It also seems to me that I shouldn't be afraid of using all the zoom I can, if the situation warrants. It's almost always better to get closer to the subject if you can, but if circumstances dictate using the zoom, I'll have no hesitation in pushing it to the limit.

If a shot is intended for print publication, it is probably better to avoid using the digitial zoom, unless you know for certain that you will be printing the image at quite a small size.

When I bought the camera, I quite expected to never use the digital zoom, but now that I've seen the results, I'm no longer so sure. And, as I mentioned at one point, there will be times when the lighting conditions are such that the digitial zoom, by allowing a tighter framing of the subject, will help to alleviate the lighting problems.