Kodak has
managed to squeeze a stabilized 12X optical
zoom into the compact and square body of the EasyShare Z712
IS, a model that also offers a 7.1 megapixel image and both
an electronic viewfinder and a 2.5-inch LCD monitor.
The top of the grip, on the right of the camera, supports
no less than six controls: the On/Off switch, the Mode Dial
(see further), the large and nearly rectangular 2-stage
shutter release at the front of the grip area, and three
small buttons aligned in a row.
Starting with the one closest to the shutter release, the
buttons serve to:
Select the Flash
Mode: Auto, Forced On, Red-eye
Reduction with pre-flashes, Forced Off.
Select the Focus Mode,
looping through all the 4 modes available:
Normal (default): no indication
on the monitor/EVF, and ranging 50 cm (19.7 inches)
to infinity at the wide angle end, and 120 cm (47.2
inches) to infinity at the telephoto end.
Macro: ranging 12 to 60 cm (4.7
to 23.7 inches) at the wide angle end, and 60 to 130
cm (23.4 to 51.2 inches) when the lens is at the telephoto
end.
Landscape: sets the lens to infinity
focus.
Manual Focus: allows manually focusing
the lens, using the right and left arrows of the 4-direction
button (see further) while the camera magnifies
the centre part of the frame 2X.
Self-Timer: provides a 10-second delay, or
a 2-second delay, or a double self-timer that captures
one photo after 10 seconds and another 8 seconds later.
First Burst: the camera captures up to 6
frames.
Last Burst: the camera captures up to 30
frames, but stores only the last 6 frames.
Exposure Bracketing: captures three
exposures — one at the metered value, one over,
and one under — the EV step being set in the
menu from a range of ± 1 EV in 1/3 EV increment.
The 10-position Mode
dial is mostly dedicated to capture modes, with the
exception of the Favorites position:
The Smart Scene Mode
is intended for general picture taking. It is the point
and shoot mode of the Z712 IS, and offers face detection.
Most settings are under the control of the camera.
Program lets the Z712
IS select both aperture and shutter speed, but provides
access to all the other photographic settings such as
exposure compensation, white balance, etc., and settings
remain in effect even if the camera is turned off and
back on.
Aperture Priority makes
it possible to select the aperture, and hence the depth
of field, while the camera handles the shutter speed.
The available aperture range is a function of the focal
length in use: at the wide end, the range starts at f2.8,
extending through f3.2, f3.6, f4, f4.5, f5, f5.6, f6.3,
f7.1 to f8. While at the telephoto end apertures start
at f4.8, also extending through to f8.
Shutter Priority provides
control over the shutter speed, covering a range of 16
seconds to 1/1000 second while the camera selects the
aperture.
Manual mode provides
complete control over both the aperture and shutter speed
of the camera, with the same ranges as are available in
the Aperture and Shutter Priority modes.
The next position on the Mode
Dial is not a capture mode:
Favorites
serves to display images that have been selected as Favourite
photos, a process that re-uploads smaller versions of
selected images back to the camera when it is connected
to a computer, so that the images can be viewed directly
on the camera later.
Video allows recording
video clips with sound in one of two formats:
640 x 480 pixels (VGA) at 30 frames per second.
320 x 240 pixels (QVGA) at 30 frames per
second.
The recording length lasts as long as there is storage
space. During recording, the optical zoom remains available,
but operates at a reduced speed which allows it to be
near silent, and create transitions that are more fluid.
Exposure and white balance are dynamically adjusted
and the AF can be set to be continuous.
The SCN position
is the access to the 16 Scene modes of the Z712 IS.
The specific mode is selected from a menu that appears
briefly when the SCN position is selected, or when the
OK button at the centre of the 4-direction
button is pressed. The modes available are all represented
by an icon, and a text description when the mode is
highlighted:
Portrait
Text
Panorama Left-Right
Fireworks
Panorama Right-Left
Flower
Landscape
Manner/Museum
Night Portrait
Children
Night Landscape
Backlight
Snow
Candle Light
Beach
Sunset
High ISO is intended
to capture photos in low-light, boosting the CCD sensitivity
up to 1600 ISO.
Sports: this mode automatically
controls CCD sensitivity and increases it if necessary
to maximize shutter speed and freeze moving subjects.
Auto ISO and the camera can increase sensitivity up to
1600 ISO.
The other controls of the Z712
IS are on the back, one of the them being in the upper left
corner of the 2.5-inch, 115,000 pixel LCD monitor.
Labeled EVF/MONITOR the button serves to select
the active display. The EVF (electronic viewfinder) is composed
of 230,000 pixels, giving it a more detailed image than the
2.5-inch monitor can produce. However, it lacks a diopter correction,
and since its exit pupil, albeit rubberised, is narrow, it is
not ideal for someone wearing glasses.
