Most cameras specify the total magnification factor that can be provided by their respective cameras. However this can be misleading as there are two different types of zoom with respect to the camera: a digital zoom and an optical zoom. In both cases the image is magnified however there is a major variation when it comes to the quality of the reproduced image. Unlike the digital zoom; in case of optical zoom the image clarity is not affected.

Definitions:

Optical Zoom: – Optical zoom is obtained by moving the lens close to the subject and then shooting the picture without sacrificing the picture quality. The higher the optical zoom of a digital camera the farther you can move away from the subject yet being able to take close-up images. The optical zoom is  the visual zoom that was provided by film based cameras.

Digital Zoom: – In case of digital zoom the camera lens is not moved closer to the subject; but a section of the image is cropped by the camera and then is digitally magnified to fit the viewfinder portion. This adversely affects the image quality. Thus there is no gain of any additional image detail when digital magnification is used.

Working Methods:

Optical Zoom: – The lens of the camera collects the light rays and projects them onto an image sensor. The distance between the lens and the focal point is known as the focal length of the lens. A zoom lens has many movable glass elements inside and the focal length can be changed by adjusting these glass elements. The change in focal length in turn changes the depth of field thus causing the image to be projected. However the same number of pixels are captured even when the image is magnified, the difference lies in the rays that are projected onto the image sensor.

Digital Zoom: – In case of digital zoom the camera crops a particular section of the image and rescales the image to fit the picture size. In this case the pixel size is increased; thus it reproduces a blurry image.

Conclusion:

Which zoom you would like to choose depends on your individual comfort level, however while purchasing a digital camera it is better to lookout for an optical zoom rather than a digital zoom. If the camera does not offer any optical zoom it is better to have at least digital zoom. Surely optical zoom is superior as compared to the digital zoom as in case of optical zoom the picture quality is not affected while it gets blurred while using digital zoom.

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