A very good performer that's easy to use, yet sophisticated
Written: Jun 25 '04
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Pros: Easy to use, no shutter lag, flexible, high quality lens.
Cons: Poor LCD visiblity in daylight. Imager sometimes fails to capture complex details in foliage, etc.
The Bottom Line: The Kodak DX 7630 is easy, fun, and fast to use. With photo quality just a notch below the best 35mm film cameras, it's an excellent value.
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| pat_the_cat's Full Review: Kodak EasyShare DX7630 Digital Camera |
I like the flexible controls on the 7630 and have been using it in "Aperture-priority" mode so I can set the iris myself-- it gives me some control over how sharp the main subject will be vs. objects in the background. After shooting for a while, I got used to the camera's small size and the off-center lens placement (many digicams use this) and was easily able to hold it. The well-thought-out controls allow you to set compression levels, turn the built-in flash and LCD off, and even vanquish the digital zoom feature.
Shutter-lag is less than on my Olympus LT Zoom 35mm-- this Kodak auto-focuses lightning-fast and accurately, even in room light. Since the shutter fires silently, a user-selectable sound ("sci-fi," "jazz," "classical," or "fun") tells you the shot has been taken. The lens has an unusually wide f2.8 aperture which allows shooting indoors without flash in many places. Noise at ISO 100 is very low, at least as good as film. Even at ISO 400, the noise level is low enough for good-looking 4X6" prints.
The high quality lens produces excellent overall sharpness. The exposure system is fast and accurate as well. With the color mode at the factory setting, colors are spot-on accurate and the saturation looks about right to me (it can be changed to yield more or less saturation). I prefer to use the optical viewfinder, which provides a changing view when you zoom the lens from telephoto to wide angle. Despite their efforts, Kodak has not come-up with an LCD display that works well in daylight, though this extra large display does well in open shade or indoors.
As for the most common digital Gremlins, I have not seen any "purple haze" around tree leaves or other edges and I'm pleased to say that I have not seen any JPEG artifacts when shooting in "Fine" mode. I do sometimes see the imager fail to capture certain types of complex details. Dense foliage is sometimes rendered as a watercolor-like blur for example. Sometimes I get the feeling that there's just a little something missing in the photos compared to 35mm film. After owning it for the past 6 weeks, I'm very pleased with this camera overall.
I didn't bother to install the Easyshare software, since iPhoto recognized the camera as soon as I connected it to my computer and asked to import the photos-- ni-i-ice! You can indeed review your images with the lens cap in place by choosing "favorites" mode and pressing the "Review" button.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 450.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
pat_the_cat
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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