3. Testing

Menu in review mode

The menu button also functions differently depending of whether you’re in capture or review mode. In capture mode, the menu button brings up options for self timer, burst mode and other settings related to capturing images. In playback mode, the menu button presents you with options for setting slide show options, cropping the current image, viewing albums (after synching with a computer with Easyshare software installed), protecting images from erasure or showing multiple images on the screen. We were disappointed with the in-camera cropping function. You are presented with a fixed sized crop box in which to center your picture.

The Share button lets you tag pictures or videos so that you can email, print, or tag a photo as a favorite when you transfer the images to your computer. The built-in Bluetooth interface also lets you easily share your images with other Bluetooth enabled devices including your computer, cell phone, another V 610 and yes, even a Kodak photo kiosk.

Like the HP Pohtosmart R827 and the R967, the V610 has a panorama mode with in-camera stitching. Unlike the HP cameras that can stitch up to 5 images, the V610 is limited to three. The V 610 also discards the original images after stitching, whereas the HP cameras keep both the original and stitched results.

In our testing, we had mixed results with the V610 panorama mode. That may have been because the on-screen overlay area for lining up second and third shots was somewhat smaller than on the HP cameras. We came up with some good stitched photos, but some of the stitched results seemed improperly exposed and exhibited stitching artifacts.

In our testing, we also noted that in the default mode, it takes about six seconds before you can take another shot. This felt unnaturally long compared to other cameras. Unfortunately, there’s not a control for adjusting preview time.

Three images stitched together. There were no obvious stitching artifacts.

Three images stitched together. This image had stitching artifacts (to the left of the bridge) and had exposure problems.

Overall, the Kodak EasyShare V 610 delivers on its promise of being the smallest 10X optical camera on the market. Indeed, the 10X zoom worked well. But unless you need the 10X optical zoom in a shirt-pocket size, the list price of $449 is a hefty price to pay for a 6 Megapixel camera.

Related Articles:
HP Photosmart R827: Loaded With Features and Fun To Shoot
HP Photosmart R967: Big screen and 10 Megapixels

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