Use optical zoom only turn off the digital zoom.
What Is Digital Zoom?
Digital zoom is simply cropping a portion of a captured image and then resampling it back up to full resolution. The most notable difference between digital and optical zoom is that no additional image detail is gained by using digital zoom.
Digital zooms lower image quality. Choose a camera with an optical zoom if image quality is important. Digital zooms should be used only when image quality is not important.
Here is a link that I think you will find helpful
http://cameras.about.com/od/cameratips/l/blopticaldigitl.htm
My New Avatar is in memory of Nancy my darling wife of 10 years who passed away on Monday November the 16th 2009 after an illness
My photo gallery http://thekiwi.org/photography/index.php
