Technology: Zoom Goes The Digital

Digital cameras have traditionally been judged by their resolution–the more megapixels, the better. Now some camera makers are saying it’s not the number of pixels, it’s the depth of the zoom. In April Olympus launched the 3.2-megapixel C740 ($499), the first sub-$500 model to sport a 10x optical zoom lens. Last week two more 10x zoom cameras–Fujifilm’s 3.1-megapixel FinePix S5000 and Kodak’s 4-megapixel EasyShare DX6490–hit the market for the same price. Most digital cameras have zoom lenses only up to 4x; the extra magnification is a real performance boost. Now when you’re on a nature hike and spot that yellow-bellied sapsucker, you can get right in his beak–without startling him from his perch. –By Wilson Rothman