Mega zoom digital cameras are all the rage this season. Panasonic paved the way with its 12x optical zoom Lumix models, and other manufacturers quickly charged in to feed Americans' desires for potent digicams that offer a wide range of focal lengths (around 38-432mm in 35mm terms). Besides Panasonic, Canon and Konica Minolta have 12x digicams with image stabilizers. Sony now has joined the ranks with the 5-megapixel DSC-H1 ($499). In this case, it has a 12x Sony lens (not the usual Carl Zeiss design) that delivers 36mm-432mm of zooming power in a very compact package.



Link: Designtechnica