Kodak Easyshare Z710 Review
Review Date: November 1st 2006
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 7M quality mode, which gives an average image size of around 1.5Mb - 2.5Mb.
Noise
There are 4 ISO settings available on the Kodak Easyshare Z710 which you can select at any time if the camera is in one of the creative shooting modes. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 64 (100% crop) |
ISO 100 (100% crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% crop) |
ISO 400 (100% crop) |
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There is no discernible noise at the slowest setting of ISO 64, but there is already some noise appearing at the slow speed of ISO 100. At ISO 200 image quality has deterioated quite a lot as more noise creeps in, especially in the shadow areas, and ISO 400 is so noisy that it should only really be used as a last resort. A disappointing performance by the Kodak Z710.
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting of Normal and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change the in-camera sharpening level to High, Normal or Low to suit your taste.
Original
(100% crop) |
Sharpened (100% crop) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Kodak Easyshare Z710 dealt quite well with chromatic aberrations well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
| Example
1 (100% crop) |
Example
2 (100% crop) |
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Macro
The Kodak Easyshare Z710 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 12cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
| Macro Shot |
Macro Shot (100% crop) |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Kodak Easyshare Z710 are Auto, Off, Fill and Red-eye Reduction. These shots of a magnolia coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
| Flash Off - Wide Angle (38mm) |
Auto Flash - Wide Angle (38mm) |
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| Flash Off - Telephoto (380mm) |
Auto Flash - Telephoto (380mm) |
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And here are some shots of yours truly. As you can see, both the Auto and the Red-Eye Reduction options caused a very small amount of red-eye (or more accurately, purple-eye).
| Flash On |
Flash On (100% Crop) |
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| Flash - Red-Eye Reduction |
Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Kodak Easyshare Z710 maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds in the Long Exposure mode, which is just about adequate for night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 8 seconds at ISO 64. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 8 second setting the actual exposure takes 16 seconds.
| Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% crop) |
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Overall Image Quality
The Kodak Easyshare Z710 produced images of below average quality during the review period. The 7 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you should change the in-camera setting to High. The Kodak Easyshare Z710 dealt quite well with chromatic aberrations, with some purple fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. Macro performance is well below average, allowing you to focus as close as 12 cms away from the subject. The built-in flash worked adequately indoors, with little red-eye and slight under-exposure. The night photograph was OK, with the maximum shutter speed of 8 seconds long enough for most situations. The 1/2.5 inch, 7 megapixel sensor used in the Kodak Easyshare Z710 produced clean images at the slowest ISO speed of 64, but noisier images at ISO 100 and especially ISO 200. The fastest available ISO speed of 400 is only worth using if you have no other choice. With no optical image stabilisation system, this limited ISO range makes the Kodak Z710 an outdoors, good-light camera.
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organisation. Our test results for the Kodak Easyshare Z710
have been submitted to DIWA
for comparison with test results for different samples of
the same camera model supplied by other DIWA
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