Point and Shoot lense question

[timbernet]

I don't use point and shoots anymore, but when looking through Popular Photography I saw something that caught my eye...

The P&S has 3x zoom and says "35-105mm equivalent".... Umm - how does that work? Do they just have a really large crop factor?
I don't see how a lense smaller than my thumb can have a 105mm equivalent rating.

[oic929]

105/35=3x zoom
Crop factor is probably 6 or something, which makes it 105

[pcasciola]

Yes, most point and shoots have very small sensors with extremely high crop factors when compared to 35mm full frame. Some are even 5x or 6x if I remember correctly.

EDIT: I just looked up the PowerShot S500 and it says 7.4-22.2 mm lens (35mm film equivalent: 36—108 mm). That's almost a 5x crop factor in relation to full frame.

[timbernet]

Thanks!