Kodak Easyshare Z710

santagibbs · #1 12-29-2006, 10:34 AM

Hi Gang, I am looking for a new digital camera. The one I have is five years old and has a 3x mega pixel .. Now they have much sharper pictures.. The Kodak Easyshare has 7.1 megapixels , 5x digital zoom and ten optical zoom .. I think this would be about what I want as I really want a pretty good zoom and good sharp pictures for taking pictures of carvings without too much confusion about operation.....Does anyone have one and are they satisfied? Staples has one for around 240.00's plus the memory card.. don't have a clue to how much the memory card is yet.. Sure would appreciate your comment.. Thanks a lot , Charlotte

whitecree · #2 12-29-2006, 11:02 AM

odak makes an acceptable digicam, I've purchased several over the last couple of years for either wife or daughter.

I wouldn't worry about the digital zoom, you will almost never want to use it.

What you want to look at more is how fast does the gadget power up? Anything much longer than 3 seconds is going to be very frustrating to work with, especially when trying to photograph any wildlife (including kids/grandkids)

Also, what sort of batteries does it require? Those really expensive jobs may not be neccessary, as long as you get good quality rechargeables, and be sure you have spares!

$240 - is that US or the Canuck peso? In US$, they ought to throw in the memory card for free. Either way, get the largest capacity card the camera will take. You'd be surprised how fast you can fill one of those up.

Does it come with the docking station? If you're running Windows XP, you most likely don't need it as XP auto-recognizes almost any digicam, but it could simplify your life somewhat.

Kenny_S · #3 12-29-2006, 11:44 AM

We have several digitals, The one Billie uses is a Kodak easyshare,4530 with docking station/printer and sold for about $200 and I got a Olympus FE-170 with a lot of bells and whistles. But, I doubt seriouly I will use all the Bellsand whistles on this one. It is a 6 megapixel and takes better pictures than the operator. Cost wise around $149 on sale. now you will get the opinion that the higher price the better. Not these days. these little digitals at the lower price takes just as good of pictures as the high dollar ones. That comment comes from a professional photographer who has the high dollar digitals.
I pick up the digital before I would my Pentax 35mm or the Cannon 35mm.

santagibbs · #4 12-29-2006, 01:26 PM

Thank's Whitecree for your information.. I now have the old Kodak and have been fairly satisfied with it but it doesn't seem to be making as sharp a picture as it use to... That's why I want the new one.. That's US dollars but before Christmas they did run an ad at Staples for the memory card to go with it.. My mistake, as now they say that they can't honor the ad anymore. Curtis use to make all the decisions about these things and now it falls on me.. I have a ScanDisk that I scan my pictures into the computer with and I guess I will have to find out if the new card will fit my scan disk.. I do want the ten zoom, as there are so many Hooded Mergansers that fly in on the pond and other wild life..

I also wonder if my battery charger will work with this Kodak camera. I guess I will have to take all these gadgets with me to find out. thanks for telling me about how fast the battery will power up.. I will take your answer with me to ask more questions.. I am not sure what a docking station is... Is that the printer.. No, it doesn't have anything else with it. I am going to have to get a new scanner and my printer, as it is acting up.. grrrrrrr... We bought one a few years ago that is a scanner printer but only used it about three times as Curtis computer crashed.. Now I have to find someone to hook up all these things.. boy... has life ever got more complicated for me ! Thanks for all the information... Charlotte

Lynn O. Doughty · #5 12-29-2006, 04:06 PM

I have a Nikon D70 which is a terrific camera. It's pricey but the features are worth it. THey make a new one now believe it's a D50 which doesn't have all the bells and whistles as the bigger version but will probably use the same basic structure and lens. It has a lithium battey which almost never needs recharging. By being a SLR you view through the lens and not by the TV screen like most digitals. Thats the thing that uses up all the battery power. With a 1gig card I can take around 500 photos at the finest resolution. The lens I have is 18-70mm which is great for taking closeups or wideangles.

santagibbs · #6 12-29-2006, 04:18 PM

Kenny, That's something to consider as my first thought was the 10x optical zoom.. I also have the Pentax 35 mm .. and have used it for years. It has a great lens also. but get how dumb I am..... Curtis always put the film in and took it out.. I used it for taking Santa pictures and daylilies up close ..but I do love the convience of the digital and now they are so sharp. I will consider the options of all and one thing that I like about the Kodak Easy Share is it's easy way to use it.. very simple method of operating it.. I have seen some really sharp pictures come from digital cameras that are not that expensive.. and if you can focus up close , then that 's a great plus for carvings.. Thaniks for your input.. Charlotte

santagibbs · #7 12-29-2006, 04:30 PM

Lynn, I know that must be a great camera that you have.. My problem is .. buying an expensive camera and then NOT being able to understand how to use it... duh...
I need to take a course in using cameras.. I am ashamed to say, that my Dad was a photographer and even organized the first Pensacola Camera club back in the dark ages..lol but he let me use his darkroom and the cameras were off limits! Maybe there is this thing that says.. Don't you dare try to learn how to use this camera...lol.... !!!

All the pictures on the picture trail site were made by the SLR Pentax that I finally learned how to use as it was a manual camera.. Now I can't even put the film in it because I am afraid I will ruin the film... Am I a basket case or what? This Z170 seemed so simple as I looked at it yesterday at Staples.. but like you three said .. there are a lot of other things to consider.. I appreciate your information and will take all of that into consideration... Thanks Charlotte

Thomp · #8 12-29-2006, 04:50 PM

charolett

check with the different manufactures customer service, tell them your confused and the application you need the camera for.. they will work with you, they know word of mouth is best advertisment they can get...

collect the choices drom different mnf;s and compair features to price then go to the store and check out the cameras you think will fit your needs...

remember in todays digital market the newest camera you can buy is obsoliete before you get it home.. the technology is moving to fast for the market..

dont buy features yiu dont need...

hope this helps...

Kenny_S · #9 12-29-2006, 05:09 PM

Mrs. gibbs, I too need a lession in Picture taking 101.
I don't see any problems with the expensive cameras Just have other places for my money. I don't know the camera Lynn has but see the excellent results from it.
We have two Kodak easy share cameras and are easy to use. Have the software loaded on one pc as well as the Olympus software and the Kodak easy share is easier to work with and what is nice, handles other brand name cards. Now the new Olympus card only holds 304 pictures at the 6 megapixel level. Really, I don't think I will ever Take that many. I also use the lithium batteries. No view finder, through the lens also but does have the display which does drain the batteries a little.
One thing about technolgy, These little cameras keep on getting better and better.
Best wishes opn getting what you want.

squbrigg · #10 12-29-2006, 07:15 PM

Charlotte....I had a Kodak 6490, and found it to be a great camera. The Z710 is the newest version of that camera. It takes a sharp picture, is easy to use, comes with a docking port that you set the camera on to download your pictures and recharge the camera's battery automaticly. It is probably the most user friendly system there is.

The only drawback I could find at that time, was there was no manual focus. So trying to focus on just a certain part of a carving was difficult. The auto focus would focus great, and the zoom worked super, and gave great results.

That's a good price too. I paid $800+ CDN a few years ago for mine. My daughter has it now and uses it. Memory cards are expensive, but you only need one, so buy the largest you can afford, you never wear them out.

Bob