Camera and lens questions

[greensnakeman]

I'm looking at buying a canon rebel xt, nikon D50, or a panasonic FZ50.
Which would you choose with a budget of $600. I would choose one of the DSLRs but if I do I'll have to buy a decent telephoto for a good price. Any suggestions.
Also what is the mm. equivalent to a 12 optical zoom, And is there a scale for this?

Thanks

[rezMole]

Also what is the mm. equivalent to a 12 optical zoom, And is there a scale for this?

Thanks

12x zoom does not mean anything really. A 28mm to 300mm lens is effectively a 10x zoom, yet a 200mm to 400mm lens is only a 2x zoom, but the latter will get you closer. A standar lens on a 35mm camera is about a 50mm lens, so a 500mm lens will get you a 10x magnification (not zoom). On most digital cameras, a crop factor of 1.5 will mean it's working at about 15x magnification.

It's all a little confusing - made more so by manufactuers quoting figures such as 12x optical zoom - which as you can see does not mean 12x magnification.

As for cameras, I have had Canon and Nikon and prefer Nikon cameras - but only because I prefer they feel of them in my hands. I would suggest you get hold of a couple.

[greensnakeman]

Thanks for the response!

[RAH]

One thing to note about the Nikon D50 - it does not have depth-of-field preview. Folks say that with the limited resolution of the viewer that it doesn't help even if you have it, but I think it's better to have it than not, and one of the reasons you get a DSLR instead of a point-and-shoot is to get more flexibility and control. FOr macro photography especially, dof preview is very helpful.