A word about Digital Zoom

For those of you who own a digital point-and-shoot camera: Digital zoom is a marketing gimmick and nothing remotely useful for photographic purposes. Do. Not. Ever. Use. It.

Stick with optical zoom. Optical zoom records everything that can be captured by the lens itself. Once you go beyond the optical range into digital zoom, the camera begins to split pixels in an effort to digitally enlarge the largest image afforded by the lens. The farther you go into the digital zoom range, the lower the quality of the image.

If you’re trying to capture a picture of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, a flying saucer or Elvis, I can perhaps see a use for digital zoom. Otherwise, stick to digital zoom.

You'll thank me later. That is, unless you run into Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, a flying saucer or Elvis.