Product Reviews

Ultra-zoom cameras usually cost a lot more than Kodak's Z712 IS. Even more surprising is that its 12x zoom lens comes with optical image stabilisation to reduce blur from camera shake. This is a particularly useful feature in ultra-zoom cameras, as big zooms magnify shaky hand movements as well as the image.

Just as impressive are the Z712's controls. A command dial gives fast access to ISO, exposure compensation, shutter speed and aperture. An exposure value (EV) readout assists choosing settings and extends way beyond the usual +/-2 values. A 2x digital zoom helps with manual focus adjustments, but it could be even bigger to make precise manual focus easy.

It may not quite be pocket-sized, but the design is as small as we've seen for an SLR-styled camera. However, it's not as comfortable to use as Fujifilm's S5700 (above). Battery life is decent from a pair of high-capacity Ni-MH batteries, but the icons to show which way round to insert them shows the ends you can't see rather than the ends you can. Even more annoying is that the date has to be reset every time the batteries are replaced.

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If you tend to shoot a couple of photos at a time, you should have no problem with the two-second gap between shots. However, after seven shots the buffer becomes full and the gap extends to eight seconds. We also managed to corrupt photos by removing the batteries or SD card before the camera had finished saving them; this can take 40 seconds after a rapid burst of shooting. Continuous shooting is at 2fps but is limited to six shots. There are options to save the first or last six in a burst of shots (the latter option discards earlier shots in the series), but the icons used to distinguish one mode from the other aren't clear.

The main advantage the Z712 IS has over the Fujifilm S5700 is its optical image stabilisation. Sadly, though, it isn't hugely effective; less than half of our test shots were sharp when shooting with a 1/30s shutter speed and a 105mm focal length. Image stabilisation systems in other cameras manage to keep between 75 and 100 per cent of shots sharp. However, when shooting at the full 12x zoom setting, most shots were sharp at 1/60s, while most of the Fujifilm's shots were blurred using the same settings.

Our image tests revealed exceptional colour reproduction, with particularly good flesh tones. Focus was up to scratch, too, and automatic exposure settings coped well with tricky lighting. However, heavy noise reduction at ISO 400 gave photos a smeared appearance, and photos at ISO 800 were blotchy. Even so, images were as good as from many similarly priced cameras that don't match the Z712 IS's features.

Both this and the Fujifilm S5700 have their strengths and weaknesses, but the S5700's lower price gives it a slight edge.