Kodak P712

Reviewed September 2006

Image Quality

"Bridge" cameras, cameras that have capacities that get close to those of a digital reflex all the while retaining relatively compact dimensions and a fixed lens, are one of the most dynamic segments of the digital camera universe.

The Kodak EasyShare P712, with its 7.1 megapixel resolution and its 12X stabilized zoom, offers characteristics that place it in direct competition with the offerings of a number of other manufacturers.

While the P712 is probably one of the lightest and most compact of these cameras, its excellent in-hand feel and its high resolution electronic viewfinder make it very pleasant to use.

In addition to being equipped with advanced shooting modes such as P, S, A, and M intended for advanced users, the P712 also includes a wide range of Scene modes that make the camera simple to use whatever the subject. Of these, one deserves a special mention, the Panoramic mode (in fact composed of two modes since one creates panoramic images from right to left and the other from left to right).

The photo shown above (resized to fit it here) was captured using the Panoramic mode of the P712. Unlike most other similar modes, the panoramic image is entirely assembled by the camera, internally, without any intervention from the user. The result is impressive, and the stitching areas where the three images have been merged are nearly undetectable.

Similarly, the accuracy of the exposure is worth noting. Indeed, the Multi-Pattern metering is generally very precise, yielding perfectly exposed images, even when the subject contains some strong contrasts. Moreover, the P712 provides alternated metering patterns, including an extremely flexible Spot meter that can be linked to the focus point, and positioned on any one of 25 positions in the frame.

The AF is also quite fast outdoors, and when used under good ambient light.

And it is only indoors, and when the ambient light is relatively low, that the auto focus becomes somewhat more hesitant.

The P712 is equipped with a Schneider-Kreuznach zoom with a focal length of 6 to 72 mm f2.8-3.7, the equivalent of a 36 to 372 mm on a 35 mm camera. At the wide angle end, the lens produces images that are not as sharp as those captured using the zoom at any of its other focal lengths. This softness is most noticeable when the images are looked at full-size on a monitor. As soon as the lens is past the widest angle, images tend to be tack sharp.

Distortions — barrel at the wide end and pincushion at the telephoto end — are generally not noticeable. However, a chromatic aberration (a purple line that appears on the edges of contrasting areas in an image) can be seen both in wide and telephoto shots, its intensity varying with the intensity of the contrast.

The optical stabilization of the lens is effective and allows using the telephoto end of the zoom when the light conditions are less than optimal. The stabilizer makes it possible to obtain a sharp image with the zoom at the maximum telephoto and handheld using a shutter speed of 1/60 second, instead of the 1/400 second that would have been advisable otherwise.

Worth noting, however, that as always the stabilizer should be turned off when the camera is mounted on a tripod, as its activity may actually be detrimental when the camera is already steady.

On the sensitivity side, the P712 provides flexibility in the low ISO settings since it is able to operate at 64, 80, 100 or 125 ISO, minimizing noise as sensitivity is increased. Usually at these levels noise is quite discreet, invisible with shots captured outdoors with the exception of deep shadows where it can occasionally be detected. Pushing past 160 ISO, noise becomes visible, increasing steadily up to 400 ISO where it becomes omnipresent, giving images a pointillist look. At 800 ISO, the image size is limited to the smallest image size, probably best as it tends to hide image flaws.

The P712 is able to capture images using any one three formats: JPEG at three levels of compression, TIFF and RAW. The TIFF format appears at first to be a bit superfluous as its image quality is similar to what is available with JPEG Fine, but if the primary use of the images is printing, it has the advantage of having greater colour depth.

The RAW format, on the other hand, records the unprocessed output of the CCD, and is ideal if the highest image quality is needed.

It is regrettable, however, that the software supplied with the camera, EasyShare, is far too superficial to take full advantage of the RAW format; and that only users equipped with more advanced software such as Photoshop CSII and its RAW plug-in will be able to make the most of the P712's RAW photos.

The P712 is a powerful camera in an understated and somewhat misleading package. Its RAW format makes it possible to obtain very high quality images, especially if these are processed using good software. Moreover, even with JPEG Fine mode the camera yields very good images, and with the high resolution of the sensor, can produce excellent prints.