The list of features in a digital camera can be long and complicated, as the manufacturers try to point out all of the things that their cameras are capable of doing. One thing on that list, however, you can completely ignore. That item is digital zoom. Although digital zoom is often advertised as a selling point, it adds almost nothing to the camera's functionality.

There are two types of zoom in digital cameras....digital and optical. Optical zoom is the close up that is produced by the camera's actual physical lens. Optical zoom is good quality zoom and is what you should look for in a digital camera. Digital zoom is when the software in the camera interpolates (or digitally "makes up") the pixels to produce a zoom effect. It is artificial.

When megapixel counts were low, like 1-, 2-, and 3-megapixels, digital zoom was not very good. However, in cameras that have higher megapixel counts, there is more information for the digital zoom to interpolate, so the digital zoom in high megapixel cameras may actually be useful.

That said, the optical zoom is what you should look for. If the camera has a digital zoom, consider it an extra that you may or may not use.

So when purchasing a digital camera, always focus (pun intended!) on the amount of optical zoom that the camera offers.