For digital cam, at least how many times of Optical Zoom should it have?

Dionna Doyel: As far as the minimum optical zoom a digital cam should have in order to capture nice pictures goes, it all depends on what you want it for. For portraits or group shots, 3X would be fine. But for something like wildlife or sports photography, 10X would be a minimum.In the case of those two cameras, without a doubt you should go for the 10X 7.2MP. The additional megapixel will make very little difference. The zoom will make a huge difference....Show more

Margart Stimpert: The "times" number isn't that important.It's the "what to what" number that counts.A 10X zoom from 38mm to 380mm (equiv.) is great if you shoot little birds in trees. However for real-life picture taking, like friends at dinner or in a club or a landscape, a 28-80 (2.85X) is much more useful.Hope this helps....Show more

Nicolasa Henke: you have to decidemy suggestiongo to yahoo shoppingdigital camerasdigital camera GUIDEbe sure to check titles on the left sidethe guide should an! swer your questions...Show more

Faustino Mellerson: I would get the 7.2 mega pixel with 10x optical every day over a 8.1 MP with 3.6x optical. Too many people get caught up in mega pixels hype. The mega pixels is only one part of the digital camera, the other very important parts are the lens and electronics. You will not notice any difference between a 7MP and 8MP camera of the some brand and quality unless you are printing a poster, for 4x6 all the way up to 8x10 they are both good. I have owned 2MP all the way up to 7.2MP cameras. and the difference between a mega pixel or 2 is not as important as the lens quality. I think if you want to get in on the action or just want a much More versatile camera you need a 10x zoom cameraI recommend the Panasonic digital cameras they have a nice 6x zoom all the way up to 18x optical zoom all with optical image stabilizer for steady shots, Panasonic uses Leica lenses and Leica makes great lenses so you get a top notch lens and g! ood electronics to make a great camera. Check out the Panasoni! c's at http://www.panasonic.com and also you can get some good digital camera reviews at http://www.dpreview.com Good Luck!...Show more