I understand the smaller the number explains capturing more zoomed out and the higher number captures more zoomed in. But doesn't the optical and digital zoom explain this? Please explain what the numbers (28mm for example) mean.
Do you have to turn the wide angle on? Many people complain about the quality of the edges of the pictures with the wide angle but is it always on or is it an option you can turn on/off? Thanks :) The mm number is called the focal length and is the distance from the optical center of the lens to the plane of the film or sensor. The longer the focal length the more a lens magnifies an image (i.e. zooms in). All lenses have a minimum and maximum focal length. Sometimes this is the same if the lens is not a zoom lens. Most point&shoot digital cams have zoom lenses. Generally any focal length under about 35mm is considered to be wide angle. 35-70 is "normal" and anything over 70mm a telephoto.
Whether a lens is wide angle or not is a property of the lens and is not something that can be turned on or off, but by zooming out you set the lens to have a wide field of view so in effect you are turning wide angle "on".
This is the optical zoom. The lens actuall zooms out to magnify the image more and project in on the entire sensor.
A digital zoom takes a very small part of the image the lens focuses on the sensor and enlarges it electronicly to make it the size of a full image--so it end up being very blurry. It is easier to do this on the coputer so most people don't use the digital zoom becuase it makes the pictures very blurry and blocky.
Hope this helps.
Bob A wide angle lens makes it easier to take a panoramic picture. Also if you are taking a picture of a group of people they would fit better because a wide angle lens would capture the entire the width of the group.
Not sure about the quality of the edges. First off...don't bother with digital zoom, unless you want very poor quality photos. Only use optical.
A wide angle of 28mm is just the starting focal length of the lens (when it is fully zoomed out or wide open). When you turn your camera on, it will be at 28mm.
As you zoom in, your focal length will change.
Some compact cameras have a starting wide angle of 28mm or less...but, the wide angle lens is not necessarily a gain, because image quality suffers at the wide end (due to the compactness of these small cameras and their equally compact sized lens).
To avoid using 28mm, you just have to zoom in a little, that's all...and for those times when you do use the widest angle, (and the edges are soft)...then you could always crop them if you had to.
For very high quality, wide angle photography...you will need an SLR or DSLR camera with the appropriate lens for best results.
good luck... | 