Misread. It's 4.3mm - 190.4mm which gives the 44x, and the crop factor is 5.6x, which is a 1/2.3" sensor, the same size found in SX260 HS (and many other P&S cameras).
At the long end it's f/7.1 - that's pretty dark (and likely beyond the aperture where the diffraction penalty starts for a 12-14 MP 1/2.3" sensor).
Ah -- thanks. Makes sense.
Your correction, that is...the lens doesn't. Sounds like it originated entirely within the marketing department. "Hey! I know! Let's create a 100x superultramegazoom that tops out at a
billion million thousand at the long end!"
I'll guarantee you that every photographer and engineer at Canon who worked on it had to suppress multiple exclamations of, "Just what kind of crack
are you smoking?"
Ignore the optics for a moment. Can you imagine the sort of camera shake you'll get with a 1000mm equivalent held at arm's length? Now, add back in the optics, plus the small sensor, plus the fact that there's no mention of mechanical stabilization...we're talking an expensive paperweight here that's only good for making impressionistic blurs barely distinguishable from the high ISO noise.
Cheers,
b&