by Tan Chong Yaw

AS A teen, I wanted to be like the Six Million Dollar Man.

The TV hero of the mid-70s could sprint as fast as 100kmh and had the might of a bulldozer in his right arm. I wanted those superhuman powers too. It was tantalisingly believable because technology was behind it - not some fairy magic.

Played by actor Lee Majors, the hero, former astronaut Steve Austin, was rebuilt with bionic parts - to the tune of $6 million - after he was injured in a plane crash.

For me, his most thrilling upgrade was the bionic left eye with a 20x zoom. The electronic throbbing sound that played whenever his eye zoomed in on a distant object is forever etched in my mind.

Today, I have the technology to beat the bionic man or, at least, his super vision. No operations are needed - just a little flash memory camcorder.

These standard definition gizmos are smaller and lighter than a can of soft drink and cost less than $700 each. However, they pack a mammoth zoom of 60x and more.

Camcorders usually feature zooms in the 30x to 40x range. Two flash memory ultra-zoom models in the market are the Sony DCR-SX40 ($669) with a 60x zoom and the Panasonic SDR-S26 ($599) with a 70x zoom.

Such camcorders can be made tiny because video footage is stored in a flash memory card the size of a postage stamp, unlike those which use DVD or tape.

The SX40 boasts a touchscreen LCD which some may prefer over the joystick control used in the S26.

The Panasonic has an optical image stabiliser which works better than the electronic one in Sony's model. I tested both of them but used the results for the S26 here as it had the more extreme zoom.

So does the fantastic zoom work? Absolutely.

The electricity meter from 15m away.

I could see clearly enough to rattle off the meter reading of the electricity meter of a HDB flat in the next block 15m away.

Even the fine print, "Property of PowerGrid Ltd", below the barcode on the face of the meter was visible.

From the banks of the Singapore River at the foot of the UOB Plaza, I could see the Victoria Theatre clock tower more than 300m away, and zoomed in on a weed that had made its home between the Roman numerals of V and VI on the clock face.

Standing on the balcony of an apartment at Cavenagh Road, I could tell that the walls outside the Chatterbox restaurant, which had temporarily moved to the top of the Meritus Mandarin hotel, were due for a paint job. The hotel was about 600m from where I was.

Here, though, is the first catch. There was no way I could hold the camcorder steady at 70x zoom.

The Chatterbox restaurant from 600m away at 70x zoom.

My very breathing moved the camera. When I held my breath, the little quivers of my hand were picked up on the LCD. Frankly, it looked like I was filming an earthquake that was rocking the earth at full force.

Mind you, I held the camcorder using both hands with my elbows braced against my body for added stability. I was also breathing evenly and slowly.

The best I could do - and this is with optical stabilisation working overtime - was to settle for 30x zoom. I tried a monopod, a one-legged camera stand. I even braced that against a low wall. Even then, I could barely hold the camcorder steady at 40x zoom.

Only when I mounted the device on a tripod - and with my hands completely off it - could I get a steady shot. Even then, the slightest touch - like when I pressed a button to take a photo - would set the camera wobbling.

Now, catch No. 2: image quality. To have such a huge zoom range in a little body, the image sensor must be minute. The images seen on this page are at the maximum resolution of 0.38 megapixels. This is puny even for a cellphone camera.

The images lacked the punch and clarity of the camcorders with larger sensors - usually the ones with a zoom range of 10x to 15x.

Given my experience, I would say stick to the Panasonic's or Sony's lower zoom range - say up to 30x. In daylight, it would be excellent for that family trip to the zoo.

Sony DCR-SX40

For bragging rights, you could tell a DSLR user that the longest lens he could possibly lay his hands on is a 594mm long Reflex-Nikkor 2,000mm f/11. Mounted on an ordinary DSLR, the telephoto would be multiplied to 3,000mm. However, the lens itself needs a tripod as it weighs 17.5kg.

The price of the lens is not available as it must be specially ordered.

A fully-loaded S26 sports a maximum telephoto of 3,194mm, weighs only 257g and is so small you can slip it into the pocket of a pair of baggy pants.

After testing the ultra-zoom camcorders, I now understand why Lee Majors had a frozen look when focusing with his bionic eye: He needed to keep his head still so that he could get a steady image.

Or was it just his limited acting skills?

cytan@sph.com.sg

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