Digital Advent Calendar 2010 - Day 2

Stay away from digital zoom

Digital compact cameras have both an optical zoom and a digital zoom.  Now, even though you may get more at the telephoto end, I recommend you turn off the digital zoom in your camera’s menu.  This is because it is not the lens doing the work; the camera is trying to emulate the effect of a longer lens by magnifying the existing pixels from the end point of the optical zoom.  By sticking to the optical zoom your lens is doing all the work which gives you the best chance of sharp photos.

-Ben