Businessweek says "Kodak goofed"

m-v · Oct 14, 2003

Oct. 6th BW on 10x digita cameras:

"Kodak goofed by putting the grip too close to the lens, in an effort to make the camera smaller. I couldn't get my fingers between the grip and the lens, and the camera never felt secure in my hand. The slightly larger Fuji model, with its rubberized coating, felt far more balanced and comfortable."

I noticed that this week at Bestbuy. I'm a small woman with small hands and I didn't like the grip either. ( I hadn't read this article 'til today.) I especially didn't like the lack of grip by my left hand either. I'd been waiting for this camera for 2 months and I's so disappointed. I think I'd like to try the Leica/Panasonic FZ10 when it arrives.

TheCyberKnight · Oct 14, 2003

That's a really subjective matter. I really like the DX6490 shape and find it perfectly suitable for my hands (which are pretty normal in size). My coworkers were also really impressed by the camera and its shape.

Hoping you'll find a suitable model for you.

m-v said:
Oct. 6th BW on 10x digita cameras:

"Kodak goofed by putting the grip too close to the lens, in an
effort to make the camera smaller. I couldn't get my fingers
between the grip and the lens, and the camera never felt secure in
my hand. The slightly larger Fuji model, with its rubberized
coating, felt far more balanced and comfortable."

I noticed that this week at Bestbuy. I'm a small woman with small
hands and I didn't like the grip either. ( I hadn't read this
article 'til today.) I especially didn't like the lack of grip by
my left hand either. I'd been waiting for this camera for 2 months
and I's so disappointed. I think I'd like to try the
Leica/Panasonic FZ10 when it arrives.

Brian Salyer · Oct 14, 2003

m-v said:
Oct. 6th BW on 10x digita cameras:

"Kodak goofed by putting the grip too close to the lens, in an
effort to make the camera smaller. I couldn't get my fingers
between the grip and the lens, and the camera never felt secure in
my hand. The slightly larger Fuji model, with its rubberized
coating, felt far more balanced and comfortable."

I noticed that this week at Bestbuy. I'm a small woman with small
hands and I didn't like the grip either. ( I hadn't read this
article 'til today.) I especially didn't like the lack of grip by
my left hand either. I'd been waiting for this camera for 2 months
and I's so disappointed. I think I'd like to try the
Leica/Panasonic FZ10 when it arrives.

The article should be titled "Businessweek Goofs By Printing a One Sided Opinion".

Listen, I own a Canon G2 and an Olympus C5050. The C5050 is a very nicely designed camera. If you put the DX6490 next to the C5050, they are very much alike. As a matter of fact the Kodak feels just as good if not better in my hands, and I have long fingers. As far as the performance of the camera:::: it is cutting edge technology, with great colors and sharpness. The colors are far more vivid and pleasing than the Olympus and Canon put together (and they do a very good job at that).

I think Kodak gave the market what they asked for. A high quality, sexy designed, 10x zoom, 4meg camera, at a GREAT price and threw in a Dock and killer software for good measure.

Not sure why, but it seems like everyone likes to Kick Kodak around on there cameras. Enough said on that.

Best thing to do is compare them side by side, shot for shot. I think you will find that the Kodak hits the mark with excellent photos 90% of the time. This is a VERY NICE camera.

Take some photos with an Olympus (look for the noise, and somewhat pale colors), Take some shots with a Canon and look for skin tones that are a little on the tan side all of the time and poor exposure on indoor shots, then compare them with some real world shots of the DX6490.

Then put the photos side by side on a table and have your friends pick out which ones they like best. I am betting on the Kodak.

Just opinions,

Regards
Brian

agiessen · Oct 15, 2003

Brian,

I have mixed emotions about the DX6490. It can take great pictures, but there are some things that bother me.

First of all, in dim light, the autofocus fails. Next thing, but maybe it's just me, it seems to resort to lang shutter times fairly quickly as well, thus resulting in blurry photos as I can't take all the photos using a tripod. Third and last is the fact that the autofocus doesn't always work properly. I mean that it locks on an object (or seems to anyway) but estimates the distances incorrectly. If I remember well this also happened when I used a tripod, but I'm not 100% sure on this one.

