optical zoom vs digital zoom

Are you unsure about the differences between Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom?
Which is better: 8X Optical with 3X Digital, or 8X Digital with 3X Optical?

Let me go off on a tangent and fill you in on some technical aspects on resolution and how we see.
The amount of pixels in a picture is the resolution. Simply put, it is how many triangles of information are crammed into a given area. Yes, pixels are actually triangles :)
A 10 megapixel camera has more information that an 8 megapixel camera. Now, the difference of 2 megapixels is not that much. It's simply a selling feature. (don't even start me on the instant gratification thing :)

However, the human eye sees at least 324 megapixels! So a 10 megapixel image is only 3% of the capability of the human eye. To understand more of this see my post.

When we see something, our vision fills in the blanks, fills in the bits of missing information. When we look at a digital image we think it's good, because our eyes are playing tricks on us by filling in the bits of missing information. But put a 4x6" print under 8X magnification and you can see the pixels.

Ok, now onto a real example. In 2006 I was photographing an eagle at the far end of a pier. I was shooting at 1200mm. The image of the eagle filled the viewfinder. When I was done, I looked over at some people who were photographing the same eagle with digital cameras. All they were getting was a black smudge. When they magnified it, it was just a larger black smudge.

I was using optical magnification to obtain a better image, ergo more information. The digital cameras were trying to use digital magnification to get an image. Digital magnification cannot compare to optical magnification.
The more information you can obtain optically is better than trying to digitally magnify information which isn't there.

More thoughts on digital vs film

What really cracks me up about digital is how desperately digital cameras are trying to make the images they produce look "real". The companies say: "you can install this software and play around with these filters". But on matter what is done, the images are still of lesser quality. They are a digital "mis"-representation. But we are conned into believing the digital images are superior. Sorry folks, I hate to burst your bubble, but you are being hood-winked.