Zoom is the stuff. At least as far as convenience goes. When I hired in, it was Nikon’s 18-200mm VR. We just could not keep that sucker in stock. That’s an 11x zoom (welllllll…. 11.111111 yadda yadda, rounding is our friend here.) Last year Canon jumped onto that game itself with the EF-S 18-200. 11x, that’s not too darn shabby there. The average point-and-shoot for years has been 3x.

We should really stop to talk about how unuseful “zoom” is as a measurement. The x zoom of a lens is found by dividing the longest length by the shortest. So, it tells you how much there is, but now where it exists between. Is the widest point 36mm, or 28mm? How long is that telephoto? 100mm? 200mm? Who knows? Zoom is a handy quick measurement, but it’s useless if you don’t also check to see where the limits are at.

Tamron 18-270mm (Various Mounts)

So, 18-200 is the popular “super-zoom” length for crop sensors (more or less the same as a 28-300 would’ve served in 35mm days). So, 28mm (or equiv) is pretty solid wide-angle. Certainly better than the 38mm or so that’s standard on point-and-shoots. And, 300mm equiv is a pretty nice telephoto length. But, what if you want more (me, I like 400mm equiv)? What if you don’t want to change lenses much or ever? Why not a Sigma 18-250 (about 27-375)? Or, for you hardcore junkies, Tamron’s 18-270 (about 27-405)? Those are some amazing zooms, they really are.

Now, let’s get this out there: There will always, always, always be a compromise or two in lens design. All-in-one zooms like the 18-200s, 18-250s, and 18-270s are stellar for convenience. That’s basically every focal length a non-specialized shooter could ever want. But, it’s like the old saying, jack of All Trades, Master of None. It’s very, very hard to the point of impossible to make a lens with that much zoom perform as well as a lens with only 2 or 3x zoom. Does that mean they’re bad? Heck no. Optics have gotten so much better I’d wager these super-zooms outperform most of the consumer zooms designed for film all those years ago. But, don’t expect premium grade, either. There’s a reason the top lenses from any manufacturer are huge, short zoom, and high price.

But, if you don’t need the sharpest, fastest lens ever made period dot exclamation mark, an All-in-One lens is definitely a nice way to simplify your life and stress by removing lens swapping from your day-to-day shooting experiences. Interest piqued? Under Photo: Camera Lenses: Zooms (All-in-One) you’ll find our ever-growing selection of zooms with mighty ranges. Check it.