Customer Reviews

Kodak Easyshare Z7590 5 MP Digital Camera with 10xOptical Zoom

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I reside in mainland Europe. I bought KODAK EasyShare Z7590 in June 2005. I have used a Canon AE-1 program with normal and telephoto 27-105mm lenses for the last 25 years. I have also used a digital HP C-20 1Mpxl. since 1999. I used to shoot on ASA100, 400 Kodak and Agpha films and on ASA60, 100 Agpha & Kodak slides. I mainly shoot portraits, landscape, close-ups. I consider myself an advanced amateur.

I have been waiting for digital SLRs to become cheaper as I did not want to reconcile my photo taking. I used HP C-20 for computer images only and therefore I carried both the Canon and the HP with me on trips.

What I liked in Kodak z7590 when I first read the specifications was its 10x zoom lense and its full auto and manual buttons. Theoretically it can not focus manually, however the auto focus motor along with the use of the zoom button have the same effect. But, tell me really, how many times have you focused manually with success on a multi-leaf flower. Kodak z7590 focused succesfully every single time with autofocus and macro mode enabled on a number of flowers in sunlight and the shade. I did not even have to change the focus area, which you can do on Kodak z7590.

The histogram is an added plus as you can see and adjust the exposure before hand and the battery that lasts for more than 2,5 hours with full use of the LCD is great. The big 2,2 inches (56 cm) LCD screen was my assistant in taking pictures under the harsh light of southern Mediterranean as it is a real bright screen and can been easily seen in a sunny day.

The 16 auto modes for almost any occasion will help you take nice photos the moment you want to. I have used them heavily and I rely on them fully. On the other hand change to any of the semi-automatic modes where you can adjust one of the parameters or to the fully manual or the custom mode and dial and save your own parameters for difiicult or peculiar situations. I repeat, although you cannot focus manually in the old fashion with Kodak Easyshare Z7590, you actually do not need it.

In the 20 days I owe and use the camera I have taken more than 150 pictures and in only 4 cases I had to refocus. I shot a variety of pictures: portraits, flowers, landscapes throughout the day and night with or without the flash. If you shoot close-ups you'll also appreciate an extra connection for an external flash as in some close-up cases of low light the big lens may obstruct the light from reaching the bottom of the image.

For successful everyday picture taking use the 16 auto modes and you'll have no failures. However, for the semi-automatic and the manual modes and especially if you are not familiar with the latest photo digital technology, I suggest you read the Kodak Easyshare Z7590 manual from cover to cover. It is included in printed and electronic form in the package in a number of languages.

The only extra I bought was a 256Mb SD memory card (28 Mb of internal memory are available for images but you need a card for more than 10-15 pictures) and a spare battery (20-35 Euros, depending on the model) but you can get an extra wide lens for fish-eye photos. I did not buy their dock and/or printer.

I used though the free Kodak Easyshare software included on CD-ROM (I actually updated it from their site to version 5 and I suggest you do it as you can even manipulate the Qtime videos you shoot with Kodak Easyshare Z7590). Using the Kodak Easyshare software I printed 4 photos on an A4 page, 2 photos on an A4 page pictures and full A4 photos on an HP inkjeet 940c (600x600 PhotoReIII) and on HP glossy photo paper.

Well, it was very difficult to tell the difference between photos of similar themes I had taken with my analog Canon AE-1 and the photos I took with Kodak Easyshare Z7590. I like bright colors and contrast and this is how Kodak Easyshare Z7590 delivers the initial images. However, if your are for more pale colors and smoother color-wise images, the free Kodak Easyshare software will allow you to manipulate images to your taste in a very easy way.

Kodak Easyshare Z7590 is recommended with no hesitation for advanced amateurs or those who wish to become advanced amateurs and those professionals who want a second easy to use for all occasions digital camera.

