Cannon T5 Digital Zoom for pictures?

[achristopher]

I recently purchased a Cannon t5 and I am wondering how to get the digital zoom to work when taking pictures. In auto mode (or any other mode for that matter), when I press the zoom button, it zooms in on the object like I want it to, but when I take the actual picture it isn't zoomed at all. Am I missing somthing? What is the point of having a digital zoom if you can't actually take pictures with it? Is there some button combination that I am missing?  I've looked at the manual and looked around online but I don't see anything specific to this question. 

Thank You,

[ScottyP]

The T5 is not like a point and shoot. You zoom by twisting the lens.

I assume by "digital zoom" you mean the magnifying glass on the back? All it really does is crop the image. If you want to crop the image just do it in post processing on the big computer screen.

I think you can crop the image in camera after you take the picture, and maybe save the image (not sure though) but I can't really see why you would want to do that.

Keep in mind all "digital zoom" is doing is cropping the image and blowing it up, but you lose data and thus resolution when you do this.

Also, your photography will improve if you get in the habit of shooting with your eye in the eyepiece rather than holding it away from your face and shooting from the LCD screen. It makes the camera much more steady for one thing. It focuses faster for another, since it is using the mirror to focus rather than live view focusing with the mirror up as for movies.

[achristopher]

Thanks for the response. I know you're supposed to use the lens to zoom. However, the lens that came with it has poor magnification for things more than a few feet away.  I am refering to the buttons in the red square on the embeded pic. When I push the "+" button it indeed zooms in, however, when I take the picture the image is not actually zoomed in or cropped as you say. What is the point of being able to zoom in on an object if it's not actually reflected in the photo? 

[ScottyP]

See page 206 of your manual. Those magnifying glass buttons are for playback of the images you have taken. In other words, so you can scroll through the shots on the memory card and you can zoom in on them to see them better.

[ScottyP]

It is also to help you focus on a particular thing if you are shooting in live view (on the LCD instead of with your eye to the eyepiece.

See page 150 of the manual. You could put the camera on a tripod, magnify the image you are seeing in the LCD to select some small detail on which you want to focus, then you go back to normal view and take the shot.

It also tells you on page 44 the way to shoot is with the camera to your eye because it holds the camera steady with minimal shaking. It says on page 133 that shooting through the LCD gives a shakier shot but it is ok for non moving targets if you put the camera on a tripod.

Obviously the manual is being conservative here, and you CAN shoot handheld looking through at the LCD instead of through the eyepiece like you do on little point and shoot cameras with no viewfinder, but it really is not the best way to go with a DSLR.

[achristopher]

Thank you for all your help. So just to be clear, those buttons are not for "digital zoom", they are only meant to help give the photographer a closer look at what they are shooting, but have no actual effect on the image taken, is that correct?

[ScottyP · Accepted solution]

Correct. For focusing in live view and for reviewing shots you have taken.

[achristopher]

Thanks again for all your help! I've marked this as solved.