What is the difference between digital zoom and clear image zoom?
599672
They are both digital zooms, the "clear image" zoom is a 2x extension, the digital goes up to 160x. Basically the more you digital zoom the worse it gets. I would try to see one in action to see if the degradation is acceptable to you. There are some posts on youtube as well that may help. I would have thought with a 20mpix sensor, they could have "zoomed" in on the sensor with little degradation but there is some loss even in the "clear image" zoom. You'll have to look and see for yourself how much quality loss you are willing to give up.
599673
With standard digital zoom, pictures captured by the image sensor of the camera are enlarged using digital signal processing. Therefore, as the magnification level increases, signals to be estimated also increase and can reduce the image quality. When using Clear Image Zoom, however, zoomed images are captured close to the original quality when shooting a still picture. The camera first zooms to the maximum optical magnification, then uses Clear Image Zoom technology to enlarge the image an additional 2x, producing sharp clear images despite the increased zoom ratio. The Smart Zoom feature allows images to be zoomed without losing picture quality. The central part of the picture is trimmed and enlarged without image processing.
2107488
I don't think that it is the same as a digital zoom. I believe that the term should be "field of view crop factor" which means that because the sensor is about 1/2 the size of a full framed 35mm piece of film, what you see with the E-M5 is 1/2 the size corner to corner. The focal length mulitiplier is therefore 2, because you'd need twice the focal length lense to get the same sized corner to corner image. See? I think it falls into the category of the marketing department taking what may be a negative (less than a full framed sensor) and making it sound vaguely ok. Don't worry about it: it is a truly great camera!
1380699
I tried both, sent this one back. There is noticeable difference in sharpness when zoomed in.
582664
Missy,Please see: http://www.digitalsecrets.net/Sony/AdvancedKnow5-SZ.htmlIt's a bit complicated, but the simple version is that Sony's Smart Zoom tries to limit your digital zoom to a level that doesn't degrade the image quality significantly. Please note that this doesn't have anything to do with optical zoom. It's simply making sure that you don't over-do the digital zoom to the detriment of the image (which is easy to do with some cameras). I don't use digital zoom as I do that cropping in PhotoShop Elements (not too expensive) or Picasa (free).
1060752
Both attachments work very well. When I use them I do not have a problem with the clarity of the pictures that I take. I hope this helps.
504302
Hit the "Menu" button on the back of the camera. The first item on the screen is "Digital Zoom". The default setting is "Standard" but if you click to the right and you'll see where you can select "Off".
1327777
Hi Tabish, Once you press the zoom in, its using the optical zoom which is upto 30x. Once you reach 30x zoom, and Digital zoom is activated, it will now use the Digital zoom. You will notice a small horizontal line on the zoom icon which means that once you pass that line, Digital zoom is now in use. You can set your camcorder to use optical zoom only by turning of Digital zoom. -Vincent
2054267
Digital zoom works fine. You can zoom in with the Logitech software and it will stay zoomed for other apps.
15659
-Using an image quality and size setting other than Large Fine will result in lower resolution images or can introduce annoying "artifacts" (e.g., blockiness). -Using the digital zoom will also reduce resolution. Turn off digital zoom and instead crop images on your computer when necessary. -Using too high of a an ISO (sensitivity) setting will also make the image appear grainy. This is true of all cameras though poitnt and shoot cameras typically suffer to a much greater degree due to their smaller sensors. Try and keep the ISO setting at or below ISO 400. -Additionally, this camera's High ISO mode - ISO 3200 - automatically reduces the camera's resolution to just under 2 megapixels. "Emergency use only."
830863
Hi KimThe main difference between the two lenses is that when the camera is powered off the Power Zoom lens partially retracts and has a "pancake" profile. Powered down, the lens presents a 1.25 inch profile. Combined with a relatively slim camera like the gx1, the camera fits into a (bigish) shirt pocket. The lens also features a power zoom, so you get a nice smooth zoom- which is particularly useful for making videos.
1773513
I believe the optical zoom is the only difference. It is 24x vs. 30x optical zoom.
605357
The digital camera is software driven from a computer attached by a USB cable. The software has a zoom function that varies the magnification greatly. I don't know the maximum magnification possible with the camera.
830864
The power zoom is also lighter, but you do sacrifice quality for the smaller size and lighter weight. When it first came out there was an issue with the lens which I believe was fixed with a firmware, but I'm not sure if the problem was completely fixed. It does use newer tech and elements so unless you're making posters, you should not have to deal with image degradation vs the non-power zoom. I use my camera basically as a point and shoot replacement so I'm not too concerned about image quality vs my DSLR.The power zoom is a more convenient lens, generally speaking.
1071779
Here are some reviews of both. http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/100HS/100HSA.HTMhttp://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/300HS/300HSA.HTMI recently had to make the same decision, and tried out both the 300HS and 100HS. The image with the 100HS was sharper every time. Colors were pretty much the same, both seemed slightly saturated (easy fix with settings), but fairly accurate IMO.I wouldn't spend the extra $50 for a bit more zoom, especially at the cost of image quality.
477356
No, there is no optical zoom. There is 3x digital zoom, but it is digital, so totally useless.
790315
No, you have two options. One, view photo's as original. Two, there is zoom feature, but all pictures are zoomed.
830862
The difference is the Power zoom lens allows you to control the zoom from the touch screen on the back without touching the lens, it is also smaller.