Page 1 of Digital Cameras - Help, Pixels or Optical zoom.

I`ve been looking at digital cameras for awhile & am thinking of one of these two. The Minolta Z1. This has 10 times optical zoom & 3 megapixels. The other camera is the Pentax 500/555 these have 5 times optical & 5 megapixels. If I zoom both to 10 times I have....Minolta. 10 times Optical onto 3 megapixels....... The Pentax 5 times optical & 2 times digital zoom BUT 5 megapixels. Which will give me the better picture. I know optical is the best but do the 5 megapixels on the Pentax make up for the loss using the digital zoom?

To be honest, its not going to make a tremendous difference, but:

Pentax 555 has 5mp, a 5x optical and a 4xdigital zoom.
Pictures at 5x zoom will have a 5mp resolution
Pictures at 10x zoom will have a 2.5mp resolution
Pictures at 20x zoom will have a 1.25mp resolution

Minolta Z1 has 3mp and 10x optical zoom
Pictures at 5x zoom will have a 3mp resolution
Pictures at 10x zoom will have a 3mp resolution
Pictures at 20x zoom (i.e. cropped in an editing program rather than in camera) will have a 1.5mp resolution.

Now, what length zoom do you expect to take most of your pictures at? I guess if you are expecting to take most at 5x zoom or less then you should go with the Pentax, but if more than 5x, then the Minolta begins to look better.

Other things to consider:-

Are you going to use a tripod or hand-hold all your shots? At 10x zoom, any slight movements are going to be exaggerated, leading to fuzzy photos. Similarly, if the maximum aperture is limited at the far end of the zoom, it will lead to longer shutter speeds and fuzzy shots. Are you prepared to carry a tripod everywhere? If not, then the Pentax may allow you to take more usable shots inmore situations than the Minolta, at a higher resolution.

The Pentax also allows extra flexibility if and when you are cropping. How often are you going to use the full extent of the 10x zoom? It`s likely that most shots will be taken at the lower end of the zoom, where the Pentax is likely to win out, unless you are using the camera for a specific purpose that is likely to require the full extent of the zoom on a regular basis.

A 10x zoom asks a hell of a lot of a lens. Although advances have been made in lens design, it is likely that the lens will exhibit some distortion through its range. A 3x zoom asks a lot less and may offer better image quality.

How do the cameras compare on general image quality; colour rendition, sharpness, rendition of out-of-focus areas, etc.? How easy and intuitive are they to use? Zoom/resolution is only one part of the overall picture.

Take a look here for a great breakdown of recommended cameras in various categories, plus massively in depth reviews.

Looks like a pretty good resource. The Z1 actually has a better maximum aperture than the 555 and does very well for a 10x zoom. It also has a through the lens viewfinder image (like an SLR), that covers 98% of the total frame-somewhat better than the 555`s offering. But, that lens will be more prone to camera shake at the long end, it only has a 3.2 MP resolution and it`s somewhat bulkier than the Pentax. Try them out! (that`s gonna be my catchphrase in these fora if I`m not careful ;-) )

Just having a quick look, the Z1 can be had for about £260, compared to about £400 for the 555! Creates a bit of a different ballgame.

This item was edited on Thursday, 13th November 2003, 15:23

The Minolta has a very good write up in this weeks Computeractive. They said something about a wide apature (I think) reducing camera shake problems at high zoom. I think thats roughly what they said. Also elsewhere I read it has extremely good battery life, if I remember rightly the bloke saying it was the best he`d seen. This could be because the viewfinder somehow uses the lcd screen, so it needs good battery life. It also means minimal battery savings using the viewfinder instead of the screen, so you can use the screen all the time. :D

Digital zoom is basically worthless, its nothing you can`t do yourself in an image editing programme. For everyday use and printing in normal picture sizes I think 3.2 megapixels ought to be enough? Surely too, you`re unlikely to need more than the 10x optical zoom unless you`re thinking about becoming paparazzi and and spying on celebs!! :D

Though I am biased, as I`ve decided I`m getting that Minolta as soon as I have the cash, I`d say go for that one!!

Have you looked at an Olympus C-750, 4 megapixels and a 10x optical zoom.You can pick them up for £380 (these people give you a 2 year warranty on all their cameras)
www.bestcameras.co.uk/shop/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Olympus_C_750_198.html
I was also dithering over a 5 with a 3x zoom or this 4 and 10x zoom. As already mentioned, you will not see the difference on A4 prints, or even on A3. I am going to go down the 10x zoom route, can you hear me Santa, I`ve been a good boy.

I have just ordered the pentax :D You can get it for £350 at amazon, and for the amount of 10x zooming i am likely to do, i would rather have the higher resolution. Also, the Pentax has loads more features than the minolta, it really depends on what you are wanting to do with it.

You might want to consider the Fuji F700-tonally a step above just about anything, with a very good lens and colour rendition, if otherwise limited. Unbeatable have it for £380.

Thanks for the replies. I have a FUJI 40i digital camera, it`s nearly two years old now. It does`nt have an optical zoom. Since I`ve had the camera I have really enjoyed taking pictures & try to get more profesional shots. With some sunsets I needed a zoom so I lost the impact of some wild sunsets. My digital camcorder has both `Still` photo on SD card (but at just over one megapixel) & 10 times zoom. With this I have taken some super shots but the lack of pixels stops any croping or high quality printing. Although I have a really good JVC digital camcorder, I would like to have a `Still` digital camera that takes good Movies. The idea also is sometimes at concerts I could take higher quality movie clips of the artists & it only looks like I have a normal camera. The Minolta Z1 does this. The Pentax 555/550 only has lower quality movies. But from my experience most shots would be with less than 5 times zoom, so the Pentax does most of what I want with 5 M/Pix. I did look at the Olympus 750, great camera but a little large for what I wanted, BUT it is possible to add a nearly 2 times telephoto converter giving about 17 times optical zoom. If the Pentax had a better movie I would go for it. In the end I probably will anyway. My needs are 1, small camera, 2, good optical zoom, 3, good movie. At the moment there is nothing I know of so it seems a compromise between the Pentax & the Minolta. Oh as for Fuji, I love my Fuji camera but it`s now just too basic.