zoom1

This shot is cropped from the 16:1 image. The one that involves only optical magnification. The result is somewhat softer than the previous image, but there are few if any digital artifacts in the image (any that are there are more likely the result of JPEG compression).

Again, were this for the web, it represents a nominal magnification of just over 51:1. I wouldn't be ashamed to publish this image in print. It's certainly good enough for printing in a newspaper. But I wouldn't feel so good as for the previous shot.

I've been using the word "nominal" a lot when discussing magnification. That's because the baseline 10:1 of the camera is based on the 7 to 70mm zoom of the lens. But the 7 setting is actually a wide-angle setting, equivalent to a 38mm lens on a 35mm camera.