Customer Reviews

Kodak Easyshare Z730 5 MP Digital Camera with 4xOptical Zoom

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is an excellent camera and I heartily recommend it. I have been an avid photographer for over 40 years and my standards are very high. I have used everything from fully manual large format cameras to ultra small point and shoot APS film cameras.

This is my first digital camera and I did a lot of research before I bought one. I read up on dozens of models, tried a few of my friends cameras and handled quite a few in stores before deciding on this one. This is the best camera I could find in this price range. I could not be more pleased with it.

The pictures are very sharp, with no digital noise or artifacts. Colors are perfect. There are no unpleasant color casts and the colors are rich and vibrant without being oversaturated. I ran a number of my test pictures through Photoshop and I found that grays are neutral and blacks and whites are pure.

The camera itself is small and light enough to fit into a cargo pocket or to wear with a small belt pouch. It fits comfortably in your hands and all the controls are well placed. The LCD screen on the back is huge and is very bright and clear. It was one of the camera's strongest selling points.

The lens is excellent. The 4X zoom is a bit wider than most at the wide end and a bit longer than most on the tele end. It has a great range and really shines when used for portraits within the telephoto range. It is much better than the standard 3X zoom found on most cameras of this size and price. It was the deciding factor for me.

The 5 megapixel resolution is outstanding and it really shines when you want to crop or blow up just a portion of a picture.

The camera has numerous scene modes and a full range of auto exposure and manual controls. I suspect that most users, myself included, will just set it on Auto and forget it, but it is nice to know that more sophisticated options are available. All the other options are easily accessed through a very simple menu system that seems much easier to use than those on most other digital cameras. All buttons and controls are well placed and easy to use.

I especially appreciate the fake sound of a shutter clicking when you take a photo. I don't know how many times I've used friends cameras and couldn't figure out if I had taken a picture or not. The sound can be turned off if you don't like it, but I find it very helpful.

There is virtually no shutter lag. You take the picture the moment you press the shutter button. This was crucial for me. Most digital cameras have a slight lag and it can be maddening when it causes you to miss that perfect moment. I have a film camera that suffers from a slight lag and even after 7 years of use, I still find it annoying.

Battery life seems good but I will probably purchase an extra battery and keep a fully charged spare on hand. The external charger is very compact and it is a real advantage to be able to charge the battery outside of the camera.

The 32MB of internal memory is a bit more than most but you'll want to purchase an extra SD card. I bought a 256MB card and it is more than enough for me. Interestingly, Kodak notes in the documentation that the camera works best with regular SD cards, not the ultra fast ones, so save your money and buy just a standard card. The camera writes to the card almost instantaneously, so you will never lose a shot waiting for the camera.

The flash is quite good. Exposure and color are very accurate. There is no ugly blue cast and it does not overexpose like so many others do. Like most other small cameras with the flash near the lens, red eye can be a problem. It is no worse than any other camera and is easly corrected with almost any software.

The auto white balace works very well. I doubt that I will ever have to set it manually but you can if you need to.

The burst modes and auto bracketing are nice features but I probably won't need them all that much. Still, it is nice to have them when you need them.

The Easyshare software that comes with the camera is very good but not outstanding. It will do everything you need with ease but Mac users will probably prefer iPhoto or the $100 Photoshop Elements. Since I use the full version of Photoshop everyday, the software was not an issue for me.

The camera has a good movie mode but I really don't care about that at all, so it was not a factor in my decision. I have a Mini DV movie camera for when I want movies.

I strongly urge you to handle any camera you are considering. Go to a store and actually pick it up and use it. I have used Canon cameras for over 30 years and was all set to buy a Canon digital camera in this price range. It was an excellent camera but when I held it and used it, I realized it was not for me. I almost bought it sight unseen just because I have always gotten such good use out of my Canons. I would have been disappointed with it. I made sure to try out this Kodak Z730 before I ordered it. It suits me perfectly, but you may find something that bothers you. Try it before you buy it!

There are a few minor quibbles. For $300 it should come with a case. I did not like having to run out and spend another $10 just so I could take the camera with me. I've noticed that almost no other cameras in this price range come with a case, so I guess Kodak is not alone in this cost cutting.

