Camera Optical Zoom??

Question

I'm just wondering in terms of Optical Zoom... What would a 18 mm - 55 mm zoom lens be in terms of Optical Zoom? And.. how about a 70-200mm lens.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I would assumed you meant, what is the equivalent of the digital zoom compared to 35 mm camera lens.

70 - 200 mm = 105 - 300 mm

18 - 55 mm = 27 - 82.5 mm

Optical zoom magnifies the image using lenses. This means that light is passing through curved glass which in turn makes your subject look bigger in your photo. The quality of the magnified image depends on the quality of the lenses and coatings on those lenses.

Answer 2

Basically you divide 55 by 18, which gives you an optical zoom range of 3, or 3x. You do the same for any other lens.