More zoom, less space: Compact megazoom cameras

Joshua Goldman, Senior Editor November 6, 2009

The average compact point-and-shoot camera has a 3x or 4x zoom lens in it. Anyone who's ever tried with one of these cameras to get in closer to a player on the field at a sporting event or snap off a shot of a bird without scaring it away knows that such a short range doesn't cut it. The obvious solution is to get something with a longer zoom, but that means a larger camera, too, that might no longer fit in your pocket. Or could it?

With more megapixels waning as a marketable feature, increased optical zooms and/or wide-angle lenses are supplanting that spec on compact cameras.

If all you want is to get in a little tighter on the action, the 12-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1's 8x zoom lens should satisfy.

Those who are really tired of their short zooms will probably want to step up to a 10x zoom lens like those on the Kodak EasyShare Z915, Samsung HZ15W, Canon PowerShot SX120 IS, and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20. They can be a little uncomfortable for smaller pockets, but can definitely fit in a jacket pocket or bag. Reaching a little farther beyond those is the Panasonic DMC-ZS3, which packs a wide-angle lens with a 12x zoom range into what's still a fairly compact body.

There are a couple things to keep in mind about these cameras. Longer lenses, as well as wider ones, typically cause a bit of distortion, which some models are able to handle better than others. Plus, the extra lens elements can lessen sharpness. Also, generally speaking, the longer the lens, the slower the camera's performance. We've learned not to expect really fast start-up and shot-to-shot times on models with a 10x zoom or greater.

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