difference

[ipdesigner]

*im just curious about OPTICAL ZOOM and DIGITAL ZOOM, what is the difference? which one is better?

 

*thnx!

[STRAT]

optical is better by a zillion miles. infact, dont even look at the digital zoom facility in deciding when buying a digicam. it's really isn't worth diddly is digi zoom.

 

optical zoom (X3 on most standard cams) is what you actually see through the lense, where as digital zoom is when the computer zooms in on what the opticals zoom's extents are. ie, the optical zoom will zoom perfectly to say X 3 magnification, then the digital zoom will zoom in on that image further still.

 

The digital zoom is like the zoom function in photoshop - it doesnt physically magnify what the lense sees, but it zooms in on the lense's final image. the results is usually bitty, pixelated and not worth the bother.

[ipdesigner]

*thnx STRAT, acutally i bought one digicam before, that was 1 and a half years ago, its SONY CYBERSHOT DSC-P31, its the first generation digicam here but i already give it to somebody, and that time i dont have any ideas about these zoom effects..

 

*but now, im planning to buy again another one and be aware of special features,,..thnx for the advice

[karankundra]

On an optical zoom the lens actually moves to do the zoom. On a digital zoom it is done electronically by just increasing the size of the image. Optical zoom is much better. You can always do the digital zoom yourself with a photo editing program.