What DSLR focal length matches the Canon SX50 HS at full zoom?
Asked 11/14/2013
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I’m new to photography and use a Sony SLT-A37. I have a Minolta 75-300mm lens and was comparing it to the Canon SX50 HS, which is advertised as reaching 1200mm equivalent at full zoom. Why is the SX50 able to do that with such a small built-in lens, while a true 1200mm DSLR lens is enormous? Would the SX50 at full zoom give the same framing as a 1200mm lens on a larger-sensor camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
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The magic is sensor size and that it is an effective focal length. It is far easier to make a long effective focal length for a very small sensor than it is to make the same for a larger sensor. This is also (part of) why APS-c lenses (EF-s) are so much cheaper than EF lenses that are designed for full frame and why APS-c sensors get more effective range out of a shorter lens.
Effective focal lengths are generally given in proportion to a 35mm sensor (full frame) equivalent. Since a small sensor captures only a small portion of that area, the effect is that only a small portion of the center is captured. This factor (called crop factor) results in a multiplicative effect on whatever the actual focal length is.
The actual focal length (marked on the lens) is 4mm to 215mm which gives it a crop factor of roughly 5.6. (5.6 times 215 is about 1200mm effective) The lens is also still smaller than most other 215mm lenses, but that is due to not having to collect as much light since it doesn't have to fill an entire 35mm sensor, only the amount of light needed to fill the tiny point and shoot sensor.
Originally by user11392. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11392
12y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—at full zoom, the Canon SX50 HS gives roughly the same field of view as a 1200mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera, but that does not mean its actual lens is 1200mm long.
The key is sensor size and crop factor. The SX50 uses a very small sensor, so its real lens is much shorter, around 4.3–215mm. Because the sensor is small, that 215mm focal length produces the same framing as about 1200mm equivalent on full frame.
Your Sony A37 has an APS-C sensor with about a 1.5× crop factor. So to match a 1200mm full-frame equivalent on your camera, you’d need about:
1200 ÷ 1.5 ≈ 800mm
So the SX50 at maximum zoom is roughly comparable in framing to an 800mm lens on your A37.
However, same framing does not mean identical image quality, depth of field, or low-light performance. Small-sensor superzooms achieve extreme equivalent reach more easily, but large-sensor cameras generally offer better overall image quality.
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