Easyshare DX6490 (Kodak Easyshare DX6490)

Member Name: kensplace

Product:	Kodak Easyshare DX6490
Date:	27/10/05 (227 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can Addon Lenses/Filters, Good Zoom, External Flash capability, Nice lcd Screen, Easy to use

Disadvantages: Not slr, built in lens, no hotshoe, no firmware upgrades

The DX6490 is one of many camera's in the easyshare range by Kodak.

Whilst it may look like a large, bulky camera, its not actually that big, and fits ok in my hand. It is certainly not a credit card camera, but you dont expect to get something with a TEN times optical zoom in a small package do you?

The camera looks like a SLR camera, but it is just a normal digital camera, in the "prosumer" range. Sporting a reasonable 4 megapixels, its not the top of the league but it produces more than acceptable results.

You can get the full specs on the camera from any online store, or even kodaks website, so I wont bore you with a long list, just what I like and dislike about the camera.


Likes
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The camera seems fairly well built.

It can take a external flash, via a pc-sync lead.
The external flash is rated upto 500v, so you can use
pretty much any flash on it, unlike most digital cameras which
would go up in smoke if you plugged in a 300v flash gun....

*** Nice large, clear, bright LCD display screen ****

Makes the camera a joy to use, no squinting to see tiny displays, its nice and easy.

There is also a EVF (electronic viewfinder) which is like the viewfinder on SLR cameras. A almost true what you see is what you get viewfinder. I say almost, because its not done with mirrors like in a normal SLR, this is actually a TINY lcd screen hidden inside the viewfinder (it even has a eye sensor so it knows when you are looking through it, but for some reason you still have to press the EVF button to switch from screen to EVF)


**** Simple to use controls ****

I instinctively just knew how to use most features on the camera, a refreshing change from some models that require a lot of head scratching to do basic tasks.

*****Manual control of most features****

(shutter, aperture, etc)

So if the auto mode just doesnt cut it, you are able to fine tune the camera to get the best results. Auto does fine for most jobs though, never had a problem with it yet. (there are also sports, night and portrait modes available)

**** Add on lenses / filters ****

One really nice feature is the ability to add a low cost adapter tube, this screws over the existing lens and allows you to use addon 55mm filters, lenses and accessories. Just like a real camera :)

The flash is obsured slightly if you use the addon's, so I would recommend the use of a external flash if you go this route. Due to not having a hot shoe, the external flash will have to be plugged in the pc-sync lead, and mounted on a adapter through the tripod socket.

****Batteries *****
This uses a proprietary li-ion battery, but cheap alternatives are available, but its up to you if you want to take the risk with a unknown manufacturer battery.

Overall with Battery life, no problems with this at all, it lasts a long time on the supplied li-ion battery, even using the display.
I have had other cameras go flat in minutes, this lasts into the hundreds of shots range, before going flat.

Easy to charge and transfer pics, just sit it on the camera dock (make sure you get one with the camera!) and charges the camera automatically. Pics are transfered either automatically, or at the press of a button on the dock.

I like the availablility of a printer dock for printing photographs straight from the camera, but I also have the printer dock in the dislike section for a good reason!

*** The lens ****
10 times optical, built in high quality make lens.
Fantastic zoom lens, 10 times optical zoom lets you get really close to the subject, but it has a tiny flaw, see the dislike section.

*** Movies ***
Simple to use movie mode, whilst not great resolution, its fun, and handy to have. It even records sound!

*** Storage **
It can take high capacity memory cards without a problem, I put a 1gig SD card in mine, and it works fine.

*** Built in Flash ***
Pop up flash - ideal as you KNOW for SURE that the flash wont fire when you dont want it to. If the flash is "down" it wont fire!

Dislikes.
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Not much to dislike really, but here are my main observations!

The optional printer dock, whilst a nice idea, is way to expensive to use, the consumables work out very expensive. It is a LOT cheaper to just take your memory card down to boots or jessops and get them printed professionally.

The optical zoom lens lacks a electronic image stabiliser, so at full zoom, you really need steady hands!

No hotshoe, so an external flash needs to be on a big bulky adapter...

The autopower feature does not fully turn the camera off, so its possible to leave it on and flatten the battery.

There have been no firmware upgrades released for this camera, ever. Will there ever be?

The movie mode does not allow use of zoom at all when recording.

The movie mode also records the sound of the autofocus system whirring away.

There is no raw, uncompressed option for files. You probably wont need one, as the pics look great as they are, but its always nice to have the option.

Flash sensor is partially blocked by external lenses/filter tube if used.

Picture settings, are not saved in automode if you turn off, a real pain sometimes. Would like to be able to default to natural colour rather than saturated for example. But this needs to be set each time you switch on.


Overview.
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If you can get this camera for a good price, its a really nice camera, easy to use, long battery life, great zoom, and the ability to add on lenses or filters is amazing for a camera this price.

It is approaching the end of its marketing life now, so kodak will be letting this get cheaper and cheaper. Some great bargains can be had if you shop around. Many people on various forums love this camera, its certainly the best one I have had so far.

Be careful buying from overseas on ebay though, you may get a USA power lead, it may not come in perfect condition, and you will need a receipt for warranty purposes.

Finally, dont let the fact its only 4mega pixels put you off, this is enough to do great quality prints, even respectable larger ones. You can get higher megapixel camera's but seeing as most people just put pictures on the internet, all you are doing is resizing them to fit on screen, and throwing away all those extra megapixels.

Unless you are a pro, that needs large format prints, a 4 mega pixel camera should be more than enough.

Summary: Prosumer camera, at a bargain price. Flexible and upgradable to a certain extent.

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