Front (7.5)
The all-glass Kodak Retinar 10x optical zoom lens is the dominant feature of the front of the camera. It rests a little off-center, towards the right. It’s visually balanced by the rubber-coated curved right hand grip. Above the lens and extending outward is the flash casing, sporting the “Kodak” lettering on a bit of rigid plastic on the front of the flash inset. Above and to the left of the lens barrel are two small vertically-aligned circles, the lower of which is a light sensor for metering the scene. This is directly above the light assist/self-timer lamp. Further above and to the right of the lens barrel are the two small openings that lead to the microphone.
Back (7.0)
The dominant feature here is the 1.8” TFT indoor/outdoor screen, which is situated towards the left. Above it is a sizable 201,000 pixel viewfinder with a rubber eyepiece. In between these are two buttons; the right EVF/LCD button is used to toggle between the two views, and the left Information button (marked with an “I”) is for displaying shooting information about exposure compensation, image quality, and flash settings.
On the back on the right hand side are most of the Z740’s shooting controls. Slight more than halfway down the frame is the circular mode dial, with a joystick in the middle for menu selection and navigation. Below the dial in a rough triangle are three circular shooting controls. From left to right, they are: Delete, Menu, and Review. Above the dial to the left is the famous Share button. Above the Share button is the horizontal zoom control, with a “W” on one half for wide angle and a “T” on the other for telephoto.
Left Side (7.0)
The only things of note on the Z740’s left side are an extending eyelet for a camera strap and a huge “5.0 megapixel” advertisement (just in case you keep forgetting what kind of CCD you have).
Right Side (7.0)
The top of the Z740’s right side has another strap eyelet. Below this is a large port door. The door is solid enough when closed properly, but be warned: if it is pressed backwards it might not stay attached. The right hand grip also slightly overlaps onto this side.
Top (7.5)
From the top, the EasyShare Z740 looks an awful lot like the Bat Signal. The left wing—segment has no controls, only the flash casing. When open, the flash pops up about 90 degrees, and when closed, it lays flat along the surface within the 1/2”-1” casing. To the left of the flash is a switch for manually opening it.
The bridge between the left and right segments is where the power switch is located. It has three options: “On,” indicated by the universal green camera icon, “Off,” and “Favorites.” This last one is marked with a tiny black book with a heart in the middle, and it acts as a mini photo album, storing reduced-sized favorites in a single easy-to-access place (in true Kodak fashion). Below the power switch is a grid of nine holes that covers the camera’s speaker.
The right segment has a smaller ovular section within it, which is separated by stark lines. This smaller area contains four essential shooting controls arranged in an arch. The largest button accesses the shutter release and focus lock feature. Beneath this is the Self timer/Burst mode button, which controls the self-timer countdown and first and last burst modes. Below this is the Close up/Landscape button, for enabling access to two popular image presets. This further illustrates Kodak’s commitment to ease of use and general simplicity. The third button is the flash button, indicated by the universal lightning bolt icon. If this button is pressed repeatedly, the camera will cycle through different flash modes and help the user make adjustments without having to move fingers far from the shutter.
