I recently purchased a Kodak EasyShare Z700 4-Megapixel digital camera with 5x optical zoom. The camera has above-average optical zoom power and has other positive ingredients: it is powered by two AA batteries and stores images on popular and inexpensive Secure Digital memory cards.

The Z700 is also relatively cheap (I got mine for $158). Do you get what you pay for? Let's find out.

Pictures

The pictures of the Kodak Z700 as well as sample photos I took using it are available at the address below:

Click here to see the sample photos I took with this Kodak Easyshare Z700 4MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and photos of the camera

What Is Kodak EasyShare Z700?

The Kodak Z700 is a 4-Megapixel digital camera that has a 5x optical zoom (35-175 mm equivalent focal length), stores images in the internal 16 MB of flash memory or on the SD/MMC memory cards. It has a USB port for transferring your images to your computer or printers and an EasyShare dock connection.

The camera runs on 2 AA-type batteries or a single larger disposable battery (two disposable alkaline AA batteries supplied, rechargeable recommended). The camera has automatic mode, 17 scene modes and manual modes such as Aperture, Shutter Priority and Manual as well as motion video recording.

The camera has ISO range of 80-400 (80-160 in automatic mode), shutter speed range 8-1/1,600 sec. and aperture ranges of f/2.8-5.8 at wide angle, f/4.9-8.8 at telephoto. The Z700 has a 1.6-inch LCD screen and an optical zooming viewfinder.

Build Quality and Ergonomics

The camera is medium-sized and has the case made of plastic that seems relatively durable. The fit and finish are less refined as the cameras by major competitors. The plastic is not smooth and has rather large-grained irregular texture. The memory card door is slightly flimsy. Overall, it is a reminiscent of the larger Kodak Z740 I had before.

The camera has a convenient handgrip and the shutter release has reassuring feel to it. I was glad to see that unlike the larger Z740, the Z700 does not use a small joystick for menu navigation and as an OK button when pushed, but has conventional buttons that are easier to use.

The menu system uses large icons and is relatively easy to use, but there are short delays in its operation (nothing major though).

The camera lets you select parameters (aperture, shutter speed, etc.) directly on the screen in the manual modes (Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual) as well as exposure compensation without using menus by just using buttons on the rear panel. I like the concept.

Zoom

The camera has an all-glass 5x optical zoom lens with aspheric elements. This means you can zoom in 5x without loosing any resolution. Although the camera lacks image stabilization that is present in some cameras of Panasonic and mega-zoom cameras of some other manufacturers, I find it to be a non-issue, since this camera only goes to 175mm equivalent focal length. So in bright light, the camera works well, even handheld.

In dim light, you might discover that, just like any other camera, the Z700 can produce blurry pictures when you zoom in all the way handheld. So you do get what you pay for: if you want good zoom and ability to shoot handheld in dim light, you might have to spend slightly more on a Panasonic camera with optical image stabilization (e.g. Panasonic DMC-LZ1).

The Z700 has a zoom, equivalent to 35-175 mm, which means at full telephoto shooting handheld, the shutter speed should be no longer than 1/200 (if you hold the camera well). In less that bright daylight, the shutter speeds needed will be slower, which will cause blur to appear. The camera is smart enough to increase the sensitivity (ISO) to try to keep the shutter speed fast enough to avoid blur. Of course, it does not always work and you might consider getting and using a tripod or simply placing the camera on a steady surface.

You can use higher sensitivity (ISO 200 or 400), since the higher the sensitivity, the faster the shutter speed can be at the same exposure value. The problem with tripods is the fact that you have to carry one around and attach the camera to it, which is not always practical. The problem with using higher sensitivity (ISO) is image noise, which gets pronounced at ISO 200 (good for 5x7 or 4x6-inch prints) and pretty bad at ISO 400 (only suitable for 6x4-inch prints).

Aside from the noise at higher ISO, the camera produces sharp pictures throughout its zoom range with reasonably sharp corners.

Shooting Speed

I tested the camera with both a fast Kingston Elite Pro 512 MB SD Card and a regular-speed Kingston 512 SD Card. In both cases, although the shooting speed was fast at first, the slow card write speed caused the camera to slow down significantly after about 7 photos were captured.

