Amazing Optical Zoom Power of Some Cameras

[emmpet8]

I started a thread in, "Talking about sounds" that recently had a couple of interesting comments about the powerful zooms available on some cameras. I found both interesting, but it's not sound related, so created this thread to talk more about camera zooms if anyone else wants too. There's a comment by LeStanf that made me smile a lot and a piece by reggind that made me think wow!!!

You can see their comments here if you want a look;

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6603&start=15

And if you want to add any info/comments on the subject, maybe this section would be more appropriate.

[emmpet8]

As I started the thread I may as well add some thoughts on the matter. The first being, that it would be great if only mics could zoom like some of the lenses on some digital compact cameras.

I've tried a couple and been amazed at the quality you get for the price. I tried a 50x zoom Canon and a 60x zoom Nikon. For me the Canon wins hands down, as comparatively the Nikon's auto-focus really struggles at full zoom. It might also be worth mentioning that the 50x and 60x are not referring to the telescopic factor. They are the zoom factor from wide angle to full zoom, so the telescopic factor doesn't increase by 10 if you go from 50 to 60.

For me though the big deal wasn't the technical spec. It was the fact that I could be a long way off and the subject wouldn't have a clue they were being videoed/photographed. I even managed to capture some interesting stuff on a beach, with the wife sat right next to me and she didn't have a clue what I was looking at either! It was video, so I did have to remove the audio track with the constant 'ear bashing' she was giving me

[LeStanf]

Hi,

This thread is perhaps a little off topic for us lovers of aural sex but what the heck, it's another self pleasure I do indulge in occasionally.

In addition to taking my camera on holidays (of course), a couple of times a year I visit Tel Aviv, where I stay in the Crown Plaza hotel on the sea front. The hotel has CCTV on every floor (as does every Israeli hotel I stay in) so recordings are not possible unless your immediate neighbours are feeling frisky, but it does have another virtue in that it is very tall (twenty floors I think) and is immediately opposite similarly lofty hotels on both sides. I always book high-floor rooms, then in the dark evenings after work I sit out on the balcony and watch the goings on in the rooms opposite.

Now, I'm not saying there is a feast of action every time I stay there, the Israelis are generally quite a conservative people and close their curtains out of habit, but there have been several occasions over the years when I have seen singles and couples walking naked around their rooms, two occasions when I've watched hetero couples having sex, and one glorious evening where I witnessed a lesbian pair undressing and making out. Alas, I only had binoculars with me at the time but It was this experience that led to me buying my Sony bridge camera with its 200x zoom lens - an absolutely amazing piece of technology that has brought me much pleasure since then. It has night vision and an anti-shake device - which must surely be among the most important tools in a voyeur's toolkit?

I can't recommend these things strongly enough, they open up a new spying experience that makes for a welcome light break for us aural enthusiasts. Oh, and they take lovely pictures too .

L.

[JohnGypsy]

I have one of the Nikons with the 60x optical zoom (the Coolpix P600). I got it specifically for voyeur stuff. I've gotten lucky a couple of times catching some couples in action from one hotel window to another. (I figure that if you're doing it with the windows open facing another hotel, then you shouldn't have much expectation of privacy really.)

At that zoom level, the video is pretty grainy, but it is better than nothing, of course. Like was said above, what works best is to book a high room that hopefully faces another hotel or section of your hotel - and hope for the best.

I've had my best luck at casino properties - such as in Vegas or other areas. Although I caught a decent one at Disney one time too! (I find that, at Disney, there is very little sound to record because people are there with their kids and don't want to make much noise when it comes to sex - but they'll still do it with their windows open!)

This site doesn't really have a section for this sort of thing. I'd be interested in sharing if others would be too. Yeppie? Are you cool with us uploading a few grainy videos now and then? Or would they be too big? Maybe we can host them somewhere else?

If we can't do them here, then I'd be willing to share directly with anyone that has something to share themselves. I don't have a ton - just 2-3 grainy videos.

[yeppie]

This site doesn't really have a section for this sort of thing. I'd be interested in sharing if others would be too. Yeppie? Are you cool with us uploading a few grainy videos now and then? Or would they be too big? Maybe we can host them somewhere else?

Funny that I was just today thinking about this!

I miss the good old voyeur sites on the net and those where people could upload their homemade bedroom clips ... today all seems to have turned into porn, even homemade videos try to copy porn "aesthetics" only to completely lose their erotic appeal.
So I wondered if having a community like sexsoundlovers for this kind of material would be a good idea.

What does everybody else think? Should we have a new section for voyeur clips as JohnGipsy suggested? Would this dilute the character of sexsoundlovers? Or should we start another site following the same principles as this community?

I´d be really interested to know your thoughts. In the meantime, JohnGipsy, why don´t you show us your grainy clips in the "something to look at" section? You can upload around 50mb per attachment.

[georgehale]

I think if the clips are genuine and taken personally by a site user, such postings would be great! And totally within the remit of the forum. All for it.

