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August 14, 2006
[ KODAK EASYSHARE V610 dual lens camera ]
Price: $700
Consider carefully
The low-down: The Kodak V610 Easyshare 6 megapixel digital camera is “the world’s smallest 10x optical zoom digital camera” according to the company’s publicity. It uses the dual lens setup that first appeared on the V570. The lens in use when the camera is turned on covers the range from 38–114mm (the standard 3x zoom in film equivalent focal lengths) then, as the zoom control is moved up, the tele lens comes into effect, giving a range of 130–380mm. The switch is imperceptible.
Using this dual lens setup Kodak have produced a super zoom camera in a compact body with face dimensions of 110mm by 55mm.
The camera feels robust and looks smart. The LCD screen is large at 7.1cm but nearly invisible in daylight and there is no optical viewfinder. The image on the screen during focussing and on instant review is curiously noisy.
There is no image stabilisation and it is nearly impossible to hold a small camera at arm’s length and keep it steady. The ratio of useable shots to duds is unacceptable. Some type of support, such as a tripod, is essential at the extreme telephoto end of the zoom.
For a camera that boasts such an extreme telephoto range the flash is feeble. It does not properly illuminate subjects 3 or 4 metres from the camera.
Like this: When the Kodak V610 hits its sweet spot the picture quality is superb. Auto white balance, colour, focus, image resolution and detail are outstanding. The V610 will render every feather on a bird and every vein on the petal of a flower. Images have the typical punchy Kodak look, bright without being garish. Sadly the V610 doesn’t do it every time. More often the picture is blurred and useless.
Dislike that: No image stabilisation; noisy (grainy) LCD and very slow write time to the SD memory card meaning a long pause between shots. The camera reverts to Auto every time it is turned on. Preferred setting can be stored in a custom Scene Mode and recalled with a couple of button presses. Cumbersome!
Parting shot: The dual lens system works well on the earlier V570 where the zoom range extension is at the wide end (23mm). It doesn’t work so well when the aim is to extend the telephoto range.
Posted by terry at August 14, 2006 08:25 AM
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