Definition of Smart Zoom for Compact Digital Cameras

Smart Zoom

What is smart zoom and how does it compare to optical digital zoom for compact digital cameras?

To understand the benefits of smart zoom, first lets go back to the definition of Digital Zoom. Digital Zoom is essentially taking a digital image, selecting or cropping a section to enlarge back to the same size as the original digital image. This can be done either in camera of post production on your PC where the gaps between the megapixels are smoothed over by the software programs. Understandably, this results in a lower image quality.

Smart zoom works by taking an image focused on the section you choose, however, it does not enlarge the image to the size of the original image. Think of a camera with 10mp resolution, using smart zoom you can select a section of an image which uses only 7mp. The smart zoom will take an image only of the section you select, but using a smaller resolution and smaller sized image so as not to degrade the image quality.