Digital zoom
From The Glossary of Digital Photography
Enlarging an image in the camera to simulate a longer-range zoom. Digital zoom actually creates pixels by interpolation. Although the image may appear the same on the LCD screen, since it is actually just an enlargement, the quality is usually inferior to that of an equivalent optical zoom lens. If a greater enlargement is needed than the camera's lens can provide, wait until the image is downloaded into the computer to enlarge it. The software in the computer is more powerful and can do a better job of 'zooming' than the software in the camera. See also interpolation; pixel
