Customer Reviews

Kodak Easyshare Z612 6.1 MP Digital Camera with 12xOptical Zoom

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I LOVE this camera! I have a Nikon N90, which is an excellent camera, but I wanted a digital, smaller camera. Several years ago, I bought a Toshiba PDF4300, and my husband purchased a Nikon Coolpix 5000. Both of these digital cameras are not user friendly or fast. As a result, we stopped taking photos. I bought a Kodak C model Easyshare camera for my mom for Mother's Day and was shocked at how easily I was able to immediately start taking photos. There were dedicated Review and Delete buttons by the LCD panel. What a concept! (To this day, I have problems deleting on my Toshiba.) It made me want to start taking photos again. I studied specifications from camera to camera; e.g. Canon, Nikon, Kodak, but I kept coming back to Kodak's simple, easy-to-use formula. I decided on the Z612 for a multitude of reasons: size, speed, stabilization, TV quality video with stereo audio, 2.5 LCD with 233K pixels, 35mm to 420mm zoom, 6.4 MP, ability to use a 2 GB SD card (with the best res (6 MP), this card can hold 491 photos), etc. I called some camera stores in town to see if they carried the Kodak Z612, because I wanted to see it in person, and I was surprised at their snobby responses that they don't carry Kodak. Don't let that kind of attitude stop you from seeing this camera. I found one close to home, and bought after looking at it - great sale price, too. This is the easiest camera out of the box. Very fast! Excellent quality - no red eye on my new kittens. In one day, I took 200 photos, copied them to my computer - no hassles. I am the happiest I've ever been with a camera. As an additional FYI, Kodak announced the P712 in London on June 20, 2006. This should be better than the P880 which I was considering. If you want to add an external flash and things, the P (Performance) line is the way to go. For this purchase I wanted size, quality, AND EASE OF USE. It looks like the new P712 is very similar to the Z612, which was announced Feb 2006. (Z is for high zoom, 6 is for MP, and 12 is for 12x zoom.)

I am ABSOLUTELY THRILLED with my Kodak Easyshare Z612. (No, I do not work for Kodak.)

Kodak Easyshare Z612

Pros

1. There are dedicated buttons for setting focus, flash, timer, review, information, delete, menue and share photos. Because the buttons require a solid punch, I have not not had the problem of accidentally resetting the camera when handling it. This makes the camera easy to use.

2. The x12 zoom works great and so does the image stabilization. I was able to take photos of people without a tripod from significant distances (15-20 feet) allowing for candid, non-intrusive shots of subjects. Because there are blur and poor exposure warnings, almost all of my photos came our sharp and bright. At the longer distances on the flash range, it was necessary to enhance the exposure in editing and I was amazed at the quality of the correction. Unless I was very close to the subject, the skin tones were good. I have submitted some sample images for your review.

3. I really like the software that comes with the camera. I normally edit the photos in a retail store because the touch screens are so easy to use as compared to my complicated and tedious computer software. The Kodak software was simple and had fun features such as turning the photos into cartoons or coloring book pages. Plus, the software is integrated with the Kodak website for easy photo sharing.

4. The camera is lighter weight (10 oz w/o batteries) and smaller than the Kodak "P" (professional) series. [...] While it is no substitute for a pocket camera, I think I would still use the z612 as my primary camera on a road trip.

5. The LCD screen is large at 2.5 inches and the EVD is bright. In comparison to other cameras I have used, I can see the LCD screen in bright sunlight but it is on the dim side in the normal mode. There is an option to brighten it beyond normal, which I have not tried.

6. The batteries, which come with the camera, seem to last around 50 photos with lots of telephoto adjustments.

7. The camera does come with a lens cap and lens strap, which I attached to the hook for the neck strap. The cap pops off and hangs out of the say when the camera is turned on. It is NOT necessary to keep track of the lens cap.

Cons

1. The wide/telephoto lever is located immediately to the right of the viewfinder. I use my left eye when looking in the viewfinder and it is very, very difficult to use the wide/telephoto at the same time. My thumb ends up poking my right eye. If I had tried this camera out in the store, it may have been a show stopper. This is a significant con, which dropped my rating by one star.

2. The icons and text describing the scene options are on the small side compared to the space available on the LCD screen. My current camera uses a descriptive photo with large text for the scene options. After you select a scene option, you have to toggle the wheel off and back onto the scene option to get back to the scene menu. This is cumbersome.

