Zoom and picture stabilization

These days, just about every decent digital camera out there has at least 3X optical zoom — and many offer even more. 3X is just fine for most purposes, such as shots of friends, birthday parties, or vacations. On the other hand, if you really like zooming in on far-off animals, landmarks, or other distant objects, you'll probably appreciate a camera with more zoom. Below, you'll see some photos which illustrate different kinds of zoom power.

No zoom

3X zoom

10X zoom

If you've found yourself frustrated by blurry shots that would have been great if you'd been able to hold your hand still, look for cameras with image stabilization. More and more digital cameras are offering some kind of built-in technology to help counteract the effects of vibrations and handshake, which can result in a lot of blur when you're zooming way out and aren't using a tripod.