With both the fast and the standard SD card, it took the camera about 4-5 seconds to actually write the photo onto the card. Since the camera has a buffer, I could shoot first 7 photos at about 1.5 seconds per, but after that the camera slowed down to one photo in about 5-6 seconds. And it took the camera more than 30 seconds to clear its buffer once the shooting stopped. I had the same problem with the larger Kodak Z740.

What it means for you? If you do not plan on shooting more than 7 pictures consecutively, you should not worry. But if you need to shoot a lot of pictures fast, this camera is not for you.

Focusing

The camera focuses fast at wide angle, even in dim light, which is remarkable, since it has no focus assist light. At the same time, it may take much longer to focus at full telephoto (full 5x magnification of optical zoom) in dim light - up to 3 seconds. Overall, the camera focuses well, especially considering the fact that it has no focus assist light.

Shutter Lag

The camera takes the picture almost instantly if pre-focused. Including autofocus, the shutter lag can be as short as less than a second to a couple of seconds if the camera struggles with focus.

Zooming

The camera zooms somewhat slowly (about 3 seconds from end to end), but the zooming is precise, letting you frame the shot the way you like it.

Startup and Shutdown

The camera takes about 3 seconds to start up and extend its lens. The shutdown takes also about 3 seconds, but if the buffer is full, it may take up to 40 seconds for the camera to flush it to the memory card.

Manual Control

You can control the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance and more in the camera's different modes (A, S, etc.) In addition to Aperture and Shutter Priority Mode, the camera has a P (program AE) mode as well as full auto and scene modes. The camera has an exposure compensation as well. Annoyingly, the automatic ISO setting does not let the camera raise the ISO higher than ISO 140, which results in low noise but occasional blurry pictures at the telephoto end indoors. Do not forget to manually raise ISO if shooting in dim light at high zoom levels!

Battery

The camera uses two AA batteries. I used my Panasonic 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries that lasted for more than an hour of shooting, reviewing and deleting images with no sign of depletion. I suggest you get an extra pair of AA batteries if you intend on shooting more than 200 pictures.

LCD and Viewfinder

The camera has a 1.6-inch LCD screen and a zooming optical viewfinder. The former offers about 100% coverage with somewhat low but sufficient resolution. The latter is on a tight side, but has diopter adjustment. The LCD is fluid even in dark environments and gains-up a lot (increase brightness) in the dark, helping you frame the shot better. It gains-up really well.

Computer Connectivity

I have not connected the camera directly to my computer with the supplied USB cable but rather used an SD card reader. The files the camera produced were about 1.4 MB each at 4MP resolution.

Resolutions

The camera lets you select between several resolutions: 4MP, 3.5MP (3:2 aspect ratio, perfect for 6x4 prints), 3.1MP, 2.1MP and 1.1MP.

Movie Mode

You can select one of two resolution modes: 640x480 and 320x240. The video at 640x480 was jerky (low refresh rate or 13 fps), whereas at 320x240 it was more fluid (20 fps), but still not to the digital camcorder level. The zoom does not work in movie mode (supposedly to avoid noise of the zooming motor).

Image Quality

The camera produces images that are sharp, have good contrast and are richly-saturated (sometimes too much for my taste). The lens produces very small amounts of chromatic aberration (not much), that I don't find too bothersome. The lens is also quite sharp and has only very small amounts of blurriness in the corners.

Sample: Wide angle (click for full-size image)

Flash

The camera has a rather powerful flash.

Competition

I can mention a couple of good competitors that are slightly more expensive ($20-40), but feature faster operation, slightly more zoom, more compact design. Larger LCD screens and, more importantly, optical image stabilization. They are: 4-Megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 and 5-Megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2. Aside from the lack of A/S modes, I think that the LZ1 is a much better choice.

Pros

Low price, good optics, features, fast lens, uses two AA batteries, uses SD cards, easy to use.

Cons

Slow operation, slow memory card writing, bulky, no image stabilization, battery life could be better, small LCD.

Bottom Line

The Kodak EasyShare Z700 is a good budget high-zoom camera. It does its job well enough, but if you intend on shooting a lot of pictures at high optical zoom levels with no tripod, a camera with an optical image stabilization (e.g. Panasonic DMC-LZ1 or Panasonic DMC-LZ2) may be a better choice, at only $20-40 more. They also have larger screens, much faster operation and compact design.

Recommended
Yes

Product Rating
(Average)

This review is also available at Epinions.com: Kodak EasyShare Z700 Digital Camera Review on Epinions.com

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