new to this

[fortune]

Just got my first ever digital SLR a Canon 300D . I have read on different forums that using the crop factor can give you almost the same shot with a lower zoom lens as a P&S camera with optical zoom. Can anyone explain to me the crop factor and how to achieve this. I have used the crop tool in photoshop on my previous pictures but I havent noticed an increase in the size of the subject. Sorry if this sounds stupid but I am completely new to this and would appreciate any help

[24Peter]

Well the crop factor on your camera (and many digital cameras) refers to the 35mm equivalent in terms of lens length of the camera. I'm sure someone else can explain this better, but basically the digital rebel's have a 1.6X crop factor due to the small size of the sensor (the chip that collects light). So to figure out your 35mm equivalent, multiple the length of the lens (mm) by 1.6. So a 300mm lens on your camera is roughly the same as a 480mm lens on a full frame digital /35mm film camera. In essence, your camera is "zooming in" on the center portion of an image, but only relative to a regular 35mm camera. There's really nothing to do with this since you can't change the sensor size. The only thing you can do is change lenses to get the desired field of view. That's kind of a basic explanation, but the point is, there isn't much to do about it. Just go shoot!