the more optical zoom the better. 10x optical zoom can only go farther by using digital zoom. digital zoom is when you reach the farthest the lens can zoom then magnify it by enlarging the existing picture, in the way that microsoft paint zooms in on a picture when you enlarge it. in short the more optical zoom you have the better original quality you have for a nice clear picture, but if you go with less optical zoom the camera will have to "fake" the picture beyond what the lens can reproduce.