SMILE AND BE CANDID (Kodak Easyshare DX6490)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Kodak Easyshare DX6490
Date:	22/05/06 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A step up from point and click.

Disadvantages: Don't bother buying the docking bay. It's an expensive plaything.

Many years ago, I had one of the basic Kodak DX3600 Digital Cameras, and I was very impressed with the quality of the pictures, the ease of use, and the overall thought that went into the design. Little by little, I have been educating my husband on all things technical and about a year ago, he pinched my camera, and seems always to have it with him because it is so versatile and basically simple. The time came when I wanted a camera that offered more than the bog standard one, and my choice was within the Kodak range simply because the reliability of the smaller camera had pursuaded me that Kodak have much to offer at a reasonable price and handling it in the shop and comparing it with other models within my price range pursuaded me that this was the best choice.



WHAT THIS CAMERA OFFERS

Upon opening the packaging, what you are faced with are the following :

The camera itself which is much more professional looking than the original series of easyshare cameras were, and although bulkier, was not uncomfortable or cumbersome to use, and fit nicely into my hand.

Audio/Video Cable
Strap
Lens Cap
Rechargeable batteries
Battery re-charger
Easyshare software
Users Guide

NOW LETS TALK ABOUT SPECIFICATIONS AND HOW THEY AFFECT THE USER.

To use this camera, and to produce pictures on your computer, you require Windows 98 upwards, with a 64 MB minimum. This also works with Mackintoshes, although I have no experience of it working with one.

You need a USB port, and a colour monitor of 16 or 24 bit is recommended at 800-600 pixels. Confusing stuff for a new person, although the standard monitors with computers these days cater up to those specifications easily, and you can check by right clicking on your desk top, taking the curser down to properties, and then clicking the settings tab on your computer to see what resolution your monitor is using.

On this camera, you have four settings of the kind of quality you want for your prints. This is important because if for example you just want to take quick snapshots, if you set the camera to email quality, you can take more pictures than if you set it to enlargement quality. If you really want to take pictures that will print at enlargement size, then the setting must be changed to 4.2 mega pixels for a superb print. I liked this feature because the standard basic Kodak that I used to use only had limited quality settings, and here the choice is varied between email quality pictures, medium quality, normal sized print quality and enlargement quality, so the results are flexible dependent upon your needs.

For example, email pictures are clear to the eye, although not very good for printing. The setting that I use the most is the second setting which is ideal for good quality prints because I don't want wishy washy photographs. When I take real close up work of flowers and wildlife, then I up the setting for the enlargement setting so that the sharpness is amazing. One setback here is that when you use the zoom, the camera does judder and you do need a steady hand.

The zoom lens on this camera is better than the buck standard one on the old Kodak.
30X total zoom
10X optical zoom,(35 mm equivalent: 38-380 mm)
3.0X Advanced Digital Zoom

What that means is that the control you have over distant pictures is equal to that of traditional cameras and as photography was always one of my hobbies, this was important to me. I also liked the fact that I could have manual control of the camera as well as automatic, which means that I can take night time shots of fireworks without the flash deciding to ruin the picture, or catch moments indoors at dusk without the whole exposure being ruined by the automatic settings that were not set for artistic photographs, but more for buck standard ones.

The screen on this camera is sharp and clear although I have to admit, I am usually too busy looking through the viewfinder to use it that much. It is exceptionally handy though to check your photos for clarity so that you get a second chance to take another if you foul up.

Flash.

I wasn't that impressed with the flash on this camera which is functional but a little disappointing, as the place in which it is mounted means that sometimes your extra attachments actually get in the way, and when using them, I tend to opt for an external flash, although here, there is no hot shoe attachment which means you need a cable attachable flash which is rather cumbersome.

COLOURS AT COMMAND.

Kodak took their standard camera, and went ten stages further with this one. There are settings where you can chose whether you take colour photographs, sepia, sharp, standard or soft photographs and I tried the different settings the first day I had the camera to see what the differences were and once you familiarise yourself with the cameras functions, this colour setting becomes an easy manipulation, and the results superb. With time, I have found that the various settings are more a novelty than a necessity and tend to stick to standard photos these days.

