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Kodak DX6490 Digital Camera

S

sethypoo

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Hey all. I'm looking into buying a digital camera soon. I've done some looking around, I've played with a few cameras at Costco and other stores, and so far I've settled for the Kodak DX6490.

Here's a link to Kodak's info site for the camera: http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=9/19/131/1336&pq-locale=en_US

It's a 4.0 megapixel camera with an impressive 10X optical zoom (and a 3X digital zoom, but that doesn't matter as much).

I'm not a professional, but I don't want a standard consumer camera.

So I guess my question is, is there anyone here at MacRumors that has this camera? Care to share you likes/dislikes?

Merci,
Seth
 
i'm actually about to get a camera too, i wanted a smaller camera, but not one of those tiny ones that generally have pretty low quality. so after doing a lot of research i settled on a pentax optio 750Z , i have yet to go to a store to look at it, but thats coming next. it doesnt have as good of an optical zoom, but 5x is a pretty good step up from my previous camera which was 2.5x, plus it has 7 megapixels. 😱 the only other problem is that its rather expensive ($450-700) but if price isnt an issue then you might want to check it out. anyone here know anything about it that might be useful?
--andrzej
 
I'd see if I could find comparison reviews somewhere as well as hope for some of our professional/semi-professional photogs to answer.

Obviously, digital zoom is pointless, as mentioned. However, there's a limit to how much optical zoom will help unless you've got a stable tripod/base, and even then 10X is pretty extreme - so I'd say the Kodak's 10X zoom is a nice plus but not a huge advantage over, say, 3x-5x zoom cameras.

Also, many digital cameras suffer from color issues, artifacts, etc., and you need to find a good comparison/review site to make sure people who've actually used the camera you want to buy have good things to say about it. Also, don't get too caught up in the megapixel race. All other things being equal, more pixels are better. 4MP is a nice number, though, and sometimes the higher MP cameras have other issues you'd want to avoid. I'd also look for reviews of low-light performance (a major problem with many digital cameras) as well as burst mode capabilities - you don't want to wait 5 seconds between each shot.

I can't provide answers, but I hope that you're able to get them before dropping a few hundred on a camera.
 
Do not buy a Kodak.

PERIOD. I have had trouble, my grandparents have had trouble, both requiring MAJOR work. Thank goodness they were under warranty. Currently I am working on getting my Kodak fixed, again.

My dad has the Olympus C-50Z (Sometimes C-50 Zoom) and it is a very nice camera. It has very nice manual controls, as well as a very nice point-and-shoot mode. It is also 5 megapixels. And, it is much smaller than any other 5 megapixel camera that I have seen.

Please, stay away from Kodak... I am not joking around here!
 
Mechcozmo said:
Do not buy a Kodak.

PERIOD. I have had trouble, my grandparents have had trouble, both requiring MAJOR work. Thank goodness they were under warranty. Currently I am working on getting my Kodak fixed, again.

My dad has the Olympus C-50Z (Sometimes C-50 Zoom) and it is a very nice camera. It has very nice manual controls, as well as a very nice point-and-shoot mode. It is also 5 megapixels. And, it is much smaller than any other 5 megapixel camera that I have seen.

Please, stay away from Kodak... I am not joking around here!
Click to expand...

I have found the opposite, kodak usually has pretty reasonable build quality on their nicer cameras, like the one in question.
 
Check the new panasonics, have very good review, I read that the kodak is pretty good but the new panasonic may be better, what about fuji 5500?
 
Thank you for the replies.

Can anyone explain to me the whole issue with Electronic Viewfinders?
 
When i first got into digital cameras i always got into huge cameras but after using them and getting rid of them and going for smaller ones such as the Canon s500 and the other much smaller one with 4MP. To me smaller is better sincei travel and move a lot and portible.

I would recommend you try them and print a few pics in the store and see them for your self before buying it.

Please posy a review of your camera if you get it.
 
Electronic Viewfinder

Do you mean what is the electronic viewfinder about? If that is what you are asking, the electronic viewfinder is in the eyepiece and is a digital image of what the CCD is seeing and is just a projection into the eyepiece of what would be on the external LCD.

Pro- No paralax for close in photos (offset due to misalignment of CCD optics with typical pass through optical eyepiece)

Pro- Usually full image is projected... often times an optical eyepiece only shows 75%-80% of what would actually be in the CCD field of view.

Pro- Using external LCD might be difficult in bright lighting conditions outside... eyepiece would be better in those conditions.

Con- Use more battery life since they need constant power.

Con- Often a pretty rough, low res image. Can't rely on for determining if your subject is in focus, eyes are open, etc.

Con- May be difficult to see your subject in low lighting conditions since the digital display settings may not be able to project the fine details you could see in an optical viewfinder.

Just my $0.02... I eventually ended up with a Canon S60 after months of shopping and I love it. Unlike the largest complaint noted in the professional review pages, I have have little to no chromatic aberrations (purple fringing) in my photos, great photo quality, and am loving the wide angle lens.
 
I bought that camera back in Feb of last year. I got married in Vegas in April and I took it with me. I was very disappointed with many of the shots my camera took. The Vegas lights made it all screwy. Couldn't get a decent pic at night. I also found the 10x zoom difficult to get good shots with. If you zoomed to the maximum it's almost impossible to hold the camera steady enough to a good shot. Especially at night. Any bit of shakiness makes lights appear as swirls.

My buddy had his Canon Powershot S410 Digital Elph with him and I was very impressed by how his pics came out. And the camera is 1/3 the size. Granted the zoom is only 3x but that's plenty for the types of pics I take. I was so impressed that I sold my Kodak on ebay last week and replaced it with the Canon S410.

I will say that Kodak is great as far as being user friendly. It kicks the hell out of Canon in that regard. And probably that regard only.
 
I have this camera and absolutely love it. I bought it the day before a 2 week trip to London and Scotland and took over 250 pics with it on my one and only battery charge. The pictures turned out excellent. I bought it from Costco because I knew if I didn't like it, they would take it back. The zoom was good too. On the 10x it was a little jumpy, but after a little practice I never had any problems. I also really liked the big LCD and the overall size of the camera. I thought it was comfy to hold on to and store in my little bag that I carried with me for the 2 weeks. This is my third digital camera and by far the best of all of them.
 
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