Optical Zoom
On a digital camera, optical zoom is a true zoom feature. It allows you to zoom in (or out) on the subject in the LCD or viewfinder. This will enable you to get a closer view of the subject before taking your picture. Optical zoom changes the magnification of images with the actual optical glass before the images reach the imaging sensor. Optical zoom allows for better photo quality than digital zoom.

Digital zoom is a function of a digital camera used to make the image seem more close-up. Digital zoom on a digital camera works the same as cropping and enlarging a photo in a graphics program. This type of zoom will result in a loss of quality and image resolution because the image is simply being enlarged without any extra details or pixels being added. Due to the quality of photos taken when using the digital zoom function, these photos may not be of good enough quality to print images larger than 4"x6".

What is exposure?
Exposure is, simply put, the amount of light that enters the camera and hits the sensor. The more light that hits the sensor the brighter the scene will be. If too much light hits the sensor, parts of the image will be blown out, this is considered to be over-exposed. A scene that is too dark and the details in the shadows are lost is under-exposed.

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How fast the camera's shutters open. Determines how long the film is exposed for.