Optical Zoom & Digital Zoom

What is key when buying a camera?

The Bottom Line

Optical zoom is the only thing that's important.

Although some salespeople might argue with this, when buying a digital camera, my suggestion is to completely ignore all digital zoom figures.

Digital zoom has absolutely no impact on being able to take a photograph of a distant subject by zooming in on it.

The main reason salespeople like to include optical zoom in the equation is because advertising loves to give you the digital camera's "zoom factor." Multiply a 3X Digital Zoom by a 5X Optical Zoom, and you have a 15X Zoom factor... a completely worthless and MISLEADING number!!


How Much Optical Zoom Do You Need?

Generally speaking, the more zoom, the more expensive the digital camera. Note that with digital SLRs, the type of lens you use with the camera is bought separately (or, included in a "kit") and connected to the body of the camera.

Non-SLRs have the body and lens as one integrated piece of equipment. When deciding on which camera to purchase, it will have a zoom factor such as 3X, 7X, etc. The higher the number, the greater the magnification the camera can produce.

The one critical question you should ask yourself is how much zoom do you need for the type of photography you do? Realize that even if you need a lesser zoom for most of your photos, there will always be times where a greater zoom can be useful.

If you primarily take photos of friends and family in social situations, a 3x zoom should be sufficient.

If you plan to take photographs of landscapes, wildlife, or architectural elements, you want to have at least a 5X zoom (more, if you can afford it). A high zoom factor will allow you to take pictures from greater distances, without sacrificing detail.

For situations such as sporting events where you can't get close to the action, my suggestion is to go with at least a 7X or 10X zoom factor.

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