Exactly.

This picture was shot from shore at a distance of about 50 meters, using 35mm equivalent focal length of 600mm, f4@1/1300 sec. You don't get that picture with a 3:1 zoom, squinting in bright sunlight at a washed-out screen with the camera waving around a foot in front of your face.

It was taken during our annual "Kids Day" event in which we introduce children to the joys of kayaking. The water is maybe two feet deep, and a club member holds onto a rope tied to the back of the kayak. Under those conditions, relatively few of the kids actually drown.

tanstaafl.