Camcorders why can't the optical zoom be high the more megapixels your still camera has?

Question

I'm shopping for a camcorder/camera. Specifically a hybrid SD/HDD. I want a high optical zoom with a high megapixel resolution for the still camera. There doesn't seem to be one in the consumer market. Why is this? Is it something technical with the way the camera functions?

Answer 1

A high-res camera can take a single picture, process it, and then let you take the next one after a few seconds.

A video camera needs to take and process 30 frames/sec. The more pixels it has, the more processing power it needs, and the more expensive it will be

So the requirements of still cameras and video cameras are quite different - quality of stills vs capturing and storing video

Optical zoom has to do with "power"/mechanics of the lens and nothing to do with megapixels. The higher the zoom, the more expensive (and bigger) it is.