[reggind]

I agree, as long as they don't start to overrun the place and they are truly home made.

[physicist]

Funny that I was just today thinking about this!

I miss the good old voyeur sites on the net and those where people could upload their homemade bedroom clips ... today all seems to have turned into porn, even homemade videos try to copy porn "aesthetics" only to completely lose their erotic appeal.
So I wondered if having a community like sexsoundlovers for this kind of material would be a good idea.

What does everybody else think? Should we have a new section for voyeur clips as JohnGipsy suggested? Would this dilute the character of sexsoundlovers? Or should we start another site following the same principles as this community?

I´d be really interested to know your thoughts. In the meantime, JohnGipsy, why don´t you show us your grainy clips in the "something to look at" section? You can upload around 50mb per attachment.

This site is unique in the sense that it is probably one of the last remaining few to host such a topic. No other forum comes close in terms of sounds. There are a few voyeur sites but thats about all. Some require you to pay to access videos and sometimes I don't know if they are genuine so I could pay upfront.

Regardless, I think a test run of the sort might be appropriate. Its one video forum, I mean whats it going to do? Maybe a beta test where only regulars/uploaders can access, then we might open it to everyone else. I doubt anyone would post private videos of their own recordings as if they wanted to do that there are many sites to upload to and link it here. This would have already happened but it hasn't really so far.

If you decide to go with the beta test idea with limited users perhaps yeppie wouldn't mind getting PMed if a user doesn't have access and wanted to upload content there. Every little bit counts :p

Therefore I think its within the spirit of the forum and I hope we can test it out. I don't think anyone would object but if its ruining what this forum is about I might be the first to object :p

[JohnGypsy]

I kinda like the idea of the video section, for now at least, being member only? With the sounds, it isn't as big a deal to me if they get out "in the wild" as you can't really tell where they are or who they are. But, for a video (even a grainy one), it feels a bit more "identifiable" or something.

So, maybe a test section for real voyeur videos that we share - that is a members-only section? Is that possible?

That being said, I'm not currently a member, but I've never made a request to the powers-that-be to be added based on my content uploads. I've posted quite a few sounds that I recorded myself, so I think I'd get approved. I'll try to make that request soon just in case this all works out with the video section.

Thanks, yeppie!

[physicist]

I kinda like the idea of the video section, for now at least, being member only? With the sounds, it isn't as big a deal to me if they get out "in the wild" as you can't really tell where they are or who they are. But, for a video (even a grainy one), it feels a bit more "identifiable" or something.

So, maybe a test section for real voyeur videos that we share - that is a members-only section? Is that possible?

That being said, I'm not currently a member, but I've never made a request to the powers-that-be to be added based on my content uploads. I've posted quite a few sounds that I recorded myself, so I think I'd get approved. I'll try to make that request soon just in case this all works out with the video section.

Thanks, yeppie!

You are a member in a sense. Only registered members can download files.

However, I get what you are saying. You'd be much more comfortable if only respected and trusted "active members" were allowed, which I agree with when it comes to video.

Yeppie can make it happen I think.

[emmpet8]

I have one of the Nikons with the 60x optical zoom (the Coolpix P600).

Thanks for commenting. I first used a Canon SX50 and then tried the P600 but wasn't impressed. Compared to the Canon the autofocus of the Nikon really struggled at full zoom. I can imagine this might not be such big deal for hotel windows, but I got fed up and sold it.

sadly, I hardly ever use hotels, but will keep the idea in mind if I do.

[emmpet8]

today all seems to have turned into porn, even homemade videos try to copy porn "aesthetics" only to completely lose their erotic appeal.

[/quote]


I completely agree with this statement and also find it sad, as 'real' is the big deal for me.

As for a new section/site to share. A worry for me about a new section, would be that it attracted lots of the same sort of fake/exhibitionist material. I say this because, apart from being a great community, SSL seems to keep it's integrity well. On that subject, another worry would be that it might attract new members who have little interest in the sounds we enjoy.

Some interesting comments from others though, so might be worth a trial

[JohnGypsy]

I have one of the Nikons with the 60x optical zoom (the Coolpix P600).

Thanks for commenting. I first used a Canon SX50 and then tried the P600 but wasn't impressed. Compared to the Canon the autofocus of the Nikon really struggled at full zoom. I can imagine this might not be such big deal for hotel windows, but I got fed up and sold it.

Been a few months since I visited, but just following up on this old post. I agree with you about the auto-focus on the Nikon. It is actually pretty good with good lighting even at full zoom -- but it struggles in low light. When I'm doing the night-time voyeur shots with it, I switch it over to manual focus. Or, I do a combination of manual/auto. I find something on the building that is well let near the window that I want and auto-focus to it. Then I move to the window and can do the minor manual adjustments pretty easily.

How does the Canon SX50 do in low light then? Pretty good auto-focus even at low-light and full zoom? I'd consider switching over.

Either that or I'll try to find a deal on a used Nikon P900 with the 83x zoom.