» Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS 7.1MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS 7.1MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Lens breaks easily
Comment: This is a really nice camera - if it lasts a year. Six months after buying it, the lens froze. Since we could not find the original receipt, we would have to pay $125 to have it repaired, even though we sent in the registration card when we originally bought it. This is the 2nd Kodak Easyshare camera that we owned that this happened to when the camera was fairly new. The man at the store where we purchased the camera said this is a common problem with Kodak cameras; so my advice would be to NOT purchase any Kodak camera.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great camera
Comment: I've had my Z712 IS camera for about a week. For the most part, I think it's a terrific product... much better than my other Kodak (DX6440)which, after more than four years, still takes great pictures. But the new one is faster and substantially more potent and capable. It has features found on SLR cameras costing a lot more money. It does a couple of things that annoy me, e.g., switching back to Auto Flash every time it powers up. If I'm not paying attention, this will cause the flash to pop open when I press the shutter release button the first time. But, in the overall scheme of things, this is a nit.

With considerable interest, I read all of the two-star and one-star reviews of this camera. Again and again, people complained about its ravenous appetite for batteries. Several reviewers indicated they could only get twenty pictures. I have to presume they were using AA alkaline batteries... in spite of the camera's docs clearly recommending only the lithium variety. I also bought the camera dock and rechargeable li-ion battery. After charging the battery completely, I conducted an experiment. I switched the auto flash ON and the LCD display OFF. For several reasons, I prefer to use the EVF. At any rate, I started taking flash pictures and continued taking them until the battery was so exhausted, the poor thing couldn't even keep the camera turned on for more than a couple of seconds. At that point, my 2GB memory card contained 874 F-resolution pictures. In light of all the alarming "battery eater" reviews, I was both surprised and delighted.

All in all, this is a great product... particularly in light of its very attractive price. I also highly recommend the camera dock and li-ion rechargeable battery. As a final note, the ni-mh battery that came with the new dock is the same one my DX6440 uses. So, for me, it's not a waste at all.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great photography with no background in photography.
Comment: The Kodak line of easyshare cameras make taking photos easy. The camera (when set for the proper lighting) will take incredible pictures. Even under the automatic setting, an amateur photographer can take very impressive photos. The Z712 makes it that much easier with features like the 12x optical image stabilized zoom and multiple shots. It even shoots good video.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: great value with great power
Comment: This camera is a great combination of price versus features. The features I was most interested in -- image stabilization, optical zoom, and megapixels -- were better than any other camera I reviewed for the same price range. Digital zoom of twelve was more than twice the zoom I could get from any other camera in the same price range. The megapixels are high enough to print a poster, which you won't need very often. The best thing about the megapixel setting was that it is flexible to 3, 5, or 7; meaning that you can get more pictures on your memory card. I set mine at 5 megapixels because I usually print 3X5 pictures and use my pictures as screen savers. Image stabilization really comes in handy when you take pictures quickly, or when you are in museum mode. Also the battery is strong enough so that there is no delay between the time you press the buttom to take the picture and the camera responding.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Camera
Comment: This is a great camera it takes really nice pictures for the price you pay compared to other cameras with the same optical zoom and MP this is a great bargain. Highly recommended but carry along spare batteries. I have found that the Lithium batteries have actually a longer duration time.

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