re: Anybody know why they didn't put some kind of telescopic lens attachments on the panoramic camera?
They basically do that already. All nine cameras are identical except for the optics. They all use the same 1024 x 1024 black and white CCD chip.
The four HazCams have a wide angle lens, the two NavCams have a normal lens, the two Pancam has a narrow angle lens (zoom), and the Microscopic Imager has an extremely narrow angle lens. All the cameras have fixed focus. Only the PanCams have filter wheels
the Field of View numbers are
------------------------------
HazCams = 127 degrees
NavCams = 45 degrees
PanCams = 16.8 degrees
Microscopic Imager = 30.3 microns/pixel (when in focus)
They have both nav and pan cameras so that they can zoom. It is more reliable just to have multiple cameras then mechanical zoom.