Have you -- or others -- experienced these kinds of problems or not?

Cheers,
Arnoud.

Brian Salyer said:
m-v said:

Oct. 6th BW on 10x digita cameras:

"Kodak goofed by putting the grip too close to the lens, in an
effort to make the camera smaller. I couldn't get my fingers
between the grip and the lens, and the camera never felt secure in
my hand. The slightly larger Fuji model, with its rubberized
coating, felt far more balanced and comfortable."

I noticed that this week at Bestbuy. I'm a small woman with small
hands and I didn't like the grip either. ( I hadn't read this
article 'til today.) I especially didn't like the lack of grip by
my left hand either. I'd been waiting for this camera for 2 months
and I's so disappointed. I think I'd like to try the
Leica/Panasonic FZ10 when it arrives.

Click to expand...

The article should be titled "Businessweek Goofs By Printing a One
Sided Opinion".

Listen, I own a Canon G2 and an Olympus C5050. The C5050 is a very
nicely designed camera. If you put the DX6490 next to the C5050,
they are very much alike. As a matter of fact the Kodak feels just
as good if not better in my hands, and I have long fingers. As far
as the performance of the camera:::: it is cutting edge
technology, with great colors and sharpness. The colors are far
more vivid and pleasing than the Olympus and Canon put together
(and they do a very good job at that).

I think Kodak gave the market what they asked for. A high quality,
sexy designed, 10x zoom, 4meg camera, at a GREAT price and threw in
a Dock and killer software for good measure.

Not sure why, but it seems like everyone likes to Kick Kodak around
on there cameras. Enough said on that.

Best thing to do is compare them side by side, shot for shot. I
think you will find that the Kodak hits the mark with excellent
photos 90% of the time. This is a VERY NICE camera.

Take some photos with an Olympus (look for the noise, and somewhat
pale colors), Take some shots with a Canon and look for skin tones
that are a little on the tan side all of the time and poor exposure
on indoor shots, then compare them with some real world shots of
the DX6490.

Then put the photos side by side on a table and have your friends
pick out which ones they like best. I am betting on the Kodak.

Just opinions,

Regards
Brian

Jean LEFÈVRE · Oct 15, 2003

agiessen said:
Brian,
I have mixed emotions about the DX6490. It can take great pictures,
but there are some things that bother me.
First of all, in dim light, the autofocus fails.

Hi,

That is surprising, as the DX6490 is well known for its hability to AF in dim light.

agiessen said:
Next thing, but
maybe it's just me, it seems to resort to lang shutter times fairly
quickly as well, thus resulting in blurry photos as I can't take
all the photos using a tripod. Third and last is the fact that the
autofocus doesn't always work properly. I mean that it locks on an
object (or seems to anyway) but estimates the distances
incorrectly. If I remember well this also happened when I used a
tripod, but I'm not 100% sure on this one.

Is that possible that what you identify as a focus problem is a problem with shaking the camera when the shutter time is too slow ?

When you have a look on your pictures with a a bad focus, can you see a good focus on closer or farther subjects ? Or is all the picture blurry ?
Best regards, Jean(John)

agiessen said:
Have you -- or others -- experienced these kinds of problems or not?
Cheers,
Arnoud.

saycheez · Oct 15, 2003

By placing the camera in the Sports Mode or by setting the high shutter speed that you prefer in the PASM mode you can guarantee that the photos won't be blurry because of a long shutter speed.

agiessen said:
...maybe it's just me, it seems to resort to lang shutter times fairly
quickly as well, thus resulting in blurry photos as I can't take
all the photos using a tripod.

Damian D · Oct 15, 2003

agiessen said:
First of all, in dim light, the autofocus fails. Next thing, but
maybe it's just me, it seems to resort to lang shutter times fairly
quickly as well, thus resulting in blurry photos as I can't take
all the photos using a tripod.

