Which statement correctly contrasts optical zoom with digital zoom?

Which statement correctly contrasts optical zoom with digital zoom?

• A. In optical zoom, lenses on the camera are used to get closer to the object, while in digital zoom, the picture gets larger (pixelated)
• B. In optical zoom, the image is enlarged digitally, while digital zoom uses lenses
• C. Both zoom types use the camera sensor to interpolate pixels
• D. Digital zoom is always superior to optical zoom

Answer: (A)

Optical zoom uses the camera’s lenses to change the focal length, magnifying the scene before it reaches the sensor. This means you get a closer view without adding or guessing new image data, so the detail stays sharp. Digital zoom, by contrast, crops into the image and then enlarges that cropped portion to fill the frame, which stretches existing pixels and makes the image look pixelated or softer. So the statement that best contrasts the two is that optical zoom enlarges the view through optics, while digital zoom enlarges pixels digitally. The other ideas mix up where the magnification happens, or claim one method is always better, which isn’t true in general.

Optical zoom uses the camera’s lenses to change the focal length, magnifying the scene before it reaches the sensor. This means you get a closer view without adding or guessing new image data, so the detail stays sharp. Digital zoom, by contrast, crops into the image and then enlarges that cropped portion to fill the frame, which stretches existing pixels and makes the image look pixelated or softer. So the statement that best contrasts the two is that optical zoom enlarges the view through optics, while digital zoom enlarges pixels digitally. The other ideas mix up where the magnification happens, or claim one method is always better, which isn’t true in general.