How good is the Kodak EasyShare DX6490?

I'm looking at the Kodak EasyShare DX6490 right now for a new digital camera

because I feel like I've outgrown my Kodak LS443 digicam, but I don't want to spend

$1000 on a Digital Rebel. It has a 10x Schneider 37-370mm f2.8-3.7 lens, a 4 MP

Kodak CCD sensor, manual controls galore (full manual, program AE, shutter-priority

AE, & aperture-priority AE) , and a 2.2" LCD screen. Oh, and it's also compatible with

Kodak's cool 4x6 printer dock!

 

Do any of you photo.netters own this camera? If so, is it any good? If not, what

alternatives would you suggest (but it MUST be under $600, be 4 MP or more, have

lots of manual controls, and have a 10x zoom!)

Its a nice little camera, one of my friends has one. My only problem with it is that it has very agresive JPEG compresion, and it is a bit on the sluggish side with the start up time. It also has not hot shoe. Whether these are problems really depends on waht kind of user you are. If you just want a snapshot camera this is one hell of a snapshot camera. Here is a review for it.

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/dx6490.html

 

In my opinion printer docks are almost useless, when I bought a digital camera, it was because I wanted to take control of my photos and post process them. However, if the printer dock is THAT important to you get the Kodak.

 

I would personaly prefer the Olympus Camedia C-750 ultra zoom. It has a shot shoe, better image quality due to less compresion, and a better interface in my opinion. Same zoom range that you want. All these factors make me think it is a superior camera but THAT is up to you again.

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/c750uz_pg2.html

"Its a nice little camera, one of my friends has one. My only problem with it is that it

has very agresive JPEG compresion, and it is a bit on the sluggish side with the start

up time. It also has not hot shoe. Whether these are problems really depends on waht

kind of user you are. If you just want a snapshot camera this is one hell of a snapshot

camera. Here is a review for it.

 

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/dx6490.html

 

 

In my opinion printer docks are almost useless, when I bought a digital camera, it

was because I wanted to take control of my photos and post process them. However,

if the printer dock is THAT important to you get the Kodak.

 

I would personaly prefer the Olympus Camedia C-750 ultra zoom. It has a shot shoe,

better image quality due to less compresion, and a better interface in my opinion.

Same zoom range that you want. All these factors make me think it is a superior

camera but THAT is up to you again.

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/c750uz_pg2.html"

 

Ryan, thanks, but no thanks. That Olympus is nice, but it costs $200 more, has a

smaller LCD and a noisier EVF, a lousy interface, fewer manual features, and worst of

all, it takes Olympus' proprietary, super-expensive (at least in 256 MB+) xD-Picture

Cards.

I'm also looking at the Fujifilm FinePix S5000. Although it's only 3 MP, it's supposed

to produce stunning image quality. I played with one at Ritz Camera the other day,

and man, is it nice.

Wait 15 days and get a panasonic FZ10, Leica lens 12X zoom with 2.8 throughout.

Martin, that Panasonic sure is nice, but I don't need some of its features like image

stabilization (I have steady hands). True, it has manual focus (the Kodak doesn't have

it) and a longer zoom with great glass, but I don't think it's worth the extra $100.

 

OTOH, I just eliminated the Fujifilm FinePix S5000 form my list after I read some

reviews on it (purple fringing, pixely, noisy images, etc.) including cnet's review (a

very reputable source for digicam reviews)-they hated it.

I've pretty much narrowed it down to the DX6490. Why?

 

-The Olymuus C-750 has a bad interface, is overpriced, & it takes only xD memory.

 

-The Fuji S5000 has horrible image quality & also only takes xD memory.

 

-The Panasonic Lumix FZ-10 probably won't be easy to find, is clunky, and I don't trust Panasonic digicams, because, Leica lenses or no Leica lenses, they just don't have the experience in photography.

 

-The Toshiba PDR-M700, although it has a Canon lens (& I know how much I love Canon-just look at my name), it's too clunky, it's hard to find, & it takes noisy images.

 

-The Konica Minolta Dimage Z1 takes fuzzy, noisy pictures.

I have had the Kodak DX6490 for 2 weeks now. When I was looking for a new camera I narrowed my choice down to the Kodak DX6490, Oly 750 and the Fuji S5000. After seeing examples and prints from all 3 I choose the DX6490 for a few reasons.<br> <br>

 

- Picture quality matched and has sometimes bested the Nikon 5700 I had.<br>

- People 'judge' the JPG compression but I see no problem with it. Also, because of the compression I'm able to have 91 photos = approx 64MB @ 4.0MP, on my 256 SD card thats a possible 360 pics!<br>

- the Kodak has an 80 ISO compared to a minimum 200 ISO on the S5000 which alone made the S5000 drop to #3 on my list.<br>

- SD cards are cheaper than xD <br>

- Finally, a good sized LCD! (2.2")<br>

- awesome battery life. <br>

- etc ;) <br><br>

 

Here are some example over the last week and a bit:

http://www.juetts.com/DX6490/

I just returned my Panasonic FZ10 camera - the camera was a good size and was easy to hang on to, and had all the right features - but I found that I could not take good pictures with it - most were blurred. I tried to find the combination of settings to clear up the problem - but gave up after 5 days (Ritz.com has a 10 day return policy) of messing around. The flash was also way under powered (but it did have a hot shoe). I almost bought the Digital Rebel - but instead picked up a Kodak Dx6490 - which - so far has been a great camera. The burst mode allows me to catch great sports images, while taking advantage of the 10x optical lens.

I absolutly must agree with Andrew. I just got my Kadak DX6490 and I am in love. It is smart and very intuitive. Ergonomics are great for those with big hands, like myself, and smaller hands alike. It has, as you said, manual controls galore and comes with the dock. My primary focus has been night photography in black and white with a fully manual Pentax Spotmatic F. This camera handles night shots with long exposures exceptionally well. Just mount on the tripod dial in f/8 and a 15 second exposure, press the shutter and step back. The flash has great versatility with "auto" "fill flash" and "red eye settings." The zoom is absolutly killer with a range up to 380mm (film equivelant). The video that the camera takes, although it's at 320x240, is nothing to sneeze at either.

 

I just can't say enough about the versatility of this camera, actually there is one thing that I can say to do it justice...BUY IT!