I would have also appreciated an AC adapter to run it without batteries when it is attached to the computer, but I guess Kodak wants to sell those docks. Again, almost no other camera companies include this accessory anymore, so this should not be a deal breaker.

I'm one of the few people who still prefer to hold the camera up to my eye and use the optical viewfinder instead of the LCD. This camera has a good optical viewfinder and you can even set the diopter adjustment. I wish the optical viewfinder was a bit larger and had a bit more information in it but that would probably make this camera more costly. Since most people use the LCD screen to compose their photos, this is probably not an issue for most buyers.

In conclusion, this is a great camera for quick snapshots of friends and family. Use it for vacations, parties, candid photos and just about everything else. It is easy to use and gives excellent results. You can just set it and forget it or you can use its more advanced features to do more sophsticated photography. In the end, it is all about the pictures and with this camera, the pictures are beautiful. You will not find a better camera in this price range.

I have used this camera for about two months now. I am very pleased with it. It is my first digital camera. After reading about all the different ones on the market I ended up buying the Z730 and I'm glad I did. I got the dock with it which it makes it a little nicer, but I wouldn't say it is a necessity. It takes great quality photos, its easy to use and all in all a good choice. I have found though, the complete auto setting is not as good as my 35 mm slr. In very bright light or low light conditions the exposure is sometimes uneven, bright faces and dark back grounds. But using the scene settings ie "beach" in very bright conditions does the trick. The large view screen is really nice. Overall its a great buy for the money.

I am very pleased with this camera, Originally, I bought a Casio Exilim, but found the picture quality was so poor that I returned it in favor of this camera. I'm glad I did, because the quality of the pictures that this camera produces is far superior (especially in low light and indoor settings).

Even though this camera is thicker than the smaller Exilims and Elphs on the market, don't be discouraged. It's still small enough to throw in your purse or bag, and because it has the lithium battery, it's much lighter than you would expect it to be (especially if you're used to a similarly sized camera that takes 4 AAs).

i have searched high and low for a good digital camera to replace our out-dated one. my #1 criteria was for QUICK SHUTTER SPEED! so many digital cameras have a delay which causes me to miss the wonderful smiles on my baby's face. this camera rocks when it comes to shutter speed and it has a great grip that allows me to take pictures with 1 hand while zooming so that my other hand can be used to wave a toy in the air or whatever it takes to get the baby to look my way. as a bonus, there are many great features on this camera that i've read about in the manual as well. i just hope to use them and not get lazy with the auto settings. we'll see. in the end, i highly recommend this camera...especially before they run out of them as most places are not carrying it anymore since it's last year's model and has been replaced. not sure why kodak is replacing it as it's wonderful as is. enjoy!

I dropped my beloved little Minolta G530 into my coffee one morning (yes, I did) and I had to get another camera. I bought the Minolta for under 200 dollars at 199 and thought I could find another deal on the same model, but I couldn't find one at the same price or cheaper (I live in Germany). So, I started researching. Of course any good research on buying a digital camera should start at the Amazon reviews, so I started reading them. For under 200 dollars/euros, I could purchase the Z730. I ordered it and was a little disappointed in its look and feel. The Minolta was metal-cased, or at least felt as solid as metal. The Kodak is plastic-cased. The Minolta was thin and elegant. The Kodak is not quite elegant, though it is handsome, however it is not thin and I thought I would miss the portability of the Minolta.

But the pictures! And the control functions! And the viewscreen! All positives that far override the plastic case and size of the Kodak. I loved the quality of the pictures from the Minolta, but the Kodak is in a higher class of image creation. I'm not sure this is due to the science chip that they say is in the camera or not, but the colors are more vivid and the sharpness and clearness are more pronounced. There is a greater range of presets at 16. I think the Minolta only had maybe 5 or 6. The controls are definitely easier to use. Almost too easy, since I feel like I am being spoon fed information on how to take pictures.

If you want or need to be spoon fed information about how to take good photographs, then this camera has the presets to take pictures for you in 95 percent of situations you may encounter. But the manual mode of the camera gives the photographer complete control. It can be set to adjust shutter speed or aperture along with full manual control, so if you are a professional photographer, this camera might be an option, since it is threaded for additional wide angle or telescopic lenses.

