Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS Digital Camera Review

Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS

Digital Camera Review

Mar 28, 2007 - By Tom Warhol
At PMA 2007 in Las Vegas, Kodak unveiled their latest digital camera, the EasyShare Z712 IS, a lightweight, 7.1-megapixel, 12x optical zoom camera with Optical Image Stabilization and High ISO mode. Available in April 2007 and retailing at $299, this camera is cheaper than many in the high-zoom camera segment. It’s also competitive with some of the higher-end compact cameras. According to Kodak’s marketing materials, Kodak is responding to market trends that claim 70 percent of digital cameras last year were second-time buyers and 70 percent were also women. So will this lightweight digital camera appeal to more informed women camera buyers and translate into increased sales for Kodak? That remains to be seen, but in the meantime, we’ll take a sneak peak at the camera to see how it performs on the Convention Center floor.
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Kodak Z712 IS


Auto Mode
Auto mode is truly auto, except for picture size, compression, color mode, and date stamp, so handing the Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS to a novice is possible without worrying about exposure settings. The camera utilizes Kodak’s Color Science Image Processing Chip, which apparently analyzes the image scene and selects the best Scene mode for exposure. It defaults to Auto if it can’t figure it out. The images produced on the show floor in this mode were well exposed and focused. Entering program mode gives the user exposure and flash compensation options.

Movie Mode
Two menus options are provided with Movie Mode on the Z712. Image resolution is selectable for VGA, 640 x 480, or QVGA, 320 x 240, both at 30 fps. Single or continuous focus can also be selected, so zoom is possible in movie mode, as is image stabilization. The only editing functions available are to extract still images from videos and trimming. The menu on the floor model was not complete, so testing of these features was not possible. Look for more information in the full review.

Drive/Burst Mode
The Kodak Z712 IS has several burst modes, all with a 2 fps rate, not great for a camera in this class. The self-timer options include two pictures, 2-second delay, and 10-second delay. The burst mode includes first burst and last burst, which take up to six frames.

Playback Mode
The playback modes were not available in the preproduction floor model, so the menu items below are taken directly from Kodak’s website. Most of the features, beyond simple review of images, could not be explored. Perfect Touch Technology was not available for us to preview on the preproduction model, so it will be explored in the full review.

Custom Image Presets
The custom Scene modes are accessed through the mode dial and are mostly standard fare for digital cameras.

Custom Image Presets
A.k.a. Scene Modes
Portrait
 
Panorama
Left to Right
Panorama
Right to Left
Landscape
 
Night Portrait
 
Night Landscape
 
Snow
 
Beach
 
Text
 
Fireworks
 
Flower
 
Manner/Museum
 
Children
 
Backlight
 
Candlelight
 
Sunset
 

Design / Layout Page 5 of 11 Control Options
Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS First Impressions Review Navigation
 

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