Most people who have used a 35mm camera previously or solely aware of only optical zoom. Optical zoom uses lens of the camera to bring the subject closer. Digital zoom is actually an invention of the digital revolution. It is not uncommon to see some digital cameras and video cameras with over 100x zoom.



For our purpose, digital zoom is not really zoom in fact the word zoom is kind of misleading. What digital zoom actually does is simply enlarges a section of the photo, In other words, the camera removes an element of the image and then enlarges it back to size. In so doing, you will lose the crispness of your image and the quality will become poor. So if you have been using digital zoom and wondering why the quality gets worse, now you know why!

Is digital zoom therefore worthless? No, no it is not. It's a feature that you might want in your digital camera and actually you will find that all digital cameras in the market come equipped with digital zoom, however interestingly enough, even if your digital camera did not have digital zoom, you could still recreate the effects by using editing software. For example, if the camera has 3x digital zoom, you can recreate this by uploading the image to your laptop/PC and then cropping part of the image you want and then enlarging it yourself, doing it this way actually gives you more control.

Even though you may have already come to the conclusion that optical zoom is better, remember that Optical and Digital zoom both have their places in digital photography. Digital zoom can be very useful for a shot if no detail is required, but you need to get closer to your subject, for example a landscape shot. However Optical zoom can be useful for a very detailed shot, such as a great piece of architecture etc.

So what should you consider when looking to buy your next digital camera? It is simple, look for a good optical zoom. The average person will find a great optical zoom better then a great digital zoom. Also remember what was said, you can actually recreate the effects of digital zoom. Therefore when choosing your next digital camera, ensure that optical zoom comparison is top of your list, if you choose a camera with a high optical zoom, you will not be disappointed.