I have Canon 18-135 and 70-300 zoom lenses. People ask me how much zoom my camera supports.
What am I supposed to tell them?
"135 ÷ 18 = 7.5" and "300 ÷ 70 = 4.2"?
Answer
As you've pointed out, the question is meaningless in absolute terms. People whose exposure to photography starts and ends with point-and-shoot cameras don't really know what the term means.
They'll be thinking in terms of compact cameras, and the "zoom" on those goes from a moderate wide angle (about the 20mm mark on your lens, which is about 32mm equivalent on a full-frame sensor) as "1" to some multiple. The long end of your telephoto zoom is 300mm, or about "15x" in terms they'll understand.
If they seem disappointed that all you get is "15x" with that "huge" lens, you can always mention that there's an accessory you can get to go to 80x (that'd be the 800mm f/5.6 with a 2x teleconverter, and together they're about the price of an "entry level" automobile, but you don't need to mention that part). That'll kill the disappointment.
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