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What To Look For
When shopping for a digital camera, you are likely to see two different numbers for zoom listed, one of which is greater than the other. Zoom enables you to photo objects at a distance and make them seem closer than they are. However, optical zoom is the important zoom. With optical zoom, the glass of the lens is used to magnify the image, so there is no loss of resolution when using optical zoom. With digital zoom, the camera isn't zooming in the on the image. Instead, the image is cropped, then re-sized back to the original size. When doing this, image quality is lost. It is similar to using Photoshop or other image editing software to crop an image.
Common Pitfalls
Camera manufacturers have done a good job of selling megapixels as a defining characteristic of digital cameras. A one megapixel difference in cameras is not going to be substantial enough when using a digital zoom to make up for the loss of resolution when compared to a camera that uses optical zoom to enlarge the image at a one megapixel less resolution.
Where To Buy
When buying a digital camera, it is best to go to a local camera shop that has knowledgeable salespeople who can explain more of the differences in lenses, optics, zooms and megapixels. Several online shops are also good.
Cost
All digital cameras have some digital zoom built into them, even D-SLRs. Camera prices range from $100 for basic point and shoots to $8,000 for professional D-SLRs (2010 prices).
