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Microsoft Picture It! Companion Guide
13
Chapter 2: Making the Most of Your Camera
Using Zoom Features
A zoom lens lets you adjust the focal length of the lens, making your subject
appear closer to or farther from the camera. Some cameras have built-in
adjustable zoom lenses; others accommodate interchangeable zoom lenses of
different focal lengths.
Digital cameras may offer optical zoom or digital zoom. An optical zoom
feature uses the same principle as a zoom lens on a film camera: the lens itself
moves to change the focal length. In any of the zoom positions, the resulting
resolution is the same.
A digital zoom feature does not move the lens. Instead, the software inside the
camera crops the photo to make the subject appear closer. Because the pixels
are removed from the area that’s cropped out, the overall resolution is lower.
Many cameras offer a combination of optical and digital zoom. For best results,
use only optical zoom. Then, if necessary, use Picture It! to crop the photo.
Both “digital zoom” and “enhanced resolution” features use interpolation to
add pixels to the original photo, a process that increases the overall size or
resolution. Interpolation assigns colors to the added pixels based on the colors
of the surrounding pixels. While these features technically do increase resolu-
tion, they do not achieve the same photo quality as a photo that has not been
interpolated. If your camera has digital zoom or enhanced resolution, test it and
make sure you like the results before you use it for important photographs. For
true zoom capability and highest image quality, use optical zoom.
Memory Cards, Disks, and Sticks
After the image sensor captures a photo in your digital camera, the digital
information is stored on removable media, such as a CompactFlash or
SmartMedia card, a memory stick, a floppy disk, a CD, a microdrive, a minia-
ture storage card, or a secure multimedia card.
Floppy disks and CDs have the advantage of being inexpensive and easy to
Expand your
perspective
Zoom lenses are great
for capturing objects
you can’t get close to,
such as a ship sailing
in water far from the
shore. Use a zoom lens
to get candid close-up
shots of people without
seeming intrusive or
conspicuous.