How do I know what focal length my zoom is on?

[dmateer@bigpond.com]

I have a new Powershot S60 - what a great camera! I assume the camera defaults to 28mm focal length when started up then moves through to 110mm. There is a visual indicator on the screen showing the zoom but no indication of of focal length - how do I know Ive reached 50mm for instance? Does one touch on the zoom button step the lens through a designated amount, and if so how much is each touch of the button?
Thanks in anticipation .....

[Jon]

You don't. Even if there were a readout, you'd find that getting an exact desired focal length would be a long, tedious process. The only ways to tell are:

Create a template for the different angles of coverage, and use that as your zoom guide
After the fact, read the focal length used from the EXIF data.
But why worry about what focal length you're using? Just zoom and move until you have the composition you want.

[Ikinaa]

I once read about someone (don't know where) who wrote the focal lengths on the barrel of the lens. As the barrel turns around when zooming, you can use a (water-resistent) marker to draw little lines on the barrel, and one reference line on the body near the barrel. First you draw the one for the minimum focal length, the for the maximum focal length. Then make lines every few millimeters, take shots at every line and look in the exif to know the focal length.
I don't know if the barrel turning is a linear function or not. If it's linear, you don't have to read the exif.
With this method, the next time you shoot, you know the focal length you are at when zooming...

[dmateer@bigpond.com]

Thanks guys - I love these forums! The main reason I was interested in focal length was that Id that 50mm was the least distorted view of the face for portraiture, and I wanted to know when I was getting into wide angle territory. Thanks for the tip re making a template and marking the zoom - I think Ill be able to figure out the increments of zoom every time I touch the zoom button also.
By the way, the camera seems to display all info except focal length - I know this can be displayed on the computer but cant find it the shot info anywhere in Image Browser or Photoshop.

[Jon]

There should be a FocalLength EXIF tag in there. You won't see 50 mm there, because your camera's lens has a focal length range of 5.8 to 20.7 mm., corresponding to 35 mm's 28-100 mm zoom.