Photography Question - DSLR v Bridge

Barewolf · 04-05-2011, 17:32

I have recently bought a Cannon Rebel T1i, and I purchased a Cannon EFS 55-250mm Lens which is a telephoto lens and apparently highly recommended.

My problem is that I m not happy with the zoom capability of the lens. For £750 I want to be able to see a flea 100 foot away, where as with this, I can only zoom in about 3x.

Take a look at these pictures....

Picture 1 - This is with absalutely no Zoom. On Auto Mode, From My Window, 130ft Away, Using the 55-250 Lens.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...a/IMG_3419.jpg

Picture 2 - Is fully zoomed using the 55-250mm.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...a/IMG_3420.jpg

Now, I know that DSLR camera's are not bridge camera's, where Bridge camera's use Digital Zoom up to 32x.

However, Most bridge camera's come with Optical Zooms of up to 36x, and judging by this lens for the T1i, it only appears to zoom about 3x. Surely this is wrong?

I'm a bit miffed at this to say the least, I expected a far better zoom considering the price. Is it just me or what?

Please help.......

Taf · 04-05-2011, 17:56

Those pics look about right for a 55-250mm zoom lens.

When buying lenses I ALWAYS took the camera body to the shop to try them out first. Was that not an option for you?

peanut · 04-05-2011, 17:59

They look like they've been resized at 100% of the full photo. You should zoom in to 50-100% of the original and then crop.

Taf · 04-05-2011, 18:06

This is what I get with my very old Sony MVC-CD1000 camera (6-60mm 20x optical zoom)

Barewolf · 04-05-2011, 18:18

I didnt test it at the shop first, but I expected that a Telephoto lens would allow me to really zoom into the subject, where as I have found this lens is actually a 10x zoom lens, hardly worth £150.

I'm wondering if i've made a mistake purchasing a DSLR, and perhaps should have bought a Bridge camera like PowerShot SX30 IS, with 35x optical zoom.

peanut · 04-05-2011, 19:07

This was taken about 4-5 metres away, cropped at 100%, using a 200mm lens.

I think you're doing something wrong in post process.

**Stephen** · 04-05-2011, 19:13

It seems like you don't really understand the lens types.

spiderplant · 04-05-2011, 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanut

They look like they've been resized at 100% of the full photo. You should zoom in to 50-100% of the original and then crop.

peanut hits nail on head. With a good lens and good sensor you'll get a lot more than you'd get with a bridge.

As an example, look at this that I posted in Clickers Corner last week, taken with a 200mm lens on a Canon 60D. Then look at the first attachment below - that's how the original uncropped picture looked (obviously I've resized it here because it was huge).

Now compare with the second picture, which is the best I could do with my old bridge (Canon S2IS - 12x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom; 5MP sensor). The moon is zoomed to roughly the same size, but there's nothing like the same detail. That's the DSLR difference.

LSainsbury · 04-05-2011, 21:21

Don't forget that lens on that body is actually 88-400mm.

What do you want? A better zoom? Then you have a to buy a longer lens.

spiderplant · 04-05-2011, 21:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSainsbury

What do you want? A better zoom? Then you have a to buy a longer lens.

Or a teleconverter is the budget option

LSainsbury · 04-05-2011, 21:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiderplant

Or a teleconverter is the budget option

Don't you lose the AF ability with them or are the EF contacts connected through?

spiderplant · 04-05-2011, 21:51

It varies, depending on the TC, lens and camera. Do your research before buying.

Barewolf · 04-05-2011, 23:52

so taking the picture then cropping will get me the result?, fgorgive me, i'm new to this

peanut · 05-05-2011, 06:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barewolf

so taking the picture then cropping will get me the result?, fgorgive me, i'm new to this

Something here just don't add up.

LSainsbury · 05-05-2011, 07:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanut

Something here just don't add up.

Yeah - agreed with that - is he possibly thinking optical zoom will get digital zoom results on a DSLR?

---------- Post added at 07:41 ---------- Previous post was at 07:35 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barewolf

I didnt test it at the shop first, but I expected that a Telephoto lens would allow me to really zoom into the subject, where as I have found this lens is actually a 10x zoom lens, hardly worth £150.

BTW - I have this lens as well - £150 for this lens is very good value although it is at the cheep end of the lens range.

Why don't you go and buy one of these - should sort you out!