Digital Zoom consensus?

S

saaby

Well-known member
Did we ever come to consensus on digital zoom then?

I thought in the frenzy when we were all waiting for these cameras that some digital zoom footage was posted, and the results looked pretty good.

I shot some footage with the digital zoom, and I was quite satisfied with the results.

Then I shot some more footage with the digital zoom, and it looked like absolute crap.

Searched around and found some scattered information, but no real conclusions as to...I guess...when you can pull off the digital zoom, and when you can't.

For now I'm just going to avoid it completely.
 
i shot digital zoom by mistake straight out of the box without knowing and wondered why it didnt look so good...lol
 
saaby said:
For now I'm just going to avoid it completely.
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If the footage is important, I'd never rely on digital zoom delivering an acceptable image.

I think your strategy of avoiding it completely is a good one. If sometimes you're satisfied with the results and sometimes it looks like crap - why take the chance? My experience with cameras is limited, but I've never seen a digital zoom that was anything more than a consumer gimmick. That said, if I absolutely needed to use it to get a shot I couldn't get otherwise, I'd use it.
 
I've tried it for a few different situations, like a shuttle launch, and a bald eagle eating a fish, and for those situations, it's perfectly acceptable to me. I can't believe it would ever be acceptable for broadcast, or theatrical productions. I really wish you could use the 2x optical zoom during video, because I've been very satisfied with those stills. I never hesitate to use it in situations where you couldn't get the shot any other way.
 
Some people, myself included, believe that the 2x digital zoom merely windows/crops the sensor, which would not result in any quality loss. 4x digital zoom is definitely bad.
 
ydgmdlu said:
Some people, myself included, believe that the 2x digital zoom merely windows/crops the sensor, which would not result in any quality loss. 4x digital zoom is definitely bad.
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I'm certain that you're wrong. They have an extended optical zoom which is the window/crop. The digital zoom is nothing more than a digital magnification.

The extended optical zoom wouldn't be bad at all.

Digital zoom at 2x means turning your HD footage into SD.

Digital zoom at 4x means turning your HD footage into VHS.
 
ydgmdlu said:
Some people, myself included, believe that the 2x digital zoom merely windows/crops the sensor, which would not result in any quality loss. 4x digital zoom is definitely bad.
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When you mentioned that on another thread, I immediately tried it out, and was pretty happy with the results. I put the video up on my 100" screen, and it looked pretty good. It was a little soft, which I attributed to so much humid air between me and the subject. So, if true, the 2x digital video zoom is functioning like the 2x optical still zoom.

The only down-side is that the setting is universal, and you have to disable it before taking stills.

I have been meaning to compare footage by shooting a subject with and without the digital zoom - reframing between takes to get the field of view as close as possible.
 
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Barry_Green said:
I'm certain that you're wrong. They have an extended optical zoom which is the window/crop. The digital zoom is nothing more than a digital magnification.

The extended optical zoom wouldn't be bad at all.

Digital zoom at 2x means turning your HD footage into SD.

Digital zoom at 4x means turning your HD footage into VHS.
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This is correct. Anyone who thinks it doesn't do this should probably get their eyes checked or watch a lot of footage that isn't zoomed. If you give me a series of shots I'd probably be able to pick them out pretty reliably. And you probably should be able to as well..bet you all can.
 
I've only used the digital zoom on one shot of the moon, so sue me!

But I do remember Kholi saying that the 2x digital zoom looked all right.
 
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