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compare 12x digital camera lens with a 300 mm lens, which will magnify more?

I have a nikon N60 SLR with a 300 mm zoom, and am considering a digital now that they have the 12x optics and image stabilization. will the 12x bring me as close as the 300mm?

Public Comments

1. It isn't that a "12x" zoom will bring you as much power as a 300 mm lens--the formats are different and some camera will have "35-200 mm 35 equal" stamped on it (to compare it to a 35 mm camera). When you said "closer", I don't think you meant the nearest focusing range. I think if you want to keep using the same lens, you can get a Nikon DSLR (not the base model--D40 though as it needs a lens with the focusing motor built in) .
2. A 12x optical zoom is about equivalent to a 420mm. You may consider purchasing a Nikon DSLR, as you lens may be compatible with it. In my experience, accessing manual features on non-SLR digital cameras can be cumbersome. The price for a budget nikon DLSR starts a $550 for the body, which might be all you need (but you would want to research this first)
3. Optical zoom equivalent on a digital camera is: No zoom: 35mm 3x zoom: 105mm 4x zoom: 140mm 12x zoom: 420mm. So when you are using the 12X optical zoom, your optical power is 420mm. I am using a Konica Minolta 12X optical zoom and the image is excellent. Go on 12X optical zoom.
4. 12x is actually a ratio between the telephoto focal length and the widest focal length, so it's not a measure that allows easy comparison, because if the camera is wide to start off with, it won't have as much telephoto. Let me explain why this ratio won't work exactly. Lets say you have a zoom lens for your N60 that's a 50-500mm. That's a 10x lens, because 500 divided by 50 = 10x. Yet, 500mm is clearly more magnification than your 300mm lens. So what you actually need to compare are the 35mm equivalent specifications for the digital camera you're looking at. Go to http://www.imaging-resource.com or http://www.dpreview.com and look your camera up. It should provide you with the 35mm lens equivalents, which will allow you to make a meaningful comparison. Another wrinkle: if you got a Nikon digital SLR, your 300mm lens would become a 450mm lens in terms of field of view. That's a magnification factor too. A used D70 would be about the same as getting a 12x digital point and shoot, but you wouldn't have the image stabilization. Anyway, if the 12x camera starts pretty wide, say 28mm equivalent, you'd be at 336mm equivalent...not much more than 300mm, really, so no difference. If it starts at 35mm (focal length, not film size!) on the digital wide equivalent, you're up to 420mm equivalent, which is definitely noticeable compared to your N60.