Understanding Zoom for Digital Cameras
When searching for a digital camera, companies always want to highlight and really advertise their numbers. You will boldly see the number of megapixels, the size of the LCD screen, the price, and the zoom. Be aware, they may be combining the digital zoom and the optical zoom together to appear larger. The only zoom that matters is the optical zoom; the following information will help you understand more about the zoom on your digital camera.
The optical zoom measures the increase in the focal length of the lens. The focal length is the distance between the center of the lens and the image sensor. By moving the lens farther from the image sensor inside the camera, the zoom increases because a smaller portion of the scene strikes the image sensor, resulting in magnification. Some cameras will let you stop the zoom at any point before reaching the full length of the zoom for a partial zoom; this is called a smooth zoom. Other cameras will use specific stops along the length of the zoom, limiting you to maybe four partial zoom positions.
Digital zoom is a technology where the camera shoots the photo and then crops and magnifies it to create an artificial close-up photo. This process requires magnifying pixels which can lower your picture quality. The digital zoom isn’t very important because you can crop your picture on your editing software on your computer. If you don’t have the software, then this is useful.
A zoom measurement can also be confusing. You will usually see it written as “10X”, and of course the higher the zoom number, the higher the magnification capability. The trick to understanding the zoom measurement is the fact that not every 10X is the same. The “multiplier” is the difference between the smallest and largest magnification measurements of the lens. For example, when looking at a camera with a 10X zoom, if the minimum magnification is 35mm, the camera would have a maximum zoom of 350mm. For some cameras, the minimum zoom may be 28mm, which makes the maximum zoom of only 280mm.
Digital cameras aimed at beginners typically only offer a built-in lens. These cameras are known as point-and- shoot cameras. On the other hand, digital SLR cameras lets you interchange your lens which means if your first lens doesn’t have a wide-angle or the zoom capabilities you want, you can purchase additional lenses with more zoom capabilities.
Choosing a point-and-shoot camera with a large optical zoom lens can have a few minor drawbacks. If you have a long zoom lens, you will need your camera to stay steady so you may need a tripod. When using the maximum zoom magnification, the shutter response time slows which may cause blurry photos. Maximum zoom can also cause pin-cushioning, which is when the left and right edges of the photo may look stretched. Before purchasing your camera, think about what you will use photos for and decide on your zoom measurement.
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