Jim Lyles:
> Aye, a video camera should do the job just fine. I started
> videotaping birds this last July with a Sony 12x camcorder.
> (It's a TR-83, a middle-priced Sony, that can zoom up to
> 12x optically and 24x digitally, but the digital image isn't
> all that good.)

Note that 12x is roughly equivalent to 600mm in 35mm format (now
you see why bird shooters carry around such HUGE telephotos for
their 35mm cameras! Pity the poor medium-format shooter). I
mention this because I know Stuart owns 35mm equipment, and I
posted rather than e-mailed directly to him because I felt there
was a chance others would be interested in this information (one
thing these periodic posts complaining about posts like this
does accomplish is to make some of us paranoid).

Also, digital zooming degrades the image for a very simple reason,
it simply takes the center 50% of the image's pixels and doubles
them, cropping the result. This cuts resolution exactly by 1/2.

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>