Bubalooney wrote:
… How does one make an inteligent decision about how much zoom is enough? …
A professional would never ever … ok, in very rare cases 😉 use a zoom.
Why?
A Zoom is always a compromise - in quality (ok, will an amateur notice? No), and, more important, in 'speed'.
Most BigZooms offer very poor speed, starting somewhere at f3.6 and finally on long range, f8.0, f10!
Next: a tele-lens creates tons of shake! Without stabilizer, it's impossible to handle a 500mm lens. Most/many videoDSLRs do not offer staibilizers.
So, the question is: Why using a zoom at all? Why using a SuperZoom at all?
I'm usign a Pana707 - with a very strong zoom, and superb stabilizer (and using a tripod); because; i like to record the soccerr games of my son's team. I need a simple to use aka fast solution. Using the same cam indoors is nice with its 25mm, but it is really poor under low light conditions; a designated device (Canon Rebel, 35mm/f1.4.) offers much, much, much better, superb quality.-
It depends too much on your individual needs and conditions:
• a 'system cam' with interchangeablel glases could be better.
• a tiny all-in-one (like mine) could be better.
hard to give a general advice.