Zoom question

[Sarah Good Times]

Point and shoot, if that matters.

In terms of clarity, is it better to zoom in or to be zoomed out and do the zooming with picture software later?

[Yogi]

Zoom in as close as you can while shooting. That often means getting physically close and then zooming in.

I've noticed that post-processing adjustments (cropping/straightening) often mean loss in quality. That might not be the case with super professional software but that shit is $$$$... in Gimp, Picasa, etc, you will lose quality the more you play around with the exposure.

[Yogi]

Also, a photo taken from a distance might not be in perfect focus... which you won't realize until you try to crop and then resize. So it's better to get it as close to what you want while shooting and then just do minor retouching afterwards.

That is strictly my opinion.

[omega lambda]

Yogi is correct - zoom with both your feet and the lens. 

The difference between the two in your question though is that if you zoom with the lens (and your feet), the image you take will be the subject you want and all of the pixels will be used to make the photo you want, so you'll have a full resolution photo and you can do whatever you want with that; crop it, print it, print it really big (30" x 40" for example).  If you use software to zoom in on a much smaller part of a photo, your resulting photo will be far fewer pixels and you'll be throwing away the rest of them and you will not have a full resolution photo.   Depending on how much software zooming (or cropping) you do, you might you will be limited in what you can do with it, and you might not even get an 8x10 photo out of it without it being pixelated.

I also just realized that by clarity, you might also be referring to what is in focus.  The answer is the same though, because as you zoom in with the lens, you're also telling the camera what is important to you and therefore what you want in focus.  You may still have a little trouble, so make sure that you actually hear the focus lock beep and that the square for the focus point is directly over the subject you want in focus.  At high zooms, this is really important.

[Yogi]

 

[Sarah Good Times]

Thank you! But why do my pics always look super crappy any time I zoom quite a bit? Like if I'm far away from an object and try to zoom in...

[omega lambda]

Thank you! But why do my pics always look super crappy any time I zoom quite a bit? Like if I'm far away from an object and try to zoom in...

Can you describe supper crappy in other terms?  Or maybe post a photo or two as examples?  There could be a lot of different things going on.

I'll start by saying though, that every lens has a sweet spot and that is where the photos will have good contrast, clarity and little or no distortion.  Typically, the more you pay for a lens, the better it's quality.  Point and shoot cameras are not known for their superior lens quality, but usually that's okay because most people don't get big prints (or any prints!) from their cameras anymore. 

[radial]

Well, there is optical zoom and digital zoom.  Mos cameras do true optical zoom up to a point.  And then for higher magnification, they revert to digital zoom.  There is a vast difference between the two.  The former tends to preserve picture quality while the latter is basically a software trick and doesn't really enhance the quality of your pictures.  Check the documentation for your camera to figure out which type of zoom you are using, and when, and how to control your zoom options in the moment.  As others have noted, the very best way to get close up pictures is to get physically closer to the subject of your photos. 

[Sir Real]

Thank you! But why do my pics always look super crappy any time I zoom quite a bit? Like if I'm far away from an object and try to zoom in...

Also, blurring from any camera shake is more prominent the further you zoom.

[rocketgirl]

Also, blurring from any camera shake is more prominent the further you zoom.

1. I am having this problem.

[Yogi]

Thank you! But why do my pics always look super crappy any time I zoom quite a bit? Like if I'm far away from an object and try to zoom in...

Are you making sure your auto focus is getting a chance to kick in before you shoot? Also, the closer in you are the more evident any camera shake (blur) will be. You have to be super steady when in close if you want a sharp photo.

Are you using the viewfinder? Make sure you do. Holding the camera against your face reduces camera shake. Don't just hold it out the way you do when you use your iphone (or whatever you have).

[Sarah Good Times]

Okay, first, no viewfinder.  It's a Canon Powershot Elph that i bought new probably 8 years ago now.  It's itty bitty.

But I think the optical vs. digital zoom is probably a factor.  When I'm looking at the screen and zoom in, where it shows how much I'm zoomed, the color of the numbers changes when I zoom past 2.0.  I'm guessing that's when it goes to digital.

And probably the hand shaking. 

I do allow the autofocus to take effect.

Thanks for helping me with my very basic questions, y'all.