MOVIES

The camera has the feature of being able to take movies. When you mention movies, you imagine long film, however, this is a secondary feature of the camera, and will depend upon how much space you have on your card. I used this to film my father waving to my sister. He was very ill and my sister in Australia would never see him again. I sent the snippet through to her although I must confess it took time to send !

The film making bit is more of a novelty than a serious option. I have filmed the birth of a baby, that moment that was very special to the couple, although only moments rather than minutes, because as I say its more of a novelty of catching moments in time, with sound as well, which is pretty amazing.

The camera has many features, probably too many to put into list form, although the ones I have mentioned are the main ones when considering a purchase. The lens has been improved greatly from previous models, and the features that are now available such a colour changing, and also a set of picture settings, i.e. close up, automatic, sport, night time pictures, etc. is a huge improvement on the old camera.

Kodak have also improved their battery life which pleases me since the kodak rechargeable batteries on the old camera did not work for very long at all. Here, they supply you with a separate battery charger which is a good idea, as you will need to have your batteries at the ready. The docking station, which is an additional feature that can be purchased is simple to use, although I question the efficiency of the docking station to charge the batteries. This really did prove inefficient and very costly at around 85 GBP at the time, and was an error on my part because although it ties in with the software supplied (Easyshare), I do not like the software and found it invasive, and preferred to use my own software. Transferring photographs was made easier for me anyway by the purchase of my combination printer that has a slot to take the memory card.

The 16MB memory was not sufficient for me. I upped this to 64MB which cost me an extra £70 but it means that I can take almost 350 pictures of second setting standard, i.e. a little better than email standard, and around 150 Good quality pictures which is more than enough. For those upgrading from other Cameras who are concerned about their Memory card compatability, this camera uses Sandisk Memory cards.

I also liked the fact that there was an adaptor tube available to add your own filters. This is inexpensive, but adds to the enjoyment of using the camera, giving it a more professional feel, enabling the user to add 55mm attachments to the lens such as lenses and filters.

The menus are easy to follow on the little screen at the back of the camera, and the delete section is easy when you find that the odd photo is not up to scratch.

Price : £239 plus extra for the memory card.

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Superb, full of explanation backed up by the CD provided with the camera.

EXTRAS AVAILABLE

Camera Dock for easy transfer of photographs.
Extra Li-Ion battery charger although I have one supplied with the camera.
Kodak Fast Battery charger for battery charging on the move.
64-512MB Memory cards (SD)
Multi Media 128 MB Card
8 in 1 and 6 in 1 card readers
Multi Card Reader/ Multi media card reader.
0.7x wide angle lens,lens adaptor and filter.
Camera Case, Tripod, Lens Pen.

I hate resorting to lists although the accessories that are available are important to those wishing to make a buying decision.


OVERALL CONCLUSION

Kodak have worked hard on this camera, and have produced a camera for the non professional that gives all the specifications that a person who is fussy about their photographs would expect. Their build is good. This is a solid camera, their guarantee is one year, and their back up is superb on the Kodak site. The camera size is not clumsy, although feels comfortable and more solid than their previous series and weighing in at just over 12 ounces, this is not a heavy camera, though heavier than its predecessors. I like the looks of the camera, it looks professional and the designers have put a lot of work and research into making it better than it was. Okay, those professionals out there may not be that impressed and may prefer more expensive alternatives, although for the semi professional amongst us, this camera is not only adequate but acceptable as an alternative to cameras that are simply point and click.

At the time I bought my first Kodak, it was difficult to imagine that the camera needed additional features, because it seemed so complete, although since purchasing this camera, I would say that technology will always improve with time, and this camera is no exception to that rule.

Having owned the camera now for two years, there are very few problems, and the results are consistently good, though I would not recommend purchase of the docking bay or use of the Kodak software, preferring Roxio or even the PictureIt supplied with my computer.

Rachel

Summary: A super camera that lasts the test of time.

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