HELP DESK
Zoom matters in digital cameras
By Kim Komando
Gannett News Service
Digital camera advertising often emphasizes megapixels. Buyers focus on this and tend to give the zoom lens little thought. That's a mistake.
A good zoom can give a distant subject excellent detail. Today's crop of 10x optical zoom cameras provides great flexibility at a reasonable price.
There are a number of three megapixel, 10X optical zoom cameras on the market — the Fujifilm FinePix S5000 ($399.95), Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z1 ($499.95), Olympus C-740 ($399) and Toshiba PDR-M700 ($499.95).
The optical lens numbers on digital cameras can be compared to 35 mm film cameras. The FujiFilm S5000, for instance, is the equivalent of 37 mm at 1X. At 10X, its lens is the equivalent of 370 mm. The more you zoom into a subject, the greater the magnification.
This is important when you cannot get up close and personal. If, for instance, your son is celebrating a touchdown in the end zone, you can shoot his picture from the stands. Snapping such a picture without a powerful zoom isn't really possible.
On my Web site I have two pictures, one taken using the 1X optical zoom and the other at 10X. The difference is striking. They're at www.komando.com/kolumns10xzoom.asp.
Optical zoom should not be confused with digital zoom.
Digital zooms crop part of the subject and enlarge it to fill the screen. This spreads the pixels and degrades the picture. Digital zoom attempts to compensate by adding pixels in a bit of guesswork called "interpolation." This generally doesn't work well. Although there are times when digital zoom is useful, optical zoom is much more important in the buying decision.
Manufacturers often market cameras with a total zoom figure. This is the optical zoom number, multiplied by digital zoom.
For example, the Fujifilm S5000 offers a 2.2X digital zoom, in addition to the 10X optical zoom. Fujifilm promotes the camera as having a total 22X zoom. You'll be better off looking at the optical and digital numbers individually and giving more weight to optical zoom.
The powerful optical zoom does have a downside: It can be difficult to hold steady. Any movement on your part is magnified, resulting in a fuzzy picture. You may find a tripod helpful.
Many digital cameras have a tripod mount on the bottom of the camera. Portable tripods fold into a compact 4-inch length that fits into a pocket or camera bag.
Or look for stationary objects — a bench, car, etc. — on which to rest the camera. You can improvise and still get excellent pictures.
If this is your first digital camera, you may want to get some advice. Otherwise, you could fail to focus on other features that are important to you.
Specialty camera shops usually have knowledgeable people who can guide you around pitfalls. They should be willing to let you try different makes and models without feeling rushed. Expect to pay list price.
If you know what you want, you can save $100 or more on the Web. Many Internet retailers carry these cameras at significant discounts. Use shopping sites such as Shopping.com, BizRate.com and PriceGrabber.com.
Before buying from any store, online or not, clarify that the camera is new, not refurbished or remanufactured, and that it has a U.S. warranty.
There are many camera test sites on the Internet to help you make a decision. Try DPReview.com, DCResource.com and Imaging-Resource.com.
Reach Kim Komando via her Web site at www.komando.com.