3. The icons on the camera body for the flash, focus, et. al are small and may be difficult to see for the 50+ consumer.

4. The battery indicator does not come on until the batteries are low. I would like to know the status of the batteries at all times.

5. For macro photography, you have to be at least 4.7 inches away from the subject for the focus to work properly. This is a long distance for macro photography, so your photos may require cropping for a really close look. I did some test photos of a grid and the tightest I could get (while maintaining good focus) was an area of around 2 inches by 2 3/4 inches. Too much cropping degregates the image quality. If you want to take pictures of ladybugs in high resolution, you may want to consider another camera that has a better macro mode and a super macro mode. Cropping to a grasshopper size works--but a ladybug size seems to be beyond the limits of this camera. (I did get a good shot of a ladybug, but I had to leave a lot a background to maintain a quality photo.)

Conclusion

This is a light-weight, easy to use, affordable camera with a large, bright LCD screen and bright EVD viewfinder. The image stabilization and the integrated editing software is a real plus. This camera will work for a beginner photographer, as well as, a serious amateur who wants some control over settings but doesn't want to spend the $ for a DSL. I would have liked a super macro mode, but the trade off was more expense, weight, no batteries included and a smaller, dimmer LCD screen. (Check out the Canon IS 3S or Sony super zoom) While I may not be able to photograph the texture on a bug's eye, at the end of the day, I'm really most interested in good candid photos of people. All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase and I'm having lots of fun taking pictures. Check out the images I have shared. If you buy this camera, I also recommend that you download the full manual from Kodak and take the time to edit each photo with the included software. (Note: I have not tried the video on this camera.)

7/12/2007 update. I still love my z612 and lots of acquaintances seem to have camera envy. I just wanted to mention that the Kodak editing software does not allow one to straighten or sharpen photos. I am now using picasa2 by google, which is available through a free download. It has very easy photo editing capability that is easy to use and is significantly better than the Kodak version. Google also offers a free web service for storing and sharing up to 1 gig of photos. The best thing about this service is that your friends can download a HD version of the photos for free. On the Kodak website, you can share photos but friends can only download a low quality version or buy prints or a CD.

Update: I concur on the blurring issue. It doesn't happen frequently, but sometimes, particularly on close-ups, the autofocus won't focus no matter what I do. Then the next picture is fine. Possibly a firmware issue Kodak could address with an update?

Note: only a couple of tiny issues keep this from being a 5-star review. To me, "5" means "close to perfect," and the Z612 isn't quite there--but I still love this camera! The Z612 has all the ease of an EasyShare with features found in more demanding cameras.

Pro

Nice small size for its key features: 6.1 mexapixels, 12x zoom, and image stabilization

Brilliant, huge viewfinder--by far the best in this price range

Trademark Kodak color--pop-out clear and beautiful

Buttons and switches are clearly labeled and easy to use, particularly the huge, well-placed release button

Foolproof picture-taking, but easy to access advanced features

Easy to transfer pictures, either with the USB cable or the optional dock (you don't have to get the printer dock; there's a $40 series 3 dock that just charges and transfers)

Loaded with easily-accessed scene settings, including a separate toggle for three of the most popular

Accepts regular camera batteries in addition to its rechargeable battery--though on a four-day trip where I took a lot of pictures I didn't seem to get anywhere close to exhausting the juice


Con

The rubber boot covering the USB transfer port seems a little flimsy

The manual is cryptic on some features

As with all non-manual zooms, the Z612 zoom is a bit trigger-happy

I'm not quite as impressed with close-ups such as flowers as I was with my old DX6440 EasyShare... so I thought I'd buy a close-up lens, but:

To use generic 55mm lenses, you need a special 49 to 55 mm lens adapter made just for the Z612--but this accessory isn't available yet! Come on, Kodak.

Still, a lot of camera, both for the cost and for the ease of use. Oh, and it's rather attractive, too--I took it to a conference and a lot of people commented on my "nice camera."

CONTROLS
The camera's controls (buttons: flash, picture settings), menu are very easy to use. The buttons are placed for easy use.

PICTURE QUALITY
The pictures are sharp, clear with good natural color. The 12X zoom works in all lighting conditions. In bright sun light auto 12x works well. In low light you can use the manual or program controls with the 12x zoom. One really good feature is that once you take a picture you can use the kodak perfect touch to sharpen and lighten up the picture if you need to. You can also crop the picture.

I've taken lots of macro pictures of flowers. I've even got good shots of bees in flight on the flowers.

VIDEO
You can use the 12x zoom while you run the video. In low light like at a circus or party the video is great. You don't miss a detail.