I don't know of any camera film or digital on the amrket or has ever been sold that prioritises the use of long shutter speeds to a point of selecting speeds which cause camera shake. I suspect that if you were using the camera in any mode other than Aperture/shutter priority or manual the camera was already using the maximum aperture to provide the fastest shutter speed according to the available lighting levels.

regards

D

Damian D · Oct 15, 2003

agiessen said:
First of all, in dim light, the autofocus fails. Third and last is the fact that the
autofocus doesn't always work properly. I mean that it locks on an
object (or seems to anyway) but estimates the distances
incorrectly. If I remember well this also happened when I used a
tripod, but I'm not 100% sure on this one.

This is totally inconsistent with others users posts realting to AF performance.

Can you send some examples?

email to: [email protected]

chris-mm · Oct 15, 2003

agiessen said:
Brian,

I have mixed emotions about the DX6490. It can take great pictures,
but there are some things that bother me.

First of all, in dim light, the autofocus fails. Next thing, but
maybe it's just me, it seems to resort to lang shutter times fairly
quickly as well, thus resulting in blurry photos as I can't take
all the photos using a tripod. Third and last is the fact that the
autofocus doesn't always work properly. I mean that it locks on an
object (or seems to anyway) but estimates the distances
incorrectly. If I remember well this also happened when I used a
tripod, but I'm not 100% sure on this one.

Have you -- or others -- experienced these kinds of problems or not?

Cheers,
Arnoud.

Can´t understand your trouble!

The DX 6490 AF system is one of the best in low light conditions at the moment. Mine is focusing in almost complete darkness!

Of course, at full zoom in difficult situations it can fail. But others will fail much earlier. I´ve used other digis too and that´s fact.

About the shutter times, it´s opening the aperture till max. and is selecting the necessery shutter time. There´s nothing to complain about.

Try using higher a ISO setting if the spped is to slow for your light conditions. 200 ISO is very usable with the DX 6490.

Chris

agiessen · Oct 15, 2003

Judging from your comments, I must be doing something wrong. I'll do some experimenting tonight with the advice all of you have given me, and get back to you on the result.

It's good to read that the DX6490 works well for you guys, that gives me hope.

Thanks for all the comments.

Cheers,
Arnoud.

chris-mm said:
agiessen said:

Brian,

I have mixed emotions about the DX6490. It can take great pictures,
but there are some things that bother me.

First of all, in dim light, the autofocus fails. Next thing, but
maybe it's just me, it seems to resort to lang shutter times fairly
quickly as well, thus resulting in blurry photos as I can't take
all the photos using a tripod. Third and last is the fact that the
autofocus doesn't always work properly. I mean that it locks on an
object (or seems to anyway) but estimates the distances
incorrectly. If I remember well this also happened when I used a
tripod, but I'm not 100% sure on this one.

Have you -- or others -- experienced these kinds of problems or not?

Cheers,
Arnoud.

Click to expand...

Can´t understand your trouble!

The DX 6490 AF system is one of the best in low light conditions at
the moment. Mine is focusing in almost complete darkness!
Of course, at full zoom in difficult situations it can fail. But
others will fail much earlier. I´ve used other digis too and that´s
fact.

About the shutter times, it´s opening the aperture till max. and is
selecting the necessery shutter time. There´s nothing to complain
about.
Try using higher a ISO setting if the spped is to slow for your
light conditions. 200 ISO is very usable with the DX 6490.

Chris

George Miller · Oct 15, 2003

m-v said:
Oct. 6th BW on 10x digita cameras:

"Kodak goofed by putting the grip too close to the lens, in an
effort to make the camera smaller. I couldn't get my fingers
between the grip and the lens, and the camera never felt secure in
my hand. The slightly larger Fuji model, with its rubberized
coating, felt far more balanced and comfortable."

I noticed that this week at Bestbuy. I'm a small woman with small
hands and I didn't like the grip either. ( I hadn't read this
article 'til today.) I especially didn't like the lack of grip by
my left hand either. I'd been waiting for this camera for 2 months
and I's so disappointed. I think I'd like to try the
Leica/Panasonic FZ10 when it arrives.

