To zoom or not to zoom?

[sharrij]

I take a lot of action shots of my daughters softball games. Lots of sliding and cool plays. Naturally, I cannot be up close because there is a game going on! Is it better to zoom in while taking the pictures or wait until I Iliad the and use cropping as my zoom? These pictures are usually printed. Thanks!

[sharrij]

Typo in previous post. Is it better to wait until I upload them and use the crop tool to zoom?!

[IABoomer]

Provided you're talking about optical zoom on your camera and not digital zoom, it's best to get in as tight as possible with a lens. You can always do a little cropping for framing later, but you should try to get the details as big as possible on the sensor which should give you better prints when you have them made.

Stalk Jim Bryant here and read many of his posts and check out examples of his work. He's really good at this kind of thing.

[RichardTaylor]

I agree. Get close and fill the frame.

[sharrij]

I was under the impression that zooming resulted in lower quality. Thanks for clarifying!

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by sharrij

I was under the impression that zooming resulted in lower quality. Thanks for clarifying!

The only time zooming results in lower quality photos is when the shutter speed is to slow for the focal length, causing blur from camera movement. Cropping (too far) is what will give you a lower quality image.

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by Indigo November

The only time zooming results in lower quality photos is when the shutter speed is to slow for the focal length,

That and digital zoom.

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

That and digital zoom.

Oh, yeah, thanks for adding that!!

[sharrij]

Now, this is going to sound really novice, but that's what I am! I have a Nikon D90. Am I using optical or digital zoom?

[Nicole]

Optical zoom.