Compact Digital Cameras - Using Optical or Digital Zoom ?
Aug0
The best compact digital cameras are usually made with both digital and optical zoom so in what way do these work and which one should you be using? Let’s look at these two alternatives to establish which one is best to use for the type of images you will be producing.
The optical zoom in a compact digital camera is very similar in action to that of a 35mm film camera. The focal length of the lens is altered so that the subject appears much closer. The quality of the picture is maintained. On the other hand when using a digital zoom the quality would be affected since the picture is cropped and enlarged in the same way as computer software for editing images. The quality of the picture is severely affected, especially for very large images.
When using digital zoom the photo becomes blurry with loss of detail. Clearly optical zoom is far better and is almost always the recommended option. You can turn off the digital zoom in nearly all cameras and it’s recommended to do this to stop it automatically engaging if you were to zoom in close to an object. To take the best possible photograph attempt to get closer to the object. An additional tip is to set the camera to use the maximum available file size so that you can edit the image later without losing any of the detail.
While you are emailing images or using online digital zoom may be suitable but for printing out photos it is important to always use optical zoom. Buy a compact digital camera with the maximum possible optical zoom that you can afford and turn off the digital zoom. Most Canon compact cameras for instance can be purchased with both optical and digital zoom, often with systems to stabilise the image for enhanced closeups.