Why can a camera zoom in on distant scenes?

The camera does not enlarge the scene, but images the scene on the photosensitive element of the digital camera or the film of the film machine through the lens, and then the digital camera enlarges the photo through software. When developing photos, the film is enlarged by the developing equipment.

When the camera images, it just seems to cover the photosensitive element. It seems very small. Only when we look through the viewfinder or LCD screen, the camera has a telescope-like structure when looking, or it will be enlarged after being processed by relevant software like LCD screen.

Changing the focal length of the camera only changes the image size of the object on the photosensitive element.

In addition, when the camera takes macro photography, it really magnifies the real thing. This is because according to the projection lens imaging formula, when the object distance is less than twice the focal length, the magnified inverted image is larger than the real object.