Here, below, is a picture taken with my zoom at the "wide end."  It would correspond to a bit more "wide angle" than the  typical 40 to 50 mm used in standard SLR pictures.  It was taken at Carpenteria State Park, near Santa Barbara, California.  If you look close, you might be able to see the surfers.  

Now look at the picture shown below.  It was taken at essentially the same time and location, but with maximum 10-fold optical zoom. 

Both of these pictures were re-sized for the website to half the original size, since presenting the original full-size pictures would be too big for most computer displays.  To allow you to see the quality of an image shown at various sizes, click here.