Zoom right in - the Kodak EasyShare DX6490 Digital Camera
Written: Feb 12 '04 (Updated Feb 12 '04)
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Pros: 10x optical zoom lens, excellent resolution, Easy Transfer of Pictures
Cons: That big lens does add to the camera's weight
The Bottom Line: The DX6490 excels with it’s huge zoom lens and should provide the average photographer with an excellent camera for everyday use
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| jps246's Full Review: Kodak EasyShare DX6490 Digital Camera |
Full of that “wow” factor, the Kodak EasyShare DX6490 is a 4.0 megapixel camera with a 10x optical zoom that is fun to use, cool to look at, and all together, an excellent digital camera.
The EasyShare’s 10x optical zoom is amazing and the other features on the camera make the DX6490 a digital camera well worth considering if you are in the market for a sturdy, easy to use, high-quality 4.0 megapixel camera that should be able to meet your current and future photographic needs.
What makes up the DX6490 – The Details
Resolution
The DX6490 offers 4.0 megapixel resolution at 2304x1728 pixels (maximum resolution). The camera also offers a 3.5, 2.1 and 1.1 megapixel resolution (best, best, better and good respectively in the camera’s options).
Shooting at the highest resolution, prints are possible up to 20 inches by 30 inches and 8 inch by 10 inch prints are no problem. The 3.5 and 2.1 megapixel resolutions are for smaller prints (5x7 and 4x6 with the 3.5 and nothing more than 3x5 with the 2.1 resolution). The 1.1 resolution is only useful if the pictures will be used on websites or on email – the resolution is simply too low for quality prints.
Images are saved in jpeg or exif formats and any movies taken are stored in the quicktime format.
Size and Weight
The EasyShare measures about 3 inches deep, 3 inches high and just about 4 inches wide. It weighs in at about 11 ½ ounces (3/4 of a pound). The DX6490 is not overly heavy or bulky and it’s not that large, but it is nowhere near as small as some of the compact digital cameras available or even the other more advanced 4 megapixel models out there. The main reason for this is the large zoom lens that the camera was built around.
Viewfinder and LCD Screen
An optical viewfinder on the DX6490 would be inaccurate because of the large zoom length on the lens, therefore Kodak has included an electronic viewfinder (EVF) in the DX6490 that is parallax-free, all the way through the full zoom. The EVF is bright and clear and offers 800x225 resolution.
The LCD panel on the back of the camera measures 2.2 inches and has excellent resolution and a bright indoor/outdoor display. The LCD panel can also be used to compose pictures in place of the EVF.
Storage
The SD/MMC (secure digital, multimedia card) cards supply storage capacity for the DX 6490 with capacities up to 512 megabytes. The DX6490 also has a built in 16-megabyte storage. Memory space fills up quickly when shooting in the highest resolutions and most users will need at least 128 megabyte SD/MMC cards or higher unless they are only taking pictures in lower resolutions.
The length of movie files taken on the DX6490 is only limited by the size of the memory card.
Transferring Images and Recharging the Battery
The EasyShare comes with a dock to transfer images and to charge its lithium-ion battery. When you are ready to charge or transfer images, you put it on the dock and it is connected to the computer through a USB (2.0) cable. The images are transferred and the camera recharges at the same time. There is included software (Kodak EasyShare Software) that must be installed to use the dock and afterwards, it is an easy and simple way to both charge the camera and to transfer the images.
Zoom Lens
The highlight of the DX6490 has to be the Schneider Variogon 10x optical zoom lens. On a 35mm camera this is comparable to a 38-380 mm. The lens stays clear throughout the entire zoom and is amazing. You can literally zoom up on objects far away and make them look like you are standing next to them. Focusing on the lens is automatic with a multi-zone and center-spot focusing system. In general autofocus is quick and accurate.
Picture Modes
Pictures can be taken in black and white, color, sepia, saturated and in three different levels of sharpness.
Exposure, Shutter Speed, Flash, Macro, White Balance, Focusing, and Timer
The EasyShare comes with several pre-set exposure modes for picture-taking options that include automatic, sport, portrait, night, landscape, close-up, program and manual. ISO equivalents run from 80 to 160 in the automatic mode and can be manually set to 80, 100, 200, 400, and 800.
White balance can either be adjusted automatically, or manually through 7 different pre-set modes (these modes are for different kinds of standard lighting). Shutter speeds can be adjusted from 1/2000 of a second to 3 seconds.
The DX6490 has an automatic built-in flash that has several different modes that include auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent modes. The flash works for subjects up to approximately 16 feet away.
There is a built-in 10-second self-timer that can be used to take self-portraits or to take photographs without any shutter shake.
The camera has a wide standard, a telephoto standard and a wide telephoto-focusing mode. In the standard mode objects can be focused on as close as 2 feet and as far as infinity. In the standard zoom mode, objects at close as 6 ½ feet and as far away as infinity can be focused on and in the wide-angle telephoto mode, objects from about 65 feet to infinity can be focused on. In the macro mode, you can focus on an object from about 4 ½ inches to about 27 ½ inches.
Performance
Startup with the DX6490 is quick and so is the downtime between photos. Shutter lag is about a second and the camera offers a burst mode that can take 3 pictures per second for up to 6 pictures.
Cost and Included Accessories
The list price for the DX6490 is $499 and market prices run between about $420 to $500 depending on where you purchase the camera. The DX6490 includes the EasyShare 6000 dock, an AV cable, a USB cable, a neck strap, lens cap, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Software CD, along with a manual and a welcome kit.
Best Whiz-Bang Feature
The DX6490 takes the cake with it’s zoom lens. Until you get it into your hands and start zooming around it’s hard to describe. But compared to the standard 3x optical zoom on most cameras, the DX6490 leaves them in the dust.
Thoughts
The image quality from the DX6490 is on a par (and sometimes better) with the output from the other 4.0 megapixel cameras in its class. I used the DX6490 to take pictures in various conditions and in general was very good. Zoomed images are excellent and detail from the zooms in the image is amazing. I printed the images on an HP Photosmart and print quality was excellent – up to 8x10 (the largest I can print). I would imagine from the resolution of the shots, even larger enlargements would be no problem.
With it’s 10x optical zoom and the suite of controls (manual adjustments, pre-set modes and the like), Kodak’s DX6490 makes an excellent standard digital camera for most users.
Final Thoughts
Like all cameras, the DX6490 is not a camera for every user out there (because then who would want it?), the DX6490 excels with it’s huge zoom lens and should provide the average photographer with an excellent camera for everyday use.
Photography Reviews:
Cameras:
Olympus C-4000 Digital Camera / Olympus D-460 Zoom Digital Camera / Minolta Maxxum 300si (35mm SLR) / Polaroid PDC 640 Digital Camera / Kodak EasyShare CX4300 Digital Camera / Canon Elph LT APS Camera / Olympus Stylus Infinity Zoom 35mm Camera / Casio Exilim Ex-Z4U Digital Camera / Fuji FinePix F700 Digital Camera / Pentax Optio 33WR Digital Camera
Books and Magazines:
Shutterbug Magazine / Popular Photography Magazine / PC Photo / Outdoor Photography / Photography Outdoors / American Photo
Printers, Scanners, Memory & Accessories
SanDisk 128MB SmartMedia Card / Memorex 128MB SmartMedia Card / HP Photosmart 1115 / Microtek Scanmaker 4800 / HP Scanjet 3570c / Samsonite Carrying Case
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 450
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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