Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Kodak's entry into the digital camera market was later than its rivals, the Japanese camera companies, such as Nikkon and Canon. However, with the release of the Easy Share Z740 5-Megapixel camera, Kodak establishes itself as a real competitor. This is my first digital camera and I am quite pleased with it. I have been taking pictures with a SLR film Canon camera for over 25 years and was reluctant to go digital, as I had a great set-up (lenses and accessories) with the film format. Even so, it is readily apparent that film photography will soon be ancient history and digital photography will certainly become the future of picture taking. The Easy Share is a very easy camera to learn. I spent about 45 minutes reading the manual with the camera in my lap exploring all the buttons, options, and settings. From that point on it was a cinch to take great pictures, as the camera is so easy to use. For those who want a simple point and shoot camera, the automatic setting will give you the simplicity you desire. For those who want more control over the camera settings, such as F-stop and shutter speed, there are settings for these as well. For this reason, the Easyshare Z740 is a great camera for general use. It has a very nice flash that pops up when you need it. The flash also has features that you can control if desired. I bought the Easy Share because I read in reviews it was a good quality camera, and primarily for the 10-power optical zoom lens. The 10x lens is a good quality glass lens that gives sharp shots. I love the versitiliy it gives the photographer! Most digital cameras have 3x optical zoom lenses and then utilize a 5-10 power digital zoom. The Kodak Easy Share has a 3x digital zoom making the total zoom a 30 power combo. However, if you have any experience at all with digital zooms you quickly realize that they produce an inferior grainy (and usually blurry) image. However, because the Easy Share has a 10 power optical zoom, one rarely needs to go beyond this and use the digital zoom. Beware of cameras that proclaim their 20x or 30x digital zooms and the image will greatly disappoint you! With a 512 MB flash (memory card), the camera will take about 350 pictures before having to download the pics to a computer for storage or printing. The transfer process is so easy. My wife, who is a computer illiterate can even manage this task. The software (computer) program that comes with the camera is very adequate and reliable. The lithium battery for the camera is charged easily by simply plugging the camera into a pod that comes with the camera. There is a jack on the bottom of the camera that plugs into the pod and charges the battery without having to remove it from the camera each time, a feature that is very simple and handy. The camera itself is much smaller than a standard 35 mm film camera so it goes anywhere with you. The controls are well-placed and easy to use. After a session or two of practice shooting, you will be able to operate the controls like a pro. Finally, there is of course a color LCD screen that shows you the picture you just shot. There are additional controls that allow you to scroll through all your pictures, delete those you don't want, and save those you want to keep. Again, it is all very easy to learn. Coming from a film camera background, I found this editing feature to be the best aspect of digital photography, for there is no guessing as to whether you got the shot or not - it is right there on the screen in living color! If you don't like the exposure or cropping, simply take another one! In digital photography, there is no "wasting film"! All in all, this is a solid digital camera that will please anyone interested in getting into digital photography. The price is very competitive considering the extensive options that Kodak packaged into this deal. If you are just getting into digital photography or are looking to upgrade to a higher megapixel camera, the Easy share will not disappoint you. I highly recommend it. Jim Konedog Koenig