« [ KONICA MINOLTA DiMAGE G600 ] | Main | Photography for the semi depressed »
April 30, 2005
[ REVIEW — KODAK DX7630 ]
Price: $799
Rating: 4.5 stars
The low-down: Kodak’s new 6.1 megapixel DX7630 camera is further evidence of the company’s determination to cover every permutation of camera and price under $1000. And they are doing it with a bewildering range of digicams of varying degrees of sophistication and user control.
The DX7630 conforms to the company’s apparent philosophy of producing images straight from the camera that are sharp, saturated and correctly exposed. This output is achieved by setting default sharpening and saturation at higher levels than is done in pro-sumer cameras. Colour saturation and sharpening can be over-ridden in the setup menu and dpexpert found that Low is the preferred setting if post-camera editing is planned.
The DX7630 has both an optical and LCD viewfinder and the shutter lag, the bane of so many cameras in this price range, is negligible. Focus is fast and spot on. White balance is excellent.
There are 16 scene modes for macro, self-portrait, landscape, snow etc. They are accessible but probably not very useful. This camera has outstanding macro performance and very good flash. Skin tone is realistic.
Like this: The lens is a 39~117mm (film equivalent) Schneider-Kreuznach zoom. Historically Schneider lenses have been to Kodak what Leitz and Zeiss are to Leica and Contax. This Kodak camera is made in China, so we assume that this is not the same Jos. Schneider of Kreuznach who made lenses for Kodak plate and Retina cameras. Still the Asian Schneider does an excellent job.
Dislike that: Users must print out their own manual from a PDF file. That is real cheap-skatery. And the menu is still cartoonish.
Parting shot: This is the best Kodak digital camera we have used. Kodaks generally look and feel different from the Japanese cameras and some models lagged in things like appearance and smoothness of operation. The DX7630 is still different, but in a nicer way. For its price and intended purpose this camera is highly recommended.
Steve's Digicam reviews the Kodak EasyShare DX7630
Posted by terry at April 30, 2005 12:20 PM