PRINTER
You can user the kodak series 3 printer to print pictures from your video.

TV
The camera or printer dock can be hooked up to your TV. You can review your pictures to decide what you want to keep. You can show the whole family what you're taken pictures of.

RECOMMEND
yes, for an experienced photographer you have the ability to set the iso 800, control shutter speed, etc.
Yes, for the beginner, let the camera do the work and you'll get BEAUTIFUL, SHARP picutures.
You can't go wrong with this camera. By the way, it is so lite you hardly know you're carrying it.

I spent weeks researching cameras and finally went with the Z612. I had it two days, flipped through the manual, and headed out on vacation. In all situations, beach, boats, planes, ships, cars, this camera took outstanding photos. I used many of the scene settings, beach, landscape, night, sports, auto, night landscape, and the picture were great.

I did not experience any of the issues reported by other users, blurry pictures or loose cap for the lens.
I would highly recommend this camera.

Overall this camera is totally worth the $400 to buy it. It takes excellent and colorful shots - both closeup and far away. The image stabilization works great, so there's little chance of blurry shots at full zoom. It's easy to use and it's super small. I bought this camera because I love my Kodak CX7430 and I didn't want to pay the money for a digital SLR like the Canon Rebel. If I had the choice to buy a zoom camera again, I'd still take this one.

PROS:
1. Crisp and vivid photos
2. Great image stabilization
3. Easy to use controls - a Kodak trademark
4. Long battery life and uses over the counter batteries or the rechargeable ones that come with it.
5. Both viewfinders give you a lot of versatility and the LCD screen is excellent.
6. Has two video sound mics for stereo sound.
7. Very small in size for a camera of this type.

CONS:
1. Video sound distorts at rock concerts.
2. Video sound fades out when zooming in and out while recording (so don't zoom while recording is my procedure, unless you're not worried about the sound).
3. Camera could be a bit faster reloading from shot to shot.

The first one I bought I had to send back but This camera is great it takes wonderful picture with great colors and is easy to use. I have taken picture of the moon at 12x zoom and then used the review at 8x and can see the creaters on the moon objects in motion and closeups that sold me on the camera. It's very easy to use my girlfriend never had a digital camera before and she can take great pictue with it.Well I would reccomened this camera for any one looking for a mega zoom camera that is simple to use with many extra's like many preset scene's,with flash settings, great picture to picture speed nice low light picture's good auto focus and fit's in your hand nice and battery life is great I can go a couple weeks between charges useing the LCD screen 2.5" nice and big.I did A lot of resarch before I bought this camera and found this was the best in price range well worth the money.

I love this little camera. It replaces a DX7590 that I lost (and is my 4th Kodak digital camera). I also have a Canon Digital Rebel XT and although it's a great canera as well, it's not ideal to drag along to the beach or destinations where I have to worry about it being stolen or damaged. The pre-configured settings are a good way to set up your camera for quick shots (sports, sunset, candlelight scenes, etc) and the abilty to crop the picture in camera is useful. I also have a 2 gig card which allows me to take as many pictures as I want. This also helps with use of exposure bracketing. What I like best?...screen size and quality, picture quality, ease of use. My only issue was finding a back-up battery pack...

I have had the Z612 for a month now. I decided to look it up on amazon and see what reviews it was getting. I was surprised to see the few shared photos. I love my camera and decided to add some of my own that I have taken in the last month. I read all the reviews and agree with them all. I didn't want to bore anyone by repeating everything... I just wanted to let anyone that's looking for a high performance/zoom camera to check out my pictures. They are mostly of my dog, yes. But it shows the speed quality and clearity of this camera. Also the videos are excellent and very clear with great sound quality (with the exception of zooming while filming). I would recommend this camera to experts and beginners (considering I'm relatively new at photography as an art). Thank you!

The Z612 is a great camera but has one minor to moderate flaw depending on the user. All-in-all the white balance sensor does not function properly. I ended up exchanging it for another one because of this problem, but the second also had this problem. Best Buy said this model is known to have an inferior white balance sensor.

In indoor lighting conditions, sometimes the LCD tends to look very yellowish. so yellowish that its hard to determine whether or not the picture will come out ok. The strange thing is that on both of the cameras i tried, the pictures come out fine and it seems to just be the LCD that has the yellow tint.

Overall, i am still satisfied with the camera because the pictures come out great and movie mode is fine. If a yellowish LCD is something that will bother you, you may want to consider something else..