Sorry.........I have VERY large hands/fingers (a guy) and NO Problema!

agiessen · Oct 15, 2003

Damian,

I sent you some pictures to judge. On thought crossed my mind: could it be that AF sometimes fails because I zoom in too much considering the distance to the object I´m trying to capture?

I looked at quite a few pictures tonight, and most of the pictures that were blurred, I zoomed in. An example: focal length was 75mm, shutter time 1/60 sec, f 3.2. How difficult is it to make sharp photo's given this example.

BTW: If you wondered, I'm not a good photographer, and don't know that much about how to get the best results. I just half press the button, let AF do it's job, and then fully press the release button. Sometimes in auto mode, mostly PASM using the P-mode so that I can correct the lighting if needs be.ISO 100 outdoors, 200 indoors.

Just read the article at imaging-resource.com. Luckily I bought this camera: it is one of the easiest

Cheers,
Arnoud.

Damian D said:
agiessen said:

First of all, in dim light, the autofocus fails. Third and last is the fact that the
autofocus doesn't always work properly. I mean that it locks on an
object (or seems to anyway) but estimates the distances
incorrectly. If I remember well this also happened when I used a
tripod, but I'm not 100% sure on this one.

Click to expand...

This is totally inconsistent with others users posts realting to AF
performance.

Can you send some examples?

email to: [email protected]

Damian D · Oct 15, 2003

agiessen said:
Damian,

I sent you some pictures to judge. On thought crossed my mind:
could it be that AF sometimes fails because I zoom in too much
considering the distance to the object I´m trying to capture?

I looked at quite a few pictures tonight, and most of the pictures
that were blurred, I zoomed in. An example: focal length was 75mm,
shutter time 1/60 sec, f 3.2. How difficult is it to make sharp
photo's given this example.

BTW: If you wondered, I'm not a good photographer, and don't know
that much about how to get the best results. I just half press the
button, let AF do it's job, and then fully press the release
button. Sometimes in auto mode, mostly PASM using the P-mode so
that I can correct the lighting if needs be.ISO 100 outdoors, 200
indoors.

Just read the article at imaging-resource.com. Luckily I bought
this camera: it is one of the easiest

Hi Arnoud,

I replied to your mail earlier but now seeing this note just thought I'd add the following:

I would suggest if the subject is likely to move to press all the way on the shutter release in one smooth action. You may want to prefocus to get the lens in the right ball park then release and then press all the way in one action. Still subjects doesn't matter.

Great thing about digital is there's no cost involved in practice other than your time. it will come, juect keep practising and look at opthers peoples work. It's all in the eye not the camera, although the camera can help in some cases.

best regards

D

Damian D · Oct 15, 2003

George Miller said:
m-v said:

Oct. 6th BW on 10x digita cameras:

"Kodak goofed by putting the grip too close to the lens, in an
effort to make the camera smaller. I couldn't get my fingers
between the grip and the lens, and the camera never felt secure in
my hand. The slightly larger Fuji model, with its rubberized
coating, felt far more balanced and comfortable."

I noticed that this week at Bestbuy. I'm a small woman with small
hands and I didn't like the grip either. ( I hadn't read this
article 'til today.) I especially didn't like the lack of grip by
my left hand either. I'd been waiting for this camera for 2 months
and I's so disappointed. I think I'd like to try the
Leica/Panasonic FZ10 when it arrives.

Click to expand...

Sorry.........I have VERY large hands/fingers (a guy) and NO Problema!

When I was at Minolta I remember the Dynax/maxxum/Alpha 600 si. This had a grip very similar to the 6490. It's shape was specially designed to be held comfortably with either big or small hands. the shape of it meant that you actually held it completely differntly if you had small hands compared to larger hands. Sorry does that make any sense?

Anyway, I'm never surprised by the number of people who don't hold cameras properley.

So many people hold a camera like you'd expect a crab to with its pincers and with elbows extended out at right angles.

Finger of right hand should be resting on shutter release, whilst the left hand should be cupped under the bottom left corner of the camera/underneath of the lens barrell. This causes the elbows to comfortably tuck into your body providing both a comfortable yet stable support for the camera.

here endeth todays' lesson ;-)

best regards

D

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Businessweek says "Kodak goofed"

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