Model Design / Appearance
To put it nicely, the EasyShare Z612 is not a stylish camera. Nearly the entire body is the same shiny silver. There are no highlights or visual complements and no extra textures or materials are applied other than light plastic. The camera has the same aesthetic as a piece of molded plastic lawn furniture.

Then again, Kodak is not known for design innovation. The camera’s lack of attention to style is not necessarily an oversight, but probably a matter of differing priorities. Also, though the Z612 is visually boring, it is also visually simple—and simplicity is Kodak’s hallmark. In the end, the design does complement the camera’s intended functionality and is comfortable to handle, although not quite fashionable.

Size / Portability
While certainly not the smallest camera, the Kodak EasyShare Z612 is well within the standard body size of compact cameras with high zoom levels. The camera isn’t going to fit comfortably in a pocket, but a small bag or carrying case will easily suffice. The camera also comes with eyelet straps on the left and right sides for an optional neck strap. Although somewhat awkward, the Z612 could be carried around the neck for a day hike or at a soccer game, due to the mere 10.6 ounce weight. The external dimensions of the Z612 are 4.1 inches in width, 2.9 inches in height and 2.7 inches in total depth.

Handling Ability
The handling on the Kodak EasyShare Z612 was surprisingly successful, considering the camera size; the Z612 placed control settings for most options easily within the reach of the thumb or index finger. The right-hand grip felt pronounced and well designed for users to grip and shoot with one hand, but the slippery nature of the plastic body and the lack of texture make holding it in warm or damp environments a bit risky. The flash opens automatically so users don’t need to engage external controls or a menu setting, and the external controls are easily navigable.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
There are a number of external controls on the top and back with all but the EVF/LCD button in reach of either the thumb or index finger of the user’s right hand. The controls are all well labeled, and the user will be able to use these controls even in low light since they are raised a fair amount from the body of the camera.

There were only two control problems that came up during use. The first was the placement of the sizeable shutter button at the front edge of the right-hand grip. There was a tendency to naturally rest my finger on top of the shutter button outside of shooting, which led to accidental photographs. The second problem involved the controls on the top of the right-hand grip. This section of the camera has a polished metallic silver finish that matches the finish on the buttons; this makes the labels for these buttons difficult to read at some angles. Other than these problems, the design of the frame of the camera did not impede my ability to access and use the controls.

Menu
All of the menus besides the Share menu are accessed by pressing the menu button on the back of the Kodak EasyShare Z612. The Share menu is opened by pressing the dedicated Share button. The menu structures are displayed as slightly transparent screens that overlay nearly 2/3 of the LCD, which tended to make monitoring the live view somewhat difficult. The menus are structured as lists. The user can navigate and set controls by using the four-way control and the OK button. These controls are generously sized and were simple to use and move.

When the menu button is pressed in either scene or auto mode the options available within each modes menu will be identical. The menu options for these two modes cover camera settings pertaining to picture size, compression, AF control, color mode, set album, image storage and setup. Lacking from this menu setup are the manual features, which become available once the camera is entered into aperture priority, shutter priority, program or manual modes. The menu options in these modes provide access to picture size, compression, white balance, exposure bracket, meter, focus zone, AF control, color mode, sharpness, set album, image storage and setup.

Not to be outdone, the movie mode for the Z612 also provides a variation to the shooting menus listed above. The menu for movie mode provides controls for self-timer, video size, set album, AF control, video length, image stabilization, image storage and setup. This menu is entered, like all the other shooting menus, by pressing the menu button located directly beneath the four-way controller on the back of the Z612.

The common setup menu lets the user tailor the camera to their shooting and image storage needs. This menu allows alterations to the following image and shooting parameters: return, LCD brightness, capture frame grid, image stabilizer (optical), date stamp, quickview, advanced digital zoom, orientation sensor, camera sounds, sound volume, date and time, auto power-off, video out, video date display, mode description, print warning, language, reset camera, format and about camera. These settings, like the controls located within the two previous menu structures, are displayed on a transparent screen overlay.

Once the camera is placed in review mode the menu system changes once again to provide access to these options: album, Perfect Touch Technology, crop, make picture, action print, protect, slide show, copy, image storage, multi up and setup.

The last menu is accessed by pressing the Share button on the back of the camera. The Share feature allows the transference of images to either PC or printer via the following settings: print, email, favorite, print all and cancel prints.

Ease of Use
Although the menu variations are enough to make any beginning user fret, the Kodak EasyShare Z612 does come with an overtly simple auto mode that restricts the user and gives them basic access to controls like flash settings while avoiding options like metering, white balance presets, ISO or other features.

The jog dial is a bit more complex. Users must select some in-menu options with the jog dial by depressing it, navigate by turning it, and confirm it by pressing it once more to move on to another control option. The jog dial sometimes didn’t register when I pressed the control, and it also felt ‘sticky’ which made shifting through shutter speeds nearly impossible.

The menu structure is easy to move through and although the plethora of variations seems unnecessary when Kodak could just restrict options when switching between modes, this is only troublesome when trying to remember which modes provide which settings.

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