Color (6.90)
There are many factors that influence the color of the pictures hanging on the wall: printer ink, software effects, and camera components. We can’t control the type of ink you use or the software effects applied, but we tested the Kodak EasyShare V705 in our studio to evaluate its ability to reproduce colors.
We photographed the GretagMacbeth color chart under optimal lighting and uploaded the pictures to Imatest software. The program output several charts to help us better understand the V705’s capabilities. Below is the color chart modified to show the original ideal color (vertical rectangle of each tile), the Kodak V705’s color (outer square), and the ideal color corrected for luminance (inner square).
Imatest also output another chart that shows just how far each color is from where it should be. The square shapes represent the ideal; the circles are the colors of the Kodak EasyShare V705. The line connecting the colors shows the degree of error. Ideally, you wouldn’t be able to see this line. If the camera’s colors bend toward the center, they are undersaturated. If they lean toward the edges, then they are oversaturated.
The V705’s white balance is close to where it should be, but it is still a tiny bit off-center. This is of note because it seems to throw off all colors. It didn’t perform too badly. Most of the colors are on a leash, with the blues and yellows being the most inaccurate. Colors tend to be a bit oversaturated by an average of 9.2 percent. Overall, the Kodak V705 performed better than its predecessor. The Kodak V570, that also has 5x dual lenses and similar functionality, produced lackluster colors and a 6.31 overall score. The Kodak EasyShare V705 comes out with an 8.69 mean color error and an improved 6.9 overall color score.
Still Life Scene
Below is our still life scene shot with the Kodak V705.
Click on the image above to view the full resolution version.
Resolution (2.63)
The V705 improves upon its predecessor with more resolution on its image sensors (yes, there are two of them). The camera has 7.1 megapixels, more than the V570’s 5.1 megapixels. We photographed an industry standard resolution chart in the nicely lit studio to see how much detail this EasyShare could capture. We took several pictures with various exposure settings to garner the absolute sharpest results. The best picture was taken using an aperture of f/4.4 and a focal length of 19.2mm – so using the top image sensor behind the 3x lens.
Click on the chart to view the full resolution file
Even viewing the small photo above, barrel distortion can be seen by the bent lines at the top and bottom. Viewing the larger photo shows just how soft the edges of the frame are. Imatest analyzed the images and output results in terms of line widths per picture height (lw/ph). This measures the number of alternating black and white lines that can fit across the frame without being blurred by the camera. According to Imatest, the Kodak V705 resolved 1405 lw/ph horizontally with 2.19 percent undersharpening, and 1176 lw/ph vertically with 13.6 percent undersharpening. The substantial undersharpening is a bit surprising, especially in the vertical direction. The processing coupled with the soft edges of the frame - from the poor optics - yielded less than ideal images.
In the end, the V705 received a 2.63 overall resolution score, and that isn’t very good for a 7.1-megapixel digital camera.
Noise – Auto ISO (4.79)
We tested the amount of noise in images taken by the Kodak EasyShare V705 using the automatic ISO setting. In the optimal lighting of the studio, the camera chose an ISO of 200. This is a bit high, as most digital cameras choose the lowest possible setting such as 50 or 80. Around ISO 200 is where the camera’s noise reduction system seems to kick in, so the Kodak V705 still earned a respectable 4.79 overall score.
Noise – Manual ISO (9.76)
The V705 made huge improvements over its predecessor in this area. It included a much wider manual ISO range that performed far better. Below is the 50-1000 manual ISO range plotted on the horizontal plane of the chart. The noise levels are on the vertical axis.
The earlier Kodak V570’s top ISO setting of 400 produced enough noise to hit the 1.6 mark on the left side of the chart. The V705 does leaps and bounds better by keeping all of its manual ISO settings’ noise levels far below that mark. Surprisingly, the amount of noise at ISO 100 is higher than ISO 200 – where the noise reduction system seems to kick in. A steady rise in noise occurs, but this always happens and is one of the inevitable curses of high sensitivity. Overall, the Kodak EasyShare V705 performed extremely well with a 9.76 score.
Low Light (3.5)
We tested the Kodak EasyShare V705 in four low light settings so consumers can see how the camera reacts when it isn’t in the optimal lighting of our studio. We turned the lights down to 60, 30, 15, and 5 lux and photographed the color chart seen a few sections above. The following are the pictures taken.
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Low Light Tests
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60 Lux
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30 Lux
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15 Lux
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5 Lux
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The camera had trouble focusing in the low light, even with the help of the assist lamp. Once it did focus, the camera then had trouble keeping the chart illuminated. This trouble only worsened as the lights dimmed, despite the help of the higher ISO sensitivities. The amount of noise jumped significantly, and the colors suffered although not nearly as much as the Kodak V570’s. Still, the Kodak EasyShare V705 is not a good camera for shooting at night or in dimly lit restaurants.
Speed / Timing
Start-up to First Shot (8.55)
The Kodak V705 came to life and took a shot in 1.17 seconds in our test. That’s very good performance on a compact camera. Many competing cameras take 2.5 seconds or longer to activate. The V705’s speed will come in handy for spur-of-the moment pictures.
Shot to Shot Time (9.57)
The V705 took 7 shots in roughly 3 seconds, for a speed of 2.3 frames per second, that is quick for a compact camera. It needed about 10 seconds to write the images to memory and be ready for another shot. Cameras with slower frame rates – 1.5 fps or so – often manage to shoot continuously, rather than have an upper limit on the number of shots in a burst. In most cases, it’s better to have a rate as quick as the V705’s for a limited number of frames than a slow rate that goes on forever. The V705 will allow the user to get off a couple of shots while someone is blowing out birthday candles, and that is the sort of use which the burst mode on a compact camera is made for.
Shutter to Shot Time (8.82)
The delay between the moment the shutter button is pressed and the moment the camera actually captures an image can mean the difference between a great shot and a failure. Compact cameras typically have long delays. It’s one of the most frustrating things about them. The V705’s twin-lens system adds a unique twist to this test. At the wide-angle setting, the V705 gets off a shot in 0.09 seconds, and that is an excellent score – it would be good for a DSLR. At medium focal lengths, the camera is much slower, with a delay of 0.27 seconds. 0.27 seconds is a pretty good score for a compact camera, but it shows the difference between the V705’s two lenses. The wide-angle is either fixed-focus, or it focuses remarkably fast.
