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4. Optical vs.
Digital Zoom (continued)
When optical and zoom lenses are
incorporated into one camera, their magnification ratio is the
product of the two. In other words, a camera with a 3X optical
zoom and a 2X digital zoom has a total zoom range of 6X.
Though
optical is preferable to digital, in terms of quality, the
combined magnification is often an acceptable compromise when no
other solution is available. And since digital interpolation is a
hit-or-miss process, it sometimes produces results almost equal to
optical.
5. How Many
Megapixels Do I Need?
One of the most commonly asked questions in digital photography is
"How many pixels are enough?" Many beginners
believe, incidentally, that a higher pixel count denotes a better
quality camera, and this is not necessarily the case. Often the
pixel count is interpolated, and is not a true indicator of
quality.
Manufacturers rate their
camera by megapixels (millions of pixels). This rating is based on
the highest quality image setting of the camera.
For example, the
Nikon D80 lists these specifications in the owner's manual:
• 3872 x 2592 (Large, 10.0 MP)
• 2896 x 1944 (Medium, 5.6 MP)
• 1936 x 1296 (Small, 2.5 MP)
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