The zoom control
is positioned directly below the mode dial, a placement that
takes a bit of time to get accustomed to as the rocker switch
is quite small. The zoom control moves the lens from wide
angle to its 12X maximum telephoto and vice versa in a little
less than 3 seconds when the camera is set to a still image
capture mode, and approximately 6 seconds when the Z712 IS
is set to the Video mode.
In Playback, the zoom button serves to zoom in
(up to 8X) and out of an image under review, and when pressed
twice on the
side, to review captured images as thumbnails, also called
an index view.
To the right of the zoom control
is the Jog Dial, a wheel control that can
be pressed in like a mouse button. The Jog Dial serves to
modify certain shooting parameters directly on the screen
or EVF:
Exposure Compensation: ± 2 EV
in 0.3 EV increments.
Flash Exposure Compensation (when the
flash is enabled): ±1 EV in 0.3 EV increments.
ISO Sensitivity: 64, 100, 200, 400, 800,
1600 ISO, or Auto ISO.
In addition, when the camera is set to A, S, or M modes,
the Jog dial serves to modify either the aperture,
the shutter speed, or both
depending on the mode.
The next button on the back of the Z712 IS is the (Info) button. When a menu is on-screen,
the Info button provides a detailed explanation of
each option's function. The explanation is presented in text
format, on-screen and can run to multiple screens. The system
is extensive and very detailed. In addition, the Info button
controls the amount of information superimposed on the monitor
or the EVF.
Set to a capture mode,
three levels of information are possible, all of which
display the AF brackets:
One level shows the capture mode, the flash mode,
the resolution and image quality settings, the AF
mode, the zoom position when the zoom is adjusted,
the remaining number of photos that can be stored
in memory, the ISO setting, the exposure compensation
if any, the metering and white balance if different
from the default, flash compensation, exposure compensation
and the aperture and shutter speed.
Another display adds a real-time histogram.
The third level simply leaves the AF brackets on
the screen, but adds all the shooting information
only when the shutter release is pressed halfway.
With the camera set
to the Playback mode, the button also cycles through
three information levels.
The default presentation simply shows the Playback
mode icon in the upper left corner, the image's number
in the top right, and places right/left arrows in
the lower left corner to indicate how to change to
the last or next image.
Another presentation clears the image of all superimposed
information.
Finally, a third level adds all the shooting data:
image file name, shot date and time, focus mode, shooting
mode, image size and quality, colour mode, focal length
in 35 mm equivalent, ISO setting, flash setting, aperture
and shutter speed, exposure compensation, metering
pattern, AF area, white balance, and a histogram.
Four more buttons are clustered around the 4-direction
control that serves to navigate the menus and, when
the camera is set to the Playback mode, review images. At
its centre, the OK button serves to confirm
a selection that has been made in a menu. The Review
button, above the 4-direction control, simply starts
the Playback mode. Pressing the button a
second time, or touching the shutter release lightly returns
the camera to the shooting mode.
The other three buttons, below
the 4-direction control, are:
Serves to delete the image
under review, or all images.
Calls up the menu that corresponds
to the current camera mode. (See the Characteristics
and Interface and Software section of
the review for more information about the contents of
the Z712 IS's menus.)
Displays the Share menu, which
serves to Print the image under review;
E-mail images (the e-mail list must have been previously
uploaded into the camera using Kodak's EasyShare software,
which is supplied); tag images as "Favorites"
so that when transferred they will be re-sized and re-uploaded
into the camera's memory so as to be available for viewing
when the mode dial is turned to the Favorites setting;
or Print All images.
The Z712 IS is
equipped with an automatic pop-up flash that is listed in
the camera's manual has having a Guide Number of 11 at 100
ISO. The flash has a working range of 50 cm to 7.8 m (1.6
to 25.6 ft) when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and 1.2
to 4.4 m (4 to 14.4 ft) at the telephoto end. In real-life
testing, however, we found the effective range of the flash
to be less at 100 ISO, and that the flash was more effective
when sensitivity was set to Auto ISO.
Although quite
small, the shape of the Z712 IS makes it a camera that is
a bit more difficult to carry around than thinner cameras,
a tradeoff as the Z712 IS has the advantage of a stabilized
12X zoom, at a comparatively sharp price.
Controls are generally very responsive — in fact the
Jog Dial is a bit too responsive, demanding a bit
of practice before it can be used reliably — and even
with the stabilization active, the camera has very little
shutter lag. Storing a single image into memory, or on a memory
card is, however, a touch too lengthy, requiring as long as
5 seconds.
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Ergonomics
(up to 8X) and out of an image under review, and when pressed
twice on the 
side, to review captured images as thumbnails, also called
an index view.
(Info) button. When a menu is on-screen,
the Info button provides a detailed explanation of
each option's function. The explanation is presented in text
format, on-screen and can run to multiple screens. The system
is extensive and very detailed. In addition, the Info button
controls the amount of information superimposed on the monitor
or the EVF. 
