Kodak ZD710 Review

The Kodak EasyShare ZD710 combines a seven megapixel CCD imager and a Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon-branded 10x optical zoom lens with a very useful 38 - 380mm equivalent focal range. There is however no form of optical or mechanical image stabilization, a critical feature to make use of such a long lens without a tripod or in low light. Instead, the ZD710 offers digital image stabilization, which likely employs the use of higher ISOs to prevent blur due to camera shake. For framing images, the Kodak ZD710 has a 2.0" 150K pixel LCD display as well as a higher resolution 201K pixel electronic viewfinder. Images are stored on SDHC/SD/MMC memory cards, or in 32MB of internal memory.

The Kodak ZD710 has 16 scene modes to help beginners achieve the results they're looking for without the need to understand subtleties like shutter speeds, apertures and the like. Scene modes provided are: portrait, sports, landscape, candlelight, night portrait, night landscape, snow, beach, text, fireworks, flower, manner/museum, self-portrait, children, backlight and sunset. But the ZD710 offers additional exposure modes sure to please the enthusiast, including P (program), A (aperture priority), S (shutter priority), M (manual), smart scene, high ISO, digital image stabilization and panorama. The ZD710 determines exposures with a TTL metering system offering multi-pattern, center-weighted and spot modes, and offers 2.0EV of exposure compensation in 1/3EV increments. Five white balance settings are available including an auto mode, and ISO sensitivity can be set to Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,600, all at full resolution. The EasyShare ZD710 also offers a movie mode, capturing VGA (640x480) or QVGA (320x240) clips at 30 fps, both with audio. Movies are encoded in QuickTime Motion-JPEG format.

Images and movies captured on the Kodak ZD710 are transferred to your computer over a USB 2.0 Full Speed connection, rather slower than the USB 2.0 High Speed connections offered on many cameras these days. Power comes from two AA batteries (NiMH, lithium, or oxy-alkaline), a CRV3 disposable lithium, or an optional KODAK KAA2HR NiMH rechargeable battery pack. The ZD710 ships with a disposable lithium battery and no charger is included in the bundle.

The Kodak EasyShare ZD710 ships August 2007, at a list price of US$249.00.