24-800mm zoom lens

[Dhanu]

Hi,
I saw this Camera by canon for only $380.
If they can produce a camera with a built in 24-800mm zoom lens for only $380, why don't we see lenses like that for DSLR? If I want to get a lens with 800mm for my DSLR I'm pretty sure that I'll have to spend thousands of dollars.
I'm just curious about the reasoning. Are they artificially keeping the price high for DSLR lenses or is there a big technological difference between them that make them expensive?
Thanks

[RichardTaylor]

It's not 24-800.

It is 4.3 to 150.5mm F2.7-F5.8
It is a lot easier, and cheaper, to design a lens for a small sensor cameras. They are also a lot smaller, lighter. (not so much glass)

See the specs for an 800mm prime lens here.

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens Review

[Krusty79]

Jeez! That thing looks like a bazooka! It weighs 9.9 lbs. Just for laughs, I clicked on the Buy button and saw the price was $10,900!

Dhanu - even if they made a 24-800 lens for a DSLR that wasn't huge, it would not be sharp through the entire range and you would be sacrificing quality for convenience.

[LewisCanon]

i do really want one of those 800mm lens..... i want the 400 2.8 more though... that thing is epic.

[Dhanu]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

It's not 24-800.

It is 4.3 to 150.5mm F2.7-F5.8
It is a lot easier, and cheaper, to design a lens for a small sensor cameras. They are also a lot smaller, lighter. (not so much glass)

See the specs for an 800mm prime lens here.

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens Review

I see they have two contradicting statements.
- "Canon's first high-powered 35x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom (24-840mm) with Optical Image Stabilizer reduces camera shake to achieve amazing images whether you are up close or far away."

- "The PowerShot SX30 IS is equipped with a 35x Optical Zoom lens with a focal length of 4.3 - 150.5mm (35mm equivalent: 24 - 40mm) that allows you to shoot any scene from wide-angle to telephoto."

So that 24-840mm thing is just a marketing slogan, but the real value is 4.3-150.5mm, right?

[Dhanu]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

Dhanu - even if they made a 24-800 lens for a DSLR that wasn't huge, it would not be sharp through the entire range and you would be sacrificing quality for convenience.

Yeah, that might be the case

[Dhanu]

Originally Posted by LewisCanon

i do really want one of those 800mm lens..... i want the 400 2.8 more though... that thing is epic.

I was looking at renting one of those 400mm 2.8 lenses for my wife's graduation. I think it would be ideal to zoom all the way across a low light college basketball stadium

[Sterling]

So that 24-840mm thing is just a marketing slogan, but the real value is 4.3-150.5mm, right?

Yes. The 24-840 is just the equivalent on a 35mm or FX digital camera. It's just a point of reference because many photographers have been familiar with 35mm cameras in the past.