Tag: Optical Zoom

AtoZ Challenge: The Glossary

The AtoZ Challenge has already come to an end for the second time, and as a result, now a glossary of the terms can be made. I believe this shall come handy for future references!

A – Aperture, Artificial Horizon

B – Bulb Mode, Bokeh

C – Colour Temperature, Composition

D – Double Exposure , Depth of Field

E – EXIF Data, Exposure Bracketing

F – Forced Perspective, Focus Stacking

G – Ghosting, Grain

H – Hot Shoe, Hyperfocal Distance

I – Infinity Focus, ISO

J – Juxtapose, JPEG vs RAW

K – Keylight, Kelvin

L – Latitude, Lens Distortion

M – Manual Mode, Macro

N – Normal Lens, Noise Reduction

O – Optical Zoom, Overexposure

P – Panning, Post Processing

Q – Quality, Quiet Release

R – Red Eye Reduction, Rear Curtain

S – Spot Metering, Shutter Speed

T – Tonal Range, TTL Metering

U – Urban Landscape, Underexposure

V – Vignetting, Vibration Reduction

W – Watermark, White Balance

X – X Speed, X Process

Y – Your Rapport, You

Z – Zoom (Digital), Zoom Burst

Have a look at these terms and let me know if I ought to add some to the list.

Cheers!!

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AtoZ Challenge: Z – Zoom (Digital)

Zoom (Digital)

We all know what zoom is and that there are two types, optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom changes the focal length of the lens and closes in on the subject, while the digital zoom uses algorithms and software to do the same. The effects, however are not similar.
Optical zoom shall not degrade a picture quality, where as digital zoom will. To demonstrate, this post.

Below is a photo of a cute shih-tzu puppy named Bitsy.

Shih tzu puppy

And then I was curious to see what has reflected off her eyes, so, I zoom in digitally.

shih tzu puppy, zoomed

What I get is a blur. A pixellated image with horrible quality.

On the contrary, in a previous occasion, I had optically zoomed in to the eyes of a squirrel and the result is shown below.

squirrel

I hope the comparisons shall make it evidently clear that no matter what the camera companies publish in their camera brochures about the digital zoom capability, one must always base their opinions on the optical zoom provided.

In the previous series, Z was for Zoom Burst.

This post finishes up the A to Z series, for the second time. I ll summarize all the phrases in a separate post, and then, you, my dear reader shall have glossary of 52 terms, related to photography with suitable images and explaination for your ready reference.

See you all in the upcoming posts soon.

Cheers!!

 

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AtoZ Challenge: O – Optical Zoom

Optical Zoom

Zoom can be described as to close in on your subject. In a camera, it can be achieved in mainly three different ways.

The first one is the basic one, which involves the photographer moving close to the subject.
The second type of zoom is what we are going to talk about here today, optical zoom. It is when the lens within the barrel actually moves to change the focal length and hence zoom. This change in focal length causes the subject to appear closer or farther away depending on the use. Image quality does not degrade while using optical zoom.

The images below show the use of optical zoom. The viewpoint has not changed, just the focal length has changed from about 55mm to 180/200mm.

Optical zoom, trains, Dudhsagar

At the far end, Trains, Dudhsagar

The third type is the digital zoom. This is where the camera, using its own algorithms, zooms in on the image. It has the previously captured image to begin with and then works on it. The photo quality degrades and after a certain point, it begins to pixellate.

So, dear readers, if you are buying a new point and shoot camera, it is always the optical zoom that you should pay heed to.

Last time, O was for Overexposure.

Cheers!

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