Anatomy of A Digital Camera The Lens and Zoom (Magnification)

The Lens:  The "eye" of the camera is made of glass or plastic.  A plastic lens will yield far less quality than a good glass lens.  The focal length is also important.  If the camera is a "fixed focal length" camera, it means it has only one setting, usually several feet to infinity (the furthest point).  If you want to do close-up or "macro" photography, you will need a camera that can shoot much closer.  Many pocket digital cameras can shoot as close (or closer) than a few inches.  Another factor is the amount of light it takes to make a good picture.  Some cameras are rated for lower lighting conditions than others, something you might want to consider if you plan to do low light photography.

Interchangeable lens are found on digital SLR cameras (Single Lens Reflex, you look through the lens when you compose), which have come down from thousands of dollars to less than $675 for the camera and a kit lens. "Proconsumer" cameras running anywhere from $350 to $650, will frequently offer add-on lenses and filters that screw or slip over the top of the standard lens. Having a more deluxe camera usually offers you the opportunity to use Filters which can save you money (by protecting your lens from damage) and help you get better shots.   

Mirrorless cameras are created that either have a permanent lens (such as the interesting Canon GX 1) or can use removable lenses (such as the Olympus PEN series).

Optical Versus Digital Zoom -  Optical zoom is the best you can get.  It means that the camera lenses give you a true zoom, without losing image quality.  Digital zoom takes a portion of the optical image and enlarges from the center electronically, which creates a lower quality enlargement.  A digital camera with a good optical zoom raises the price.  As a general rule, try to purchase a camera that has at least a 3X optical zoom.  Use the digital zoom for fun or for cropping a photo if you don't plan to edit the photo on a computer later, but don't expect the higher quality you get with an optical zoom.  Optical zoom cameras use more power, since they have to physically move lenses back and forth (versus a non-moving digital zoom camera).  The higher the optical zoom (combined with high resolution) the higher the price.  There are cameras with up to 12x optical zoom and 8-10mp resolution below the $400 price range!

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