Auto Mode
The auto mode on the Kodak EasyShare Z612 is a true auto mode; it leaves all image parameters to the control of the camera. The camera does allow the user to control options like flash settings, but options like exposure control, metering, ISO and other settings remain outside of access.

Although it’s great to see a normally auto-centric EasyShare expand into the manual control range with such a flourish, there really isn’t an easy way to ease into manual options when remaining in auto mode. Though there is a Program mode, I didn’t find it very easy to use. Without a comfortable bridge between full auto and full manual mode, it seems unlikely that users will graduate from the auto mode and into the realm of manual controls. But anyhow, the auto mode worked with success and accuracy. Check back in the future to see how the auto mode stands up to our image quality tests in the full-length review.

Movie Mode
The movie mode can be selected by switching the camera to the movie mode setting on the mode dial. The movie mode allows settings of 640 x 480 VGA quality at 30 fps or 320 x 240 QVGA at 30 fps. Video is recorded as an MPEG-4 file with QuickTime formatting. Audio is recorded simultaneously when shooting video and is captured as a stereo file and played back as a stereo file; the microphones for the camera are positioned on either side of the flash, along the edge of the lens. The Z612 can optically zoom when shooting video and users can select a video print feature that will print 4, 9 or 16 images on one photograph.

Drive / Burst Mode
The burst mode for the Kodak EasyShare Z612 can be set by pressing the burst button on the top of the right-hand grip. The user can then scan the following list of options: self timer 10 second, self timer 2 second delay, self timer 2 shots (one after 10 seconds and one at 18 seconds), first burst (first 8 shots at 2 fps), last burst (up to 30 shots with 2 per second for up to 15 seconds with the last 8 shots recorded) or finally a bracketed exposure mode which allows settings of +/-0.3EV, +/-0.7EV, or +/-1.0EV to be selected. The burst modes performed consistently, and the lag time from writing to memory was brief and didn’t cause delays in shooting.

Playback Mode
The playback mode can be entered by pressing the review button located to the right of the LCD screen. The Z612 can view images in single frame or multi frame setup with a maximum of 9 images displayed. When viewing images as single frames it is possible to engage the telephoto and wide angle controls to view the image with anywhere up to 8x of digital playback zoom. Images can be displayed with a variety of information including a review mode histogram for better picture analysis.

When reviewing video footage, users can monitor audio via the speaker located on the left side of the camera while watching clips at 1x, 2x or 4x playback rate. There are some image editing options, although they’re nowhere near the number of features provided with the Casio point-and-shoot line. Users can basically copy and crop.

Custom Image Presets
The custom image preset modes are accessible by entering the Scene Mode, Night Portrait or Sports mode settings located on the mode dial. Scene modes tailor the optics of the camera to react to generalized shooting situations which may frequency occur. The scene mode settings are displayed on the LCD screen with accompanying thumbnails displayed on the lower half of a live view screen. In the upper half of the screen, the highlighted scene mode is accessorized by a textual description.

The following options are provided: Portrait, Landscape, Night Landscape, Self-Portrait, Flower, Sunset, Backlight, Candlelight, Manner/Museum, Text, Beach, Snow, Fireworks and Children modes. Although manufacturers like Casio offer upwards of 30 presets, the options included with the Kodak EasyShare Z612 will more than suffice for the needs of most point-and-shoot users.

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