i suggest canon sx100 which has 8mp and 10x optical zoom
Optical zoom is way better than digital zoom as digital only expands the picture. Optical zoom actually zooms in.
The Canon S-series have great zoom and can even do digital zoom for distant objects.
Optical and digital. With optical zoom, the camera uses lenses to magnify objects. In digital zoom, the camera's built-in software creates a magnified image.
I usually see anywhere from 6x to 12x optical zoom, then most digital cameras also have digital zoom, up to about 20x
Depends what your using it for
The Canon PowerShot is the best camera under $200. It has 12.1 megapixels, 4 x optical zoom, and optical image stabilization.
The reason an optical zoom is better to have than a digital zoom boils down to quality. When one uses an optical zoom the subject is brought in closer without losing quality. When a digital zoom is used, the camera crops and digitally enlarges the picture, sacrificing quality.
A optical zoom use the lenses to focus in on a subject, pretty much the same way binoculars work. Digital zoom magnifies the subject by enlarging in in the pic thru a digital process, this is not a true type of zoom.
canon a560, canon a720, they have 4 x optcial zoom
Optical Zoom is the true zoom, Digital is basically the zoom in of what the highest optical zoom is. Therefore Optical Zoom is the better zoom, and gives a much clearer picture.
A : Entry Level
In the shortest answer...An optical lens shows you the ACTUAL image using glass and mirrors...NO electronics necessary. A digital lens uses glass to project the image onto an "image sensor computer chip" and the computer chip displays it's "interpretation" of the image onto the LCD screen. That's as basic as I think I can make it. Hope it helps!