Zoom and Focal Length

[Marcusluvsgreen]

No idea what happened to my post just now but it disappeared so im reposting...
So i came across 2 lenses of similar focal length but differing zooms... i always thought focal length is equivalent to zoom... so i guess it isnt... so my question is... what is the difference between zoom and focal length

 

[An drew]

Zoom means you can vary the focal length. E g. 24-70 means you can shoot between focal length of 24mm to 70 mm.

 

[Octarine]

Something to read: Understanding Camera Lenses
First of all, forget the word zoom when it comes with funky numbers (e.g. 11x zoom) - it's marketing crap. What matters is only the focal length (used at a certain sensor format).