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Info and comments on the Z612 Please

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CUSIN BRUCIE

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Hi All,

I'm new to this forum as I have a Nikon DSLR, although my Daugher has an older Kodak and loves it. A friend of mine asked me to do a little research on the Kodak Z612 camera and I was wondering if I could get some comments from current users to see what they think of it. He was intrigued by the 6.1 mp and the 12X zoom lens but wanted to see what others thought of it or if he should be looking at other models as well.

Thanks for any and all comments.
Bruce
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
I purchased this camera last week. I posted this info on another thread, but am copying it for you here. I have a 6490 that I am putting into semi retirement, but I still think it's a terrific camera. The 612 is very similar, but much faster, has more MP and 12x instead of 10x zoom.

What I really like about the 612:
-manual focus (rudimentary but it works)
-very fast power up
-big bright LCD screen
-flash can be turned off
-12x zoom, can zoom quickly or tap for smaller increments

-14 scene modes, including one specifically for text (I do a lot of genealogy work and this is a great feature for copying documents)
-histogram
-small in size but big in features ; )

Hope this helps.... let us know what you decide.
 
I got my camera about 2 weeks ago. I've really only used it at some concerts so far...not really any outdoor, bright settings. But, I was quite pleased with how the concert shots turned out...especially because it's so hard to find a camera that will operate well in low light settings...and because I'm a complete amateur when it comes to picture taking, lol. I just copied from another thread I posted in yesterday...

I used the Sports mode a couple of times at a concert last week and a concert last night (the performers move around A LOT, so I thought it would be good to not get the blur from the fast action). I got a lot of AMAZING shots...in my opinion, sharp and great color...some of the close up shots I was even able to see the performer's eyes through his sunglasses. Some of the shots I used the Fill flash, and others no flash...depending on how the light was hitting them. Of course the shots where they were off to the side of the stage where there wasn't any light at all...some came out really dark or pretty blurry. Some of the shots of the performers standing towards the back of the stage were also somewhat dark (most of those were taken at full 12x zoom, though). But, overall I'm VERY happy with how the Z612 worked in that condition...I was worried at first. I tried using the manual controls in P mode and A mode, but many were blurry and yellowish. So, even though I couldn't set the ISO or aperature I stuck with the Sports or Auto mode (I checked the info on my pics after and most were ISO 200 and I think around f-2.8). My friend saw my pictures and liked them so much she asked me what kind of camera I had. My dad saw some of my pictures and loved how the colors were so sharp...he said some of them were like pics you'd see in a magazine, lol.

The only thing I didn't like too much was that for shots I took at full zoom or really close up, the between shot time was slow...it took a while for the picture to process before it returned to the screen where I could take another picture. But, I'm still very happy with my results.

If you want, I can post some of my pictures later tonight so you can get a general idea.
 
I keep my 612 on the lowest megapixil which is 1.1, so I can get over 2000 pix on a 1 GB card. I email most of my pix, so low res is best for me. Other MP options are: 3.1, 4.0, 5.3, and 6.0. Even at this low resolution I am very happy with the detail and the color is great. Here is my cat, Sadie, at 1.1 MP. Wish she was more colorful, but she is mostly gray! Just wanted you to see the amount of detail in her fur. As for color rendition, I think Kodak has the best color... maybe I'm prejudiced about that!

 
Thanks justagirl,

I appreciate the info. Yes if you could post a few of the better shots I would really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Bruce
justagirl said:
I got my camera about 2 weeks ago. I've really only used it at some
concerts so far...not really any outdoor, bright settings. But, I
was quite pleased with how the concert shots turned
out...especially because it's so hard to find a camera that will
operate well in low light settings...and because I'm a complete
amateur when it comes to picture taking, lol. I just copied from
another thread I posted in yesterday...

I used the Sports mode a couple of times at a concert last week and
a concert last night (the performers move around A LOT, so I
thought it would be good to not get the blur from the fast action).
I got a lot of AMAZING shots...in my opinion, sharp and great
color...some of the close up shots I was even able to see the
performer's eyes through his sunglasses. Some of the shots I used
the Fill flash, and others no flash...depending on how the light
was hitting them. Of course the shots where they were off to the
side of the stage where there wasn't any light at all...some came
out really dark or pretty blurry. Some of the shots of the
performers standing towards the back of the stage were also
somewhat dark (most of those were taken at full 12x zoom, though).
But, overall I'm VERY happy with how the Z612 worked in that
condition...I was worried at first. I tried using the manual
controls in P mode and A mode, but many were blurry and yellowish.
So, even though I couldn't set the ISO or aperature I stuck with
the Sports or Auto mode (I checked the info on my pics after and
most were ISO 200 and I think around f-2.8). My friend saw my
pictures and liked them so much she asked me what kind of camera I
had. My dad saw some of my pictures and loved how the colors were
so sharp...he said some of them were like pics you'd see in a
magazine, lol.

The only thing I didn't like too much was that for shots I took at
full zoom or really close up, the between shot time was slow...it
took a while for the picture to process before it returned to the
screen where I could take another picture. But, I'm still very
happy with my results.

If you want, I can post some of my pictures later tonight so you
can get a general idea.
Click to expand...
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
Thanks Sarah,

I appreciate that. Wow a 12X optical zoom sounds great. I bought an Olympus about 5 years ago and that was 3X optical and 3X digital. It took nice shots but lacked in the ability to get in close frm far away.