I owned this camera for three months so far and have taken over 600 pictures with a wide range of subjects. I am amazed with the quality of the pictures it produces. I own a Minolta SLR traditional film camera for years. This light weight and affordable Kodak produces pictures in comparable quality with the expensive film-based SLR. It performed flawlessly so far.

There is a number of built-in automatic modes, which is convenient for people who don't want to be bothered with shutter speed and aperture. The full automatic modes produce high quality pictures if appropriate mode is selected for the scene. The few semi-automatic modes, in which you can adjust a subset of parameters, really make the camera versatile. In the fully manual mode, you can control all settings on the camera.

I also use the flash light adjustment and exposure adjustment quite a lot to compensate for different lighting condition.

The interface is quit intuitive to use in my opinion, I rarely have to refer to the manual to figure out how to use certain feature. The information displayed on the LCD gives full details on various parameters.

Overall I would give it a five-start rating.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Easyshare line. I bought my first Easyshare (a DX4530) in March 2003. I initially bought it for my business. As a seller on eBay, I needed to be able to take pictures of my items without the time and expense of film developing. I was truly attached to film cameras for my personal pictures, as I was under the belief that digital cameras could never take as good of pictures as a film camera.

I was shocked to find out that my new Easyshare took pictures that were just as good as my film cameras! Within a week, I was using my Easyshare for ALL my pictures and my Olympus Stylus film camera (which I had just bought about 6 months prior) has been sitting in the drawer ever since!

One thing I LOVE about the Easyshare line is they have one of the best Redeye Reduction systems there is in this class! Of course, typically, cameras that are in the $1,000+ range will have a great Redeye Reduction, but, most cameras in the $500 or less range do not have very good Redeye reduction systems. Here is a quote from a review on another website:

"Whoever came up with the redeye reduction system for Kodak deserves a raise -- their recent cameras have all faired well in our flash photo tests. That includes the Z740..."
From: http://www.dcresource.com -- Which, by the way, has thorough reviews of most digital cameras.

Both my DX4530 and the Z7570 that I just bought effectively got rid of Redeye. The only incidences in which it didn't work was when the person (my two year old son is a good example) won't look at the camera. The Redeye reduction works by having two flashes. The first flash gets the eyes used to the flash and the 2nd flash is the actual flash. By the time the 2nd flash goes off, the eyes are accustomed to the flash, and thus, no Redeye! If the person turns their head while the first flash is going off, the Redeye Reduction System will not work.

The bottom line is that if you take lots of pictures of people, this camera is a MUST HAVE! There are many cameras that claim to have Redeye Reduction, but theirs don't work very well. The Easyshare's Redeye Reduction REALLY WORKS and it works GREAT! I love it!

Now to the Z7590. I just got it yesterday, but was able to try it out, read the manual, and take some pictures of my kids. I will post some pictures at the top of this page later.

First, the Pros:

-Takes GREAT pictures! Once you know how to use the manual features on this camera, this camera will take pictures of comparable quality as the Digital SLRs that are selling for thousands of dollars! No kidding! But even if you're not into all the manual features, the Automatic settings still take great pictures!

-Has an on-screen histogram that tells you whether or not the lighting in your picture is "just right" or needs to be adjusted.

-Has awesome redeye reduction for taking pictures of people!

-Has a neck strap, rather than a wriststrap. This is nice, as it helps to prevent accidental droppage!

-Kodak FINALLY fixed the problem of the lens cap falling off all the time! This lens cap fits MUCH better! This is an issue I had with my DX4530! The lens cap fell off ALL the time! Not so with the Z7590. I am THRILLED!

-Kodak also fixed the problem the Z740 has (the predecessor of the Z7590), in that the flash automatically pops up upon turning the camera on. Many people did not like this. The Z7590's flash does not pop up automatically. There is a little switch next to the flash that you have to push for it to pop up. And if you forget to pop it up, there is this annoying red flashing that comes up on the LCD that tells you the flash is not open. This message pops up if you try to take a picture while the flash is closed.

