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Select a Kodak digital camera ----- 2008 models ----- Kodak Z8612 IS Kodak Z1285 ----- 2007-2008 models ----- Kodak Z812 IS Kodak V1253 Kodak M753 ----- 2007 models ----- Kodak Z712 IS Kodak Z885 Kodak V1003 Kodak V803 Kodak C763 Kodak C653 Kodak C613 ----- 2006 models ----- Kodak Z650 Zoom Kodak Z612 Kodak V705 Kodak V610 Kodak V603 Kodak V570 Kodak C875 Kodak Printer 500 ----- 2005-2006 models ----- Kodak P880 Wide Zoom Kodak P850 Zoom Kodak ONE Kodak V530 ----- 2005 models ----- Kodak Z7590 Zoom Kodak Z760 Zoom Kodak Z740 Zoom Kodak Z730 Zoom Kodak Z700 Zoom Kodak V550 Zoom Kodak V530 Zoom Kodak C340 Kodak C300 -- 2004 & earlier -- Kodak DX7630 Zoom Kodak DX7590 Zoom Kodak DX6490 Zoom Kodak LS753 Zoom Kodak Printer 6000

Category: Beginner to Serious Amateur

HANDLING & FEEL

The Kodak EasyShare Z612 Zoom is a medium compact ultra zoom digital camera with an all-silver plastic body that feels solid and well constructed. It has dimensions of 104W × 74H × 69D mm (4.1W × 2.9H × 2.7D in.) and weighs in at approx. 300g. The handgrip is large enough to be comfortable and, though it lacks a non-slip rubber strip, it does not feel slippery.

The lens is a Schneider KREUZNACH VARIOGON with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 35–420 mm. For a 12x optical zoom digital camera, the Kodak Z612 is quite compact and light, though it won't fit in your coat pocket. Kodak provides a neck strap. The lens barrel extends about 3.7 cm (1.4 in.) from the body; when you turn on the camera, the lens extends an additional 2.0 cm (0.4 in.). Zooming to the full 12x adds an additional 2.0 cm (0.4 in.).

A lens cap (with retainer string) is standard and snaps securely on the lens barrel. [The eyelet on the lens cap is correctly placed on the right side (viewed from the front).] Unlike some lens caps that I've encountered that are either too loose or too tight, this lens cap has an excellent fit: it won't accidentally fall off and it won't damage the lens mechanism should you inadvertently turn the camera on without first removing the lens cap. In fact, the retainer string is long enough to prevent damage to the lens mechanism should you switch on the camera with the lens cap still on the lens: the lens cap simply safely slides off the lens barrel.

The control buttons, though tiny, are spaced away from one another so you don't press the wrong one, and raised high enough so they are easy to operate.

Startup time is at about 1.5 sec. (from power ON to image appearing on LCD), shot to shot time is fast about 1 sec. (you can keep pressing the shutter for approx. 12 shots until the buffer is full), and there is no practical shutter lag. Autofocus is fast and precise day and night thanks to the AF Assist light. The Kodak Z612 uses the Secure Digital (SD) memory card.

Included in the box is a rechargeable Li-ion battery KLIC-8000 that can take about 225-300 shots depending on usage (CIPA standard) on a fresh charge and a Li-ion Rapid Battery Charger K8500 that plugs directly into an wall electrical outlet. The recharge time is average [don't get fooled by the "Rapid" in the name] with a new, or fully depleted battery, recharging in approx. 3 hours.

The flash working range is also average: set to ISO Auto, it is 1.6–15.4 ft (0.5–4.7 m) at Wide and 3.9–8.9 ft (1.2–2.7 m) at Tele. It is of the flip-up type and will pop up automatically when needed at half-press of the shutter button (unless you have turned Flash Off).

Controls

The Kodak Z612 has lots of features that make life easy for the photographer. I like the Jog Dial, the ability to dial in flash compensation, infinity focus, 2-Shot Self-timer, Last Burst, live Hostogram, Selectable-Zone AF, and full exposure flexibility.

At the top of the camera a row of buttons is neatly arranged on the handgrip. From front to back (viewed from the back of the camera) are the Flash, Macro/Infinity/MF, and Drive buttons.

What is not too apparent is that there is another button in front of the Flash button, flush with the surface of the handgrip. This is the Shutter Button. It's a cool design element; however, without any raised part for your finger to feel by touch, it does take some practice to "trust" that the shutter button is there. Your index finger does rest on it anyway, so it's just a matter of getting used to the lack of "feel."

The other controls are on the back of the camera.

You can record movies with sound (continuous [up to 80 min] based on memory capacity) at either 640 x 480 or 320x240 pixels at 30fps. You can set focus to be Continuous AF or Single AF.

You can use optical zoom during movie recording but the zooming noise will also be recorded. In fact, the microphone seems to be super sensitive and there is always a faint background static noise during movie recording even when I use Single AF and do not zoom; this noise is not apparent [and so not a problem] when you are recording with other noise around but if recording in a silent room, you'll faintly hear it on Playback.

If you prefer to keep movie clip lengths to a reasonable size (say for emailing), you can also conveniently restrict the max. clip length to 5 sec,. 15 sec., or 30 sec.

About 32MB [28MB usable] of Internal Memory comes with the camera, so no SD memory card is included. Only 46 sec. of movie can be saved in the 32MB of Internal memory. If you plan to do lots of movies, plan on using a large capacity memory card.