Bruce
Speaklightly said:
Bruce-

All of the 12X zoom on the Z-612 is optical zoom and combined with
IS it makes a very nice package.
--
Sarah
Click to expand...
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
Thanks Meezer67

The detail for a 1.1mp picture is really very nice, I don't know how it would look if you tired to print it at 5X7 or 8X10 but it looks very nice. Is that the only way to change the resolution on this or are there settings such as different Jpeg size settings?

Thanks
Bruce
Meezer67 said:
I keep my 612 on the lowest megapixil which is 1.1, so I can get
over 2000 pix on a 1 GB card. I email most of my pix, so low res
is best for me. Other MP options are: 3.1, 4.0, 5.3, and 6.0.
Even at this low resolution I am very happy with the detail and the
color is great. Here is my cat, Sadie, at 1.1 MP. Wish she was
more colorful, but she is mostly gray! Just wanted you to see the
amount of detail in her fur. As for color rendition, I think Kodak
has the best color... maybe I'm prejudiced about that!



--
Click to expand...
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
Thanks for the two links K8, I appreciate it. I'll look them over now.

Bruce
K8 said:
why not read a review like her
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/z612.html
and the manual is available here :)

http://wwwuk.kodak.com/global/en/service/publications/urg00512toc.jhtml?pq-path=8815
--
Got a DX, taken a shot, blank EVF ? no worries, use the shutter
button the camera can still take pictures, even if you can't see.
Click to expand...
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
You can check out some of my pix. Have not had time to update it in awhile! My Flickr site is below.

--
Adam
z612 & DX6440 (Wife stole it though)
http://flickr.com/photos/arh26/

 
I printed this cat photo on the Kodak printer/docker size 5x7 and the detail was as good as on the screen, no pixellation evident at all.

Not sure about your .jpg question... maybe someone else can answer that.
 
Hi Adam,

I finally had a chance to check out your pictures, sorry about the delay. They look very nice. My friend was concered that with this camera's 12X zoom he would really get up to a 420mm equivilant. He looked at it in a store and zoomed in on a sign abuot 50 feet away and it looked about the same as looking at it with his eyes. What is your opinion?

I was wodering on the 2nd page of your flickr gallery on the pictures of the baseball players about how far away you were for the close ups, also for the Goodyear blimp. I see some wide angle shots at the ball field so it would seem that you were pretty far away and was really able to zoom in close with it for the closeups.

Thanks,
Bruce
Arh326 said:
You can check out some of my pix. Have not had time to update it in
awhile! My Flickr site is below.

--
Adam
z612 & DX6440 (Wife stole it though)
http://flickr.com/photos/arh26/

Click to expand...
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
I bought my 612 about a week ago and so far love it. I posted pictures demonstrating what the zoom could do. This weekend I photographed my granddaughters Christmas play. Used the scenes mode in meuseum mode no flash. I did not have my tripod yet the pictures turned out great. The exposure was great, and the pictures sharp. I have yet to figure out why reviewers are so down on Kodak Cameras.

Gary Bartley
Z612
 
Bruce,

the only thing that I found lacking on the 612 was an adjustable VF diopter. The P712 model (and others) do have this.

Note: Only important if your daughter wears corrective eyeglasses and uses the VF.
Great camera!
Jerry
 
I was pretty far away. The 12x zoom is very good and the IS makes it nice and clean. I have been very, very happy with the results of this cam!

--
Adam
z612 & DX6440 (Wife stole it though)
http://flickr.com/photos/arh26/

 
The Z612 is a very good camera. It is a bit smaller than some others. With the 12x zoom, you can focus on a lot of subjects. A green box appears when you get close. Focus may depend on having bright light on your subject area. (this was outdoors at night) Short video mode may yield some christmas light shots. Sit or lean against something to get steady shots in the low light situation. (The camera will give you the chance to delete any blurry or poor shots & try another)

Smallish size may be fine for smaller hands, working zoom control, press shutter 1/2 to focus. Many options to shoot different scenes.
Quiet shutter good for museum operation.

CRV3 battery can be used as backup to the Li-Lion's in the camera. Swap it quick so you don't loose memory settings!

What keeps it from being a Great camera: P712 has 1mp, hot shoe flash for Kodak unit & panarama mode.

What makes a Great Deal: Price competition between Best Buy, Circuit City & the Office Staples stores. Price down to $270 range. Price competition for SD cards. Target carries Kodak cards 512mb/$20.
P712 has limited distribution only at Sam's or Costco.
 
Thanks Gary, sorry for the delay. Could you post a link to your pictures, would love to see them.

Thanks,
Bruce
gbartley said:
I bought my 612 about a week ago and so far love it. I posted
pictures demonstrating what the zoom could do. This weekend I
photographed my granddaughters Christmas play. Used the scenes mode
in meuseum mode no flash. I did not have my tripod yet the pictures
turned out great. The exposure was great, and the pictures sharp. I
have yet to figure out why reviewers are so down on Kodak Cameras.

Gary Bartley
Z612
Click to expand...
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
Great, thanks Adam. Sorry for not seeing your reply earlier.

Bruce
Arh326 said:
I was pretty far away. The 12x zoom is very good and the IS makes
it nice and clean. I have been very, very happy with the results of
this cam!

--
Adam
z612 & DX6440 (Wife stole it though)
http://flickr.com/photos/arh26/

Click to expand...
--
http://CusinBrucie.smugmug.com/gallery/1285864/1/60412211

How I earn the EXTRA money for my camera equipment!!
http://borkofsky.ilovesuccess.net/

My Daughter's Art/Photo Site, Please have a look http://lipping.myexpose.com/gallery/
Nikon D200, 18-200mm VR lens



'I need a Shave and a Banana, NOW!!!'
 
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