With the Kodak I have the same control as I did with the Minolta, but with 4X zoom and better depth of field capabilities. The features I miss from the Minolta are its abilities to set RGB balances and its 3 manual options for manual settings that could be preset for situations that you may commonly shoot in. But those were options that I don't really need that much, so it isn't a great loss.

Both the Kodak and the Minolta can run from a wall outlet, but the Kodak can use an adapter that you could buy for a few dollars at any Radio Shack. The Minolta had a custom adaptor for this purpose, so that's extra money.

So far, the only con I have against this camera isn't the camera itself, but the stupid, poorly developed software that is included with the unit. If you want to use it, fine, but it isn't needed at all, and I think it is just a gimmik to sell the docking stations, etc. You don't need any of that to quickly email or store images. If you use Picasa to upload to your blog, this software is a royal pain to bypass. Do yourself a favor and buy a card reader. The Kodak uses standard SD cards and you can buy a card reader that reads just about any kind of card imaginable for 10 bucks. The pictures will download just fine and a lot quicker. I know the instructions say to download the sofware first, but I have uninstalled the EasyShare NightMare and there are no problems with my camera or computer caused by uninstalling it.

The video quality is good and there is cable included to connect to your television, if you want. I haven't used it that much so I can't comment on it more than that.

I'm going to end this on a positive note, though, since the Z730 really is a fine piece of photographic equipment. That positive would be that the Li Ion battery is cheap. They have an OK charge, and I've taken quite a few pictures on one charge, but the electronics that give the fine pictures must be the reason. At 10 bucks apiece, you can buy a couple more and keep at least one fully charged in the charger while you take the other two along.

I recently got the KodakEasyShare Z730 Digital Camera for Christmas, and I am more than happy with my new tech toy. After much research, I had requested this particular camera for Christmas and my relatives all chipped in and had bought it. I have never been more satisfied with a decision.

First of all, the camera itself is quite an engineering feat. It may not be as small and ultra-slim as other digital cameras, but it sure packs a huge array of features in its casing. The buttons are placed in very convenient locations and I have no trouble accessing them when taking pictures. The viewfinder gives you a large image like a regular camera, unlike some other digital cameras which have tiny viewfinders that can be a pain on the eyes. The 2.2 inch LCD is large and can be viewed from 150 degrees in both indoor and outdoor settings. I left the screen protector that came with the camera on my LCD to prevent scratching. I highly recommend this, as the screen protector does not detract from the colors of the screen, but still gives you ample protection.

The USB port and A/V Out (yes, you can view your pics on a T.V screen with an included A/V cable) are located beneath a rubber piece that irritates me because you have to bend it back when plugging in the USB cable. I suppose it is a good defense against the elements, but I wished that the rubber door was a plastic door with hinges so you could just slide it open. The camera has a tripod mount and a special docking port on the bottom. Unfortunately, the camera only comes with a special cradle for fitting into the Kodak printing dock; you'll have to buy the dock separately, but DO NOT throw away the plastic cradle. You need it for the camera to fit the dock properly.

For the pros out there, this camera is quite versatile, as it lets you alter exposure metering, white balance, exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture, focus, and more. There are 16 different modes that let you take beautiful pictures in settings like snow, beach, indoor, night, subject, close up, landscape, and more. I found these to be particularly handy because the modes automatically set flash, shutter, and focus depending on what situation you are in. The 4x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom were big deciding factors for me choosing this camera, as I continually need to use them in various situations. The 16x total zoom was a big improvement over my older 9x total zoom 3.2 megapixel Minolta camera.

The video mode on the camera, capable of capturing QuickTime videos of 12 fps at 640 x 480 or 30 fps at 320 x240. The videos are quite nice, and are acceptable when played on the computer screen. Audio playback was fairly accurate. Of course, I do not use the video option much, but it is good to know that the camera has that option. The camera also has a first burst and last burst option that fires the shutter quicker and saves either the first five images or the last five images, depending on what you select. This comes in handy when I take pictures of sports action or other objects in quick motion.

There's a jog dial on the camera that allows you to adjust shutter speed and exposure compensation quickly. The camera is turned on and off by pressing a lock button and turning a main dial that rotates, giving you the different features of the camera like Auto mode, Video mode, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and more. In my view, this dial is ingenious because it prevents the camera from accidentally turning on in your bag. Other digital cameras have a power button on the top of the camera that can be easily triggered accidentally. I bought a surprisingly high quality $8 camera bag from Wal-Mart to protect my camera and got a slightly larger size so I could carry around my spare 256 MB SD card and spare lithium ion battery that I will get in a couple of weeks.

