Optical zoom - which is what a DSLR is designed to allow - will always be superior to digital zoom because optical magnifies the image before it reaches the sensor, thus the highest quality image will be accepted by the sensor.
Digital zooming basically involves magnifying what the sensor has already seen, which can lead to pixelation and a generally degrading image. The closest to digital zooming would be cropping the image in post production, something that is more successful in full-frame camera and with excellent lenses. Computational photography has enhanced the ability of cell phones to perform this operation, but it has not really caught on in conventional camera systems because one is expected to have a lens suitable for magnifying the image.
cheers, TREVOR
The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris
