Kodak Z712 IS

Reviewed July 2007

Interface & Software

Interface

While the interface of the Kodak Z712 IS is legible, the controls provided — the Jog dial and the 4-direction control with the OK button — make it a touch more difficult to use than it should be. The visual presentation is clear, however, even with the average resolution of the monitor, and the fact that the EVF can be used to make menu/settings selection is a plus since the LCD monitor can be difficult to decipher under bright light. The interface consists of a mix of text and icons, and is helped by a help system that contains information about every aspect of the camera.

Menus are presented superimposed on the image coming from the lens, or on an image under review when the camera is in Playback, but remain very legible thanks to the use of effective colours and semi-transparent backgrounds. The basic camera configuration is contained in the Setup menu, accessible from any of the Z712 IS menus through the second tab at the top of the screen:

• LCD Brightness: allows controlling the brightness of the LCD monitor — not the EVF — over five levels, 3 being the default.
• Image Storage decides where images are stored:
  • Auto, allows the camera to store images on a memory card when one is present, or the internal memory when there is no memory card.
  • Internal Memory, always stores images in the internal memory, even if a memory card is present.
• Set Album: On or Off. Serves to select albums into which images and videos will be stored. Album names must first be imported into the camera when it is connected to a computer, using Kodak's EasyShare software. Still images and videos can be stored in different albums.
• Capture Frame Grid: On or Off. Decides whether or not a composition grid is overlaid on the monitor or EVF.
• Image Stabilizer controls the optical image stabilization system:
  • Single, stabilizes the image at the moment of capture (default).
  • Continuous, stabilizes the image constantly, during framing and at the moment of capture.
  • Off serves to turn off the stabilization when it may cause an interference, such as when the camera is mounted on a tripod.

• Quickview: On or Off. Decides whether images or videos are displayed on the monitor immediately after capture.
• Advanced Digital Zoom: decides how the 4.2X digital zoom operates.
  • Continuous: provides no pause at the transition between the optical zoom and the digital zoom.
  • Pause: the default, inserts a short pause at the transition point between the optical and digital zoom.
  • None: disables the digital zoom.

• Orientation Sensor: this option decides if photos captured vertically will be displayed the correct way up in playback. Three settings are available: On, On Transfer (resets the image orientation when they are transferred to a computer), or Off.
• Camera Sounds provides sound themes: Default, Sci-Fi, Fun, Music, None.
• Sound Volume: controls the volume (Off, Low, Medium, High).
• Date & Time: to set the internal clock and calendar of the Z712 IS.
• Auto Power Off: selects the delay after which the camera automatically shuts down (1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes).
• Video Out: to select the video signal produced by the camera (NTSC or PAL).
• Language selects the interface language: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Swedish. Danish, Finnish, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Czech, Greek, and Dutch.
• Reset Camera: returns the camera to its factory defaults.
• Format: to format either the 32 MB internal memory or a memory card.
• About: displays the firmware version of the camera (version 1.0300 for the camera reviewed here).

In Canada Kodak supplies the EasyShare Z712 IS with two short printed manuals called "Getting Started Guide", in English and French, the other in Spanish and Portuguese. The Getting Started Guide, as its name implies, is very limited, but a more in depth guide can be found online on the Kodak site.

Software

The North American version of the Kodak Z712 IS tested here was supplied with a single CD containing version 6.2 of Kodak EasyShare for Windows and Mac. Upon installing the software, however, the user is given the choice of installing, if available, a newer version from the Internet, resulting in this case in version 6.3.1.30, being installed.

Starting up, EasyShare offers the choice of automatically searching for "albums" from which it will incorporate images into its database. Alternatively, albums can be created, the computer's drive(s) browsed, or images can be added at any point. EasyShare presents images as thumbnails, acting as an image browser but can also be used to burn CD and DVDs, view images as slide shows, upload them to a Kodak Gallery account if one has been created. In addition, EasyShare can be used to do some basic image editing.

In an editing window, the user is given a choice of cropping; rotating left or right; removing red-eye; automatically enhancing the image; doing scene balance, which allows adjusting exposure, shadows, or highlights; or colour balance, which allows clicking on a gray point in the image to automatically adjust the colour balance.

Images are presented split-screen, with one side showing the original while the other reflects the effect of the changes.

On the other hand, Scene Effects, a group of effects that impact the colour tone and brightness of an image (black and white, sepia, forest, scenic, portrait, and sunset), or Fun Effects such as spotlight, colouring book, cartoon, or fisheye, are applied directly to the image. However, the user is given the choice of applying the effect, which stores the image as a new one, or canceling without applying the effect.