is and what it actually means.

Because I am used to point and shoot cameras, I am used to 5x zoom or 10 zoom lingo. What does this mean in terms of that? Is it 20x zoom or...can anyone give a guess by the numbers?

Answer 1

A 75 to 300 zoom lens would be a 4x lens. 75mm x 4 = 300mm; hence it's a 4x lens.



But that does not tell you anything about how wide the field-of-view will be.



I am surprised the camera comes with that lens. Does it also come with another lens in the kit - perhaps something like 18~55mm? You may not be happy with a 75~300mm for your primary lens if that is all it comes with.



But if the camera comes with a 18~55mm lens as well, then you would have a total coverage of 18mm~300mm (minus the gap between 55mm and 75mm). So the total "zoom" range between the two lenses is around 16x total.



While you can find point & shoots with 16x or higher lenses, DSLRs, with lenses having better optical quality, do this by multiple lenses, with you having to swap them out. While it is more hassle to swap lenses, you get better image quality - which should be the reason you want to buy a DSLR.



I would not worry too much if there is a gap between 55mm and 75mm; you won't even notice it.

Answer 2

The 75-300mm is a cheap lens that is not very sharp when viewed at 100% resolution. You would be better off to not get that package. If you want a telephoto lens apply the money saved towards an EF-S 55-250mm IS or the EF 70-300mm IS.

Lenses that cover larger sensor are harder to make well than those which cover tiny sensors, so the gigantic optical zoom ranges in a single lens are not available for DSLR's. A combination of lenses gets you the equivalent ranges.

55-250mm or 70-300mm is a good coverage for telephoto.

Answer 3

Before you go shopping, make sure to do a LOT of learning. If you have no clue what all the terms mean, you will buy stuff you'll later regret. Make the effort now, and you'll be way better off.



Your local library and the internet are full of resources, but YOU have to do the work.



Start here: http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/EFLenses101/focal_length.html