[Fennexin]

Here is an example of my video. This was with HDR, highest bitrate, FHD60. This was zoomed in quite a bit, but even with that, the quality should not be this bad.

[Mooncatt]

That looks about like I'd expect with a lot of digital zoom. I can see it's having focusing issues, but that may also be expected with that kind of lighting and distance to subject.

[Fennexin]

That looks about like I'd expect with a lot of digital zoom. I can see it's having focusing issues, but that may also be expected with that kind of lighting and distance to subject.

Man, digital zoom sucks

[Mike Dee]

Man, digital zoom sucks

That's because digital zoom is marketing.... It's really digital cropping.

[Fennexin]

That's because digital zoom is marketing.... It's really digital cropping.

Is there a way to make zoomed in video that doesn't suck?

[Mike Dee]

Is there a way to make zoomed in video that doesn't suck?

Only with an optical zoom which actually changes the focal length of the lens without changing the megapixal resolution. Very few phones have optical zoom built in. There are add on lenses that you can add to some phones but then you lose Fstops by adding more glass.

[Mooncatt]

There are add on lenses that you can add to some phones but then you lose Fstops by adding more glass.

Not only the reduced available light, but the image quality can be atrocious. I tried a 10X telephoto clip on lens on my G4, and I think the phone's 8x digital zoom looked just the same, if not better. It was like trying to look through heavy duty plastic sheeting (like what you might find wrapping a new bed mattress).

Phone cameras are not meant for distant objects. If that is your main concern, then you'd honestly be much better off getting a camcorder or perhaps dedicated camera (most do have video capabilities now) with optical zoom. If you're going to need good low light abilities, then you'll need one with a much larger sensor than a phone or even point and shoot camera can offer. In general, larger sensors pick up light better if everything else is equal. Large aperture lenses (low f-stop numbers) also increase low light abilities, if you have the budget.