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>>3562771 This is the gear thread since nobody else is making a new one.
All discussion and questions related to gear should take place in this exact thread.
Redirection and answering questions in this thread is encouraged.
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Gear question: How much does better quality offset a shorter zoom? I need a compact camera for hiking. Choices are a 15x zoom with a 1" sensor or a 30x zoom with a 1/2.3" sensor. Sometimes I take pics of birds or animals far away, so while I won't use the zoom a lot the 30x zoom would get some use.
The 1" sensor means better quality right? Which means you can digitally blow it up more than the 1/2.3" sensor? Is that enough to offset the zoom difference?
For example, if you took the same pic with each camera, both at full zoom, and then cropped the 15x to be the same size as the 30x, how much would the difference in quality be?
Alternatively, what's the difference in quality when not zoomed? If I take an unzoomed picture in a shady forest or at dusk, I assume the 1" would do better in the low light. But how much better?
