Comparison Between Digital Zoom And Optical Zoom

These two often confuse the average camera buyer, until you know what they are and which one you prefer the most. Both optical zoom and digital zoom are expressed in multiples, for example 3x or 4x etc. Some digital cameras offer more of the digital zoom than optical zoom, while others offer both in reasonable measure. It is essential to learn about these zoom types before you buy a digital camera.
Optical zoom operates much like the normal zoom lens on a 35 mm in an ordinary film camera. It changes the length of your camera’s lens and draws the subject closer or farther to you. The optical zoom preserves the quality of the image taken. Digital zoom works differently. It simply selects a part of the picture and enlarges it leaving the remaining picture. It is similar to crop function in any image software. It results in reduced quality. The more you zoom, the more you lose quality.
In essence, digital zoom only magnifies a portion of the picture. The magnified picture may look diluted or unfocused. Details are lost. Some digital cameras offer digital zoom in the range of 100x. If the digital camera exceptionally high resolution, such a magnification may not cause much loss in quality. However, normally, there will be noticeable loss of clarity in the picture with digital zoom. It is better to the digital zoom feature off, if you have optical zoom option in your camera. You can achieve the same results as a digital zoom with any of the image editing software. This will prevent the photographer from automatically zooming in too close as the digital zoom is often an extension of the optical.
There are a few ways get a closer view of your subject without losing quality. You can move closer to the subject, often a foot or two, when taking a picture. If this is not possible, you can take picture at the highest resolution possible and maximum file size options so that you can include as much detail and quality possible. Then the picture can be cropped to get a clear image of your subject, even after cropping.
Digital zoom is still valuable. It can be used if you need to send images over the internet or share with your friends. It is often required that the file sizes should be low for sharing over the internet and between mobiles. Therefore, a low quality and lesser file size is always preferable. If your goal is printing, however, seek a camera that has a greater optical zoom and turn off the digital zoom. Your pictures will be of a better quality, even if they are not as close up.

About the Author

Jaya Kumar Patchala, is a PR Executive at Foostor – Online shopping mall in India.