HD camcorders have less zoom then SD camcorders?

Question

ive realized that most HD camcorders have less optical / digital zoom then SD camcorders, why is this?

Answer 1

The resolution of a HD camcorder is higher than for an SD camcorder.  Hence there is a more stringent requirement on the image quality.

There is a trade off between the image quality and zoom ratio.  For adequate lens resolution this zoom ration is less for the HD camcorder.  It's a matter of physics.

Answer 2

The camcorder lens is one of the more expensive systems on the camcorder... good glass is expensive (and very important when shooting in high definition... perhaps not so important when shooting in standard definition). To keep the costs in line, this is one place that can be compromised.

Personally, when I need it, I just add a 2x tele lens to my Sony HDR-HC1 - it is pretty heavy, though. Since it is impossible for a human to hold steady zoomed in at 20x, 30x or more, for any long period of time, (greater than 10 seconds), it really does not matter - unless you are using a tripod, in which case, the tele-lens works great... or, if you are into really shaky video, I guess it is OK.

If you want to take good video, use the zoom as little as possible and just get the camcorder closer to the subject... but if you must be far away where 30x zoom or more is absolutely required, but sure to use some sort of stabilizing device - like a tripod or mount the camera to something really solid.