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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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).
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Flash On (100% Crop) |
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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.
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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.
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
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
member sites.
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