Manual Control Options
The manual control options are quite extensive on the Kodak EasyShare Z612. This is great, considering that the EasyShare series generally emphasizes strong auto control while forgoing manual controls. The one interesting omission to an otherwise full list of manual control options is the suprisinly lack of a manual white balance setting. This makes no sense, considering the variety of manual control variations and breadth of coverage.

Manually, the Z612 provides control over exposure, metering, ISO, aperture, shutter speed and focus through either the shooting menu or the jog dial controller. The manual control options are accessible when the camera is in manual, program, aperture priority or shutter priority modes, entered by turning the mode dial to the appropriate setting.

Focus
Auto Focus
When shooting with auto focus the camera reacted quickly to changes in focal depth and appears at first glance to perform well with fast moving subjects and lower light situations. The focal modes can be altered by pressing the focus button positioned on the top of the camera and cycling through the following auto focus options: macro, normal, and infinity.

Changes to individual auto focus modes can be made by entering the shooting menu of the Z612. Within the AF zone submenu the user can select between multi-zone, center-zone or selectable pattern. The selectable pattern option allows the user to move the focal frame across the LCD screen by engaging the four-way control.

A second AF setting can be accessed by entering the AF Control submenu, which provides settings of continuous or single AF (default) shooting modes. The continuous AF mode provides a constantly focusing auto focus whereas the single AF will engage final focus setting once the shutter button is pressed halfway.

Manual Focus
The manual focus option can be engaged when the camera isn’t placed in any auto mode. The manual focus control is activated by pressing the focus button on the top of the camera above the right-hand grip and manipulated via a sliding scale displayed on the LCD screen, navigated with the left and right arrows on the four-way controller. Shifting through the focus range occurred quickly, so controlled adjustments on the run will be possible even for the less experienced user.

Metering
The metering options are only accessible in manual mode and are located within a submenu of the shooting menu, entered when the user presses the menu button. The metering mode options for the Z612 include multi-pattern (default), center-weighted and spot modes. The spot metering option measures light from the front plane of the subject so the subject isn’t cast in shadow. In contrast, the multi-zone option will provide a more accurate exposure setting when shooting under a variety of light sources.

Exposure
To enter the exposure control menus, the user must set the Kodak EasyShare Z612 to any of the manual control modes. The exposure compensation settings are located within the control options displayed along the bottom edge of the LCD screen. The jog dial for the Z612 is once again the only way to access this manual control, so that it will be necessary to select the exposure compensation icon, press the jog dial in to highlight this control, and spin the jog dial to select the appropriate exposure compensation setting with a +/-2 EV range with 1/3 step increments.

It is also possible to shoot three images simultaneously, with the exposure settings bracketed for either +/-0.3 EV, +/-0.7 EV, or +/- 1.0 EV depending on the needs of the user. The exposure bracketing feature can be found within the burst mode, which is opened by pressing the burst button on the top of the camera.

White Balance
While the white balance settings aren’t available when shooting in auto or scene modes, they do become available when shooting in program, aperture, shutter or manual modes. Once the camera is placed in any of these, the white balance submenu becomes visible in the shooting menu options. The white balance settings are Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent and Open Shade. Kodak has chosen once again to not provide a manual white balance, though they offer a full coterie of control options for the rest of the camera. Excluding it seems very illogical.

ISO
Image sensitivity can be controlled only when the camera is set in program, aperture, shutter or manual shooting modes. It remains unavailable in other modes. The ISO settings are located along the bottom edge of the LCD and can be accessed via the same control as the aperture and shutter speed: turn the jog dial to select the ISO option, then press the jog dial and highlight the feature. Once highlighted, the jog dial can be turned to cycle through the following settings: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400 and 800 ISO (ISO 800 has a resolution of 1.1 MP). Once the proper ISO setting has been selected, the user must press the jog dial one more time to select this setting. If the jog dial isn’t pressed in a second time the user will, in all likelihood, accidentally spin through the ISO features when they attempt to move through the controls listed on the bottom of the LCD.

Shutter Speed
Shutter speeds for the Kodak EasyShare Z612 are accessible when the camera is placed in shutter priority, aperture priority, program or manual modes. The shutter priority mode is entered by switching the mode dial located on the top of the camera to the shutter speed setting. The shutter speed will be listed along the bottom edge of the LCD screen and is altered by turning the jog dial until the shutter speed setting is selected. The jog dial must then be pressed into the camera, which will highlight this setting and display arrows indicating which direction the jog dial can be moved to alter it. The shutter speed range for the Z612 is 16 seconds to 1/2000th. It should be able to shoot in both well lit scenes and situations where the lighting is less than desirable.

Aperture
The aperture controls for the Kodak EasyShare Z612 are accessible when the camera is entered in aperture priority, shutter priority, program mode or manual mode. The aperture priority mode can be engaged by moving the mode dial to the aperture priority setting. The aperture setting, like the other PASM settings, can be entered by spinning the jog dial until the aperture setting at the bottom of the LCD screen is selected. Once chosen the jog dial must be pressed into the camera to highlight this control. At this point the user will be able to turn the jog dial to the right or left to properly select settings from an aperture range of f/2.8 to f/8.0.

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