As the above chart shows, at 6.0MP [F] image quality, only 6 images can be saved in the 32MB of Internal Memory. We recomend that you purchase either a 512MB or 1GB SD memory card, depending on the number of images you normally shoot in one session.

The tripod socket is metal; it is not possible to change SD memory card and battery while the camera is on a tripod. You can also see the lens fully extended in the above photo.

The Battery/SD Card Compartment is at the bottom of the camera and there is a safety latch to keep the battery from accidentally falling. The SD memory card also goes in here. The cover slides and then opens [it is spring loaded].

LCD & Menus

There is a high resolution (202,000 pixels) electronic viewfinder (EVF) and a very nice extra large 2.5 in. LCD monitor with a high 230,000 pixels resolution. They both have a fast enough refresh rate for a smooth display in good light and low light. The LCD monitor's brightness can only be adjusted 'Normal' or 'High'. Both the EVF and LCD display gain up a bit in low-light, though not in extreme low-light.

There is an AF-assist light and it is very effective in low-light.

You can also display a framing grid [turned ON in SETUP] of horizontal and vertical lines, which is very useful when you need to align vertical and horizontal lines precisely. Once turned on, it always display, even when INFO is turned off.

The AF Frame can be set to Selectable-Zone which is very convenient when you want to focus on off-center subjects. There are however only 5 AF points to select from: center, left and right of center, top and bottom of center. This restricts Selectable-Zone only to subjects that are off-center but still very close to the center. However, it is stll better than nothing.

The menu structure on the Kodak Z612 is straightforward and easy to use, but I have two improvement suggestions to make:

1. There is a slight inconsistency I've noticed that is more an inconvenience than a problem: sometimes you are allowed to scroll all the way down a list of options and then end back at the very top [which is good], and sometimes you are not and have to backtrack to the top [which is a bother].
2. The use of icons on the left without text means that you either have to memorize what the icons are, or are forced to scroll over each one and pause long enough to read the associated text that displays at the top. There's lots of screen real estate that could be used to display text beside an icon.
   

	MENU 1 of 3 - Picture Size: 6.0, 5.3, 4.0, 3.1, 1.1 - Compression: Fine [F], Standard [S], Basic [B] - White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Open Shade - Exp. Bracketing Interval: +/- 0.3, +/- 0.7, +/- 1.0
	MENU 2 of 3 - Exposure Metering: Multi-Pattern, Center-Weight, Spot - AF zone: Multi-Zone, Center-Zone, Selectable-Zone [5 points] - AF Control [Still]: Continuous AF, Single AF - Color Mode: High Color, Natural Color, Low Color, Black & White, Sepia
	MENU 3 of 3 - Sharpness: High, Normal, Low - Set Album [Still]: Off, Album name - Image Storage: Auto, Internal Memory - Setup Menu
	SETUP 1 of 5 - Return - LCD Brightness: Normal, High - Capture Frame Grid: On, Off - Image Stabilizer: Continuous, Single, Off
	SETUP 2 of 5 - Date Stamp: Off, YYYYMMDD, MMDDYYYY, DDMMYYYY - Quickview: On, Off - Advanced Digital Zoom: Continuous, Pause, None - Orientation Sensor: On, On Transfer, Off
	SETUP 3 of 5 - Camera Sounds: Theme, Power On, Focus Lock, Shutter, Self-Timer, Error - Sound Volume: Off, Low, Medium, High - Date & Time - Auto Power Off: 10 min., 5 sec., 3 min., 1 min.
	SETUP 4 of 5 - Video Out: NTSC, PAL - Video Date Display: YYYYMMDD, MMDDYYYY, DDMMYYYY, YYYYMMDD HH:MM, MMDDYYYY HH:MM, DDMMYYYY HH:MM - Mode Description: On, Off - Print Warning: Pause, None
	SETUP 5 of 5 - Language: 18 languages to choose from - Reset Camera - Format - About
	MOVIE 1 of 2 - Video Size: 640x480, 320x240 - Video Length: Continuous, 5 sec., 15 sec., 30 sec. AF Control [Video]: Continuous AF, Single AF - Set Album [Video]: Off, Album name
	MOVIE 2 of 2 - Image Storage: Auto, Internal Memory - Setup Menu
	PROGRAM MODE - P, Macro ON, Flash Off, Self-Timer 2 sec., 6.0MP F, Space left for 239 images, SD Card used, Focus Zone = Multi-Zone, Continuous AF, Exposure Metering = Multi-Pattern, Tungsten WB, Image Stabilizer = Single mode, ISO 80, No Flash Compensation, No Exposure Compensation, Shutter Speed = 1/8 sec., Aperture = f/2.8, Simgle AF - Framing Grid displayed [once set in SETUP, always ON]
	SCENE MODES (SCN) - Portrait, Landscape, Night Landscape, Self-portrait, Flower, Sunset, Backlight, Candle Light, Manner/Museum, Text, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Children - Do not forget there are 2 more scene modes directly accessible on the Mode Dial: Sports, Night Portrait
	REVIEW - Very complete info is displayed [wish more digicams followed this example]

Note: Many of the screens have been "blackened" to permit a clearer view of the settings.

[Editor's Note: Read our review of the Kodak EasyShare Photo Printer 500 for a complete home printing solution for easy borderless 4x6 in. prints.]

The Kodak EasyShare Z612 Zoom is a true Point-and-Shoot digital camera with a comfortable handling and well designed user interface. It is fast in operation with no practical shutter lag at the wide-angle focal length range, is full featured [except for the inexplicably missing Manual WB] and now sports image stabilization.