The best compact digital cameras are typically equipped with both digital and optical zoom so in what way do these work and which one should you be using? Let’s consider these two alternatives and see which one is best for the different types of photos you will be producing.

The optical zoom in a compact digital camera works in a similar way to that of a 35mm film camera. It works by changing the focal length of the lens to make the subject appear much closer. The picture quality is kept. However when using a digital zoom the quality of the picture is affected as the picture is cropped and blown up in a similar way to software on your computer for image editing. The quality of the picture is badly affected, even more so for very large pictures.

With digital zoom the photo can become out of focus with loss of detail. Obviously optical zoom is considerably better and is generally the recommended choice. Digital zoom can usually be turned off in most cameras and it’s recommended to do this to stop it automatically engaging if you zoom in close to an object. So that you can take the very best image try to get nearer to the object. An additional suggestion is to adjust the settings on the camera to make use of the highest available file size so that you can edit the image afterwards without loss of the detail.

While you are emailing images or using online digital zoom will probably be suitable however for printing it is important to always use optical zoom. Choose a compact digital camera with the maximum available optical zoom you can manage to pay for and turn off the digital zoom. Nearly all Canon compact cameras for example are available with both digital and optical zoom, frequently with optical image stabilising systems for improved closeups.