Calculate a Camera Lens Range
Many point-and-shoot cameras advertise their lenses in terms of the magnification factor. In other words, the manufacturers boast that their cameras have a "12x zoom," but this phrase does not describe the camera in terms of its lens range. Magnification factor and lens range are related, and so a few mathematical calculations will allow you to convert the magnification factor to lens range. This will allow you to better compare cameras if they use different ways to advertise the lens's capabilities, or to purchase an equivalent lens if you should decide to switch to an SLR (single lens reflex) camera.
Instructions
1. Look up the widest angle your camera is capable of in your camera's manual. This number will be expressed as a focal length in mm. For instance, most consumer-level point-and-shoot cameras have a widest angle of 42 mm.
2. Divide this focal length by 1.6 to convert your camera's widest angle into its digital equivalent. Most digital sensors have a 1.6x crop factor, meaning the sensor captures only 62.5 percent of the scene the lens is capable of seeing. Dividing the lens's widest angle by 1.6 will remove the effect of this crop factor and allow you to compare lenses. For instance, a lens with a widest reported angle of 42 mm will be converted to 26 mm (42 divided by 1.6).
3. Multiply this number by the magnification factor of the camera. For instance, if your camera is a 12x zoom and the widest angle reported in the camera manual is 42 mm, multiply 12 by 26 (42 divided by 1.6) to arrive at 312 mm. This is your camera's longest (telephoto) reach.
4. Combine the lens's minimum (widest) and maximum (longest) values to find the camera's lens range. For example, the lens range of the above hypothetical 12x zoom camera is 26-312 mm.
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