it was my first lesson in digital photography, new to it about ten years ago, i got a cheap 3x digital zoom 1.3mp i think it was, everything blurred. I was hoping to start posting on ebay, and knew i needed photos. I took that one back, and got a 3MP with digital zoom, they assured me would take clear shots, no dice! Then i went to a 3x "Optical" zoom, bingo! You got to get some optics in those photos man, it doesn't matter how much, or how many MP ( i've learned to make a 3MB photo into a 100kb that still looks just as clear in a post ) but they've got to "start" clear, and the best tool for this is a basic optical zoom, then, practice