Value (7.0)
The Kodak EasyShare DX6490 is a well-designed middle ground camera for the user who wants to spend around 500 dollars and be able to combine manual control with the ease and occasional simplicity of automatic shooting. It’s layout wont take hours of memorization, and small features such as the LED lit mode dial and the option for external flash make it a desirable product. The frontally located jog dial is a bit awkward, often taking seconds to readjust, and it slows down manual shooting capabilities. This and the small joystick tend to complicate issues, but the overly large and expansive 2.2-inch LCD immediately makes up for these smaller discrepancies.

Comparisons
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10K-- The Lumix DMC-FZ10K by Panasonic has a 0.4 inch 4 MP CCD, with a 2-inch LCD screen. It has a 12x optical zoom with a 3x digital zoom, for a total zoom of 36x. It has a removable flash memory card of 16MB and uses SD/MMC memory. It comes equipped with a Leica lens, and it is the first 4 MP digital camera by Panasonic. This Panasonic has an MSRP of US $599.95. It weighs 1.21 lbs and has the following dimensions: 3.43 x 5.45 x 4.16 inches, for a total cubic volume of 77.76 inches.

Canon PowerShot G3-- The PowerShot G3 by Canon is equipped with a digital zoom of 3.6x and an optical zoom of 4x for a total max zoom rating of 14.4x. Its CCD measures 0.56 inches and has a total of 4.1 megapixels. The LCD screen is also only 1.8 inches, vastly smaller than the Kodak EasyShare DX6490. The included memory card has a maximum memory of 32MB. It has the possibility of both manual and automatic focus, a feature not available on the Kodak EasyShare DX6490. The video format, however, is MJPEG rather than the Quicktime available on the Kodak EasyShare DX6490. The ISO equivalencies also only reach 400, with four total possible settings available. The G3 has an MSRP of US $499, and is three inches high, 4.8 inches wide, and 2.5 inches deep, for a total cubic volume of 36 inches. The G3 weighs 14.5 ounces.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi-- The DiMAGE 7HI by Konica Minolta features a 1.8-inch LCD screen. The CCD offers 5.2 MP, and the still image and video images both capture only in JPEG or TIFF formats. It takes 4 more bulky double AA batteries, making it a much heavier camera to carry, and a less portable option for the user. It has an included 16MB Flash memory card, and can be accessorized with two types of memory cards; the CompactFlash, and the Microdrive. The DiMAGE weighs 18.7 ounces and is 3.56 inches high, 4.61 inches wide, and has a depth of 4.43 in., with a total cubic volume of 72.70 inches.

Kodak EasyShare DX 6440-- The Kodak EasyShare DX6440 retails with a MSRP of US $349.95, and is one step below the Kodak EasyShare DX6490 in the EasyShare DX line of cameras. Less contoured, and without the flip-up flash, this camera looks more like the standard digital camera modeled off of the point-and-shoot 35mm camera of years prior. It has a CCD resolution of 4.23 MP and an LCD screen that only measures 1.8 inches. The viewfinder is not electronic like the Kodak EasyShare DX6490; instead it's an optical real image viewfinder. The total zoom registers at 15x, (4x optical, 3.8x digital), far below the 30x available with the Kodak EasyShare DX6490.

Kodak EasyShare DX7440-- The Kodak EasyShare DX7440 has an MSRP of US $349.95, a 1/2.5-inch 4.0 MP CCD, and an LCD which measures 2.2 inches. It is capable of storing up to 200 images in-camera. Its burst mode boasts a 2 fps separation, with a total zoom of 16x (4x optical, 4x digital), still under the Kodak EasyShare DX6490’s 30x zoom. Manual controls are slightly more restricted in comparison to the Kodak EasyShare DX6490, with an in-body flash, rather than the flip-up flash of the Kodak EasyShare DX6490. It has an internal memory of 32MB with additional SD/MMC cards available, and offers direct printing possibilities, just like all of the cameras within this Kodak EasyShare DX line of products. Without batteries this model weighs in at 7.9 ounces, and measures 4.0 x 2.7 x 1.6 inches, for a total cubic volume of 17.28 inches.

Kodak EasyShare DX7630-- The Kodak EasyShare DX7630 has an MSRP of US $499.95, has a CCD resolution of 6.2 MP, and has a total zoom of 12x (3x optical and 4x digital). It has 32MB of internal storage, and has a memory card slot for optional SD/MMC memory cards. The movie image resolution is 320 x 240 at a rate of 24 fps. It has more manual control than the Kodak EasyShare DX6490 with a greater range available overall on most of these settings. The DX7630's weight without batteries comes to 7.7 ounces, with dimensions of 4.0 x 2.7 x 1.6 inches for a total cubic volume of 17.28 inches.

Who It's For
Point-and-Shooters-- The point-and-shooter could make it on this camera, with its default option in menu, but overall, this camera is much more likely to please that user who wants to be able to luxuriate in having partial control over image qualities. It’s size makes it a more substantial purchase, not to be casually thrown in a pocket and forgotten about; remember, it has a neck strap, but it's surprisingly light and pleasant to hold.

Budget Consumers-- The budget consumer who needs to be able to have both quality images and control will like this camera. Also for the size of the LCD, it’s a reasonably priced option.

Gadget Freaks-- The gadget freak could spend a fair amount of time enjoying this Kodak EasyShare DX6490. It’s got enough things hidden throughout the system to keep you entertained, it looks official, and it feels superb. Its 30x total zoom makes it a desirable addition to a collection. Not to mention that LCD, which just looks good from the start.

Manual Control Freaks-- For the user needing control, but not wanting to spend excessive amounts of money, the Kodak EasyShare DX6490 falls right under your heading. Plenty of control features allow for ISO/Shutter/Aperture manipulation among other things, and an external flash and plenty of smaller details throughout allow for hours of manipulating and uncovering.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists-- The DX6490 would be a good camera to use as a backup; it's accurate and has the ability to handle an external flash and video/audio. The pro or serious hobbyist could also use this camera when a smaller, more compact model is needed for certain occasions. Not so expensive that you feel you can’t take it outside, its comfortable grip easily allows for many feasible shooting locations and positions.

Connectivity / Extras	Page 10 of 12		Conclusion
Kodak EasyShare DX6490 Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance	Physical Tour	Components
Design / Layout	Modes	Control Options	Image Parameters
Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions	Conclusion	Specs