-Uses the SD memory card, which is much more affordable than some of the other cards.

-An improvement upon the DX4530: It has a separate On-Off button. Now, with the Z7590, the setting you have your camera on is still there when you turn it on. With my old camera, you had to turn it on by turning the dial to either Auto or Sports mode or night mode, etc. Now with the Z7590, you can leave it on Auto or Sports or Night, etc. and just turn it off (and back on) with the push of a button! I really like this a lot!

Now to the Cons:

-The lens cap stays on so well that it doesn't pop off upon turning the camera on. Now granted, even my DX4530's cap didn't automatically pop off when turned on -- BUT it sure did fall off easily when I put it in my purse! So, this really doesn't bother me. Sure, I have to take it off myself, but at least it doesn't fall off all the time like my DX4530's did. Besides, any really nice, expensive camera (like the SLRs) has a cap that you must take off. I mention this because this does slow down the time it takes to take the picture. This is especially important if you have mobile kids and want to get that perfect "Kodak Moment." But what good is that perfect Kodak moment if the picture quality isn't good! At least with the Z7590, once you get that Kodak moment, you know that picture will be of great quality also!

-The flash doesn't pop up automatically. Now you area saying, "but you had this on the 'pros' list." I know I did. It's nice that it doesn't pop up, BUT I wish Kodak had it so the camera automatically pops up the flash or doesn't based upon the setting you have it on. If you are on a use flash setting, it should pop up, if you are on a flash off setting, it should not pop up. But the switch would still be there if you wanted to pop it up.

-It ONLY uses a special battery pack. I really wish it used AAs like my DX4530 did! I have tons of rechargeable AAs for use with my DX4530 and I was hoping to be able to use them with this camera. Now I have to buy an additional battery pack to make sure I always have spare batteries when one battery pack runs out.

-The On-Off button is too small. It's very hard to push, which again slows down the turn-on time when you're trying to get that perfect Kodak moment. You know what I mean if you have small kids! I see why they made it small and kind of hard to turn on -- So it won't accidently turn on if it bumps against something. So, although this is a negative, I don't see how it is avoidable without putting the On-Off switch back on the dial -- Which I don't like either. Again, this is a Love-Hate relationship!

This camera is LOADED with features and I could literally go on all day talking about this camera! All-in-all, I absolutely LOVE this camera and the entire Easyshare line! IMO, this is the best camera you are going to get in the under $500 range! Before going with the Easyshare line again, I spent THREE DAYS reshearching every camera out there! I came back to the Easyshare line because I KNOW they take reliable pictures! Plus, I know that my pictures of my three children will be missing one thing: That dreaded, awful REDEYE! I LOVE this camera and I can't wait to use it for New Year's Eve! BTW, did I tell you it has a separate "Fireworks" mode? :-)

An excellent 5 megapizel 10X optical zoom camera - I highly recommend this camera for the following reasons:
Though not pocket sized, it is compact and light, extremely well designed, and does things that the tiny ones don't do yet. For example, its 10X optical zoom will allow me to take shots of my son when he appears on stage at school. It will also permit close-ups of my son playing baseball. Aside from the zoom, this camera sports all kinds of photographic niceties that are extremely easy to use. For example, the camera has a wheel that turns to different modes: (Automatic, Aperture, Shutter, Scene, etc.) Each mode is clearly marked (for a change), and easy to identify. And when any mode is selected, a printed explanation pops up on the camera's LCD screen. That is clear! That is nice!
My wife, who is a little less of a camera enthusiast than I, can simply turn the wheel to "automatic," and the camera takes over. She can turn the wheel to "video" just as easily, and home movies, sound and all, result.
With so many new electronic gadgets - all with different buttons and ways of doing things - it's very good to see a device that has its features well organized, simple to use and intuitive in design. For example, it makes sense to have all input and output connections placed together and out of the way on one side of the camera. And it also makes sense to have control buttons - well marked, different from each other and grouped together near the shutter release button.
Kodak did very well with this camera and so will you.