There are no directional arrow buttons on the camera, but rather yet a joystick that you can toggle with while flipping through photos on the camera. A nice green light surrounds the joystick, telling you that your batteries have good power and turn red when the batteries are low. The camera is powered by a 1500 mAH lithium ion battery that can be charged on an included outlet charger. While it is handy to have an external charger, I found it annoying that if you charge the battery outside of the camera for a long time, you have to reset the time on the camera's clock because there is no battery to keep it going. But in any case, the battery has never died on me once when I was taking pictures. The camera is very good at conserving energy; I use the LCD screen in almost every one of my shots, and I love to flip through my photos on the LCD, but the battery has always held strong. ( I took over 150 pictures at a pool party, and the battery light was still green). I ordered a 1700 mAH lithium ion battery from amazon.com for back up when I go to long parties or events and do not have time to charge my battery.

The shutter button is easy to press down and the camera makes a fake shutter noise when you press the button (there are other sound themes you can select, like classical, jazz, or sci-fi to personalize your camera). This is a high plus because I know when the picture is taken. On my old camera, I had no idea when the camera took the picture because there were no audible sounds. Another huge plus of this camera was its shutter speed; there is practically no lag, so when you press the button, the image is instantaneously captured. However, since I use an old Sandisk 256 MB SD card, the writing time takes about 7 seconds. This can be irritating, but Kodak doesn't advise you to use the Ultra 2 and XD cards that operate at blazing speeds. To quote a section of this camera manual: "We cannot guarantee the compatibility with "high speed" SD cards such as xSD or Ultra-2" (page 5). The camera has a 32 MB internal memory, but I never use it because I want to be able to swap my memory cards out without running into any problems. The camera gives you the option of what kind of megapixel resolution you want to use; 5 MP, 4.4 MP, 4.0 MP, 3.1 MP, and 1.8 MP. I use the 4 MP because I do not need to print 20 x 30 pictures and the 4.0 MP saves memory.

The EasyShare Software that came with the camera is good, but not the best. It takes a while for the camera to upload the images to the computer, and can take several minutes when you have like 100+ images stored on the camera. You can select and transfer, or transfer all the images. The colors that the camera produces are nothing short of amazing, and are far more accurate than my other camera, thanks to the unique Kodak color science chip inside the camera. You're supposed to be able to share your pics with friends and family by sending them your pics, but I have yet to figure out how to do this. The software lets you make some changes to your photos, but I am going to stick with Photoshop. When I printed out about 80 photos taken by my new camera from Costco's online photo store, the 4 x 6 prints (even though were expensive at 17 cents a print) were incredibly detailed and colorful. There is a noticeable difference between the pictures of my old and new camera. The colors on my old camera photos look a little grainy, and some of the colors are off. On the other hand, my new camera photos have amazingly accurate and vivid colors and show no hint whatsoever of grainy pixels.

Overall, this camera has served me well since I got it; I have no regrets on getting it, and hope that it will continue to churn out beautiful pictures. I hope that this review helped!

I bought this in July just got around to writing a review.Have taken it traveling and found is as compact as I wanted those cameras that are too small are not practical.I added a 512mb sd card have found I cannot fill the card easily fits 350 pictures the battery is great even when using the flash The pictures are clear and crisp I recommend this to anyone novice or pro

Works great, easy to figure out and use, enough pixels to make enlargements up to 11 X 14, plenty for web sites.
Make sure to buy the docking station for easy charging and photo transfer.

I've been using this camera for a month, and love the quality of the pictures. I even took pictures at dusk with no flash and I was able to lighten them up enough to make a decent print. What I don't like is that I can not e-mail the videos. Seems that the recipient of the videos has to have the kodak softwear installed in their computer. Bummer.

This is an all-around good camera. Other than being a bit larger than the newer, small digital cameras, this one has it all. Here are some of the highlights:
- large LCD 2.2"
- clear, large video with good sound (no time limit either)
- 4x zoom
- good picture quality (sharp with no color distortion)
- easy to use
- good price for a 5MP camera