Sheldon N. Feinberg MD
Mount Sinai, NY

I got this camera for my birthday few month back, and for now it seems to work pretty nicely. It makes some nice macro shots, some nice landscape shots, and the colors of the pictures are quite rich.

Pluses - Big screen, lots of presets for quick shots, when in review mode you can zoom in and look at photos closer, high shutter speeds

Minuses - Rubber around the view finder (EVF) and the rubber handle arent very durable, auto-focus gets annoying at times, bad quality at low light.

This is by far the best camera I've ever owned. My husband bought it for me two years ago and I've gotten plenty of use out of it. My favorite feature is that it takes excellent, close-up portraits. They come out looking as good as a professional photograph from a studio. Unfortunately, we had a small house fire after Christmas and my camera was destroyed. I thought this would be an opportunity to buy a cheaper camera and keep the extra insurance money. But I can't bring myself to buy a lesser camera now that I've experienced all this can do. So here I am online, about to purchase it again!
I recommend this to anyone who wants top quality, beautiful pictures. Oh, it also takes terrific high-speed shots. They're never blurry when I put it on the sports setting.

I am thrilled with my new camera. I am still learning some of the more complex features, but I was very quickly able to pick it up an use it. A lot of it is almost intuitive. Probably the biggest plus in my opinion is the ease of control. The various buttons, joy stick, toggles, etc. are very easy to reach and to operate. Even early on I can remember which button does what and I haven't made too many mistakes. It is great.

I have owned my Z7590 for almost one year now and it has really helped me document my newborn son's first year of life. Since his birth in November, I haven't put it down. The quality of the photos is great. With the right memory card, you can store thousands of photos, although I usually upload after each photo shoot. The battery life is awesome. I just wish there was a "battery-low indicator". I bought some special photo lenses to go with my Z7590, but found out that they blocked the built-in flash on the camera, so if you get additional lenses, invest in an external flash to go with them. Other reviews I read on this product state that this is not a "point and click" camera, and they are right. You need to be very familiar with this camera if you want to get good photos. Friends have tried to do us a favor by taken pictures of our entirely family (my wife and new son and I) only to find out after upload that the pictures were blurry. You need a very steady hand for this camera if you want photos in focus. Overall, a great camera.

I used to own a regular 4MP Samsung digi camera. It was pretty good. I even won first place in photography contest using it. I bought this one for more control over things and for this price this camera is AMAZING. I've taken many shots and I'm impressed. You have to know how the settings work. This is an SLR but digital. I love it. It's light weight. Amazing zoom quality. I have yet to master it fully but I've bought many accessories for it and I'm excited to win yet many more contests and compare to expensive Nikons and Minoltas this one is a diamond. Durable and nice LCD screen as well as long lasting Lithium-Ion battery.

After a lot of convincing, I talked my husband into buying this camera. It was a little more than we were looking to spend, but it had the 10x zoom and the 5 MP. We had a new baby and I thought it would be a great investment.

Let me tell you, this is a GREAT camera. I am no professional when it comes to picture-taking, but my pictures turn out wonderful! Most people don't even realize that my pictures are digital, and that's after I switch the MP's to 4 instead of 5. A 5MP image is very large, and the 4 MP comes out just fine.

My in-laws have a camera that they didn't spend a lot of money on, though it does have 4 MP. I think it is an HP. After about 6 or 7 pictures, they have to recharge the batteries. Same thing with the Canon we have at work. The batteries are constantly dying and the pictures really aren't that great. With my Kodak, I have to recharge the camera maybe once every few months. We use the camera a few times a month and we are very happy with the battery life. The pictures are of great quality and the shutter speed is pretty quick compared to other cameras.

So, if you want a great camera that takes really nice pictures, this is the one!