Kodak P712 Photos

[ladyjbd3155]

Hey guys -

 

First, I want to start off by saying that I am by no means a professional photographer. I do, however, LOVE to take pictures. Whenever there is any kind of event coming up, my first thought is "what kind of pictures can I get?" So, yeah. I love photos, photo albums, scrapbooks, etc.

 

I have a Kodak EasyShare camera (CX 6445) and I love it. I know it's not the most high tech and some pros would look down on it, but I think it's nice. I am considering upgrading though. One of the things I am thinking about with this upgrade, is the cruise I am taking later this year. I am so excited about taking Island/Beach/Ship photos. I have never taken a vacation like this before, ever, and I want the best possible pictures to remember it by. Well, the best "reasonably priced" pictures :)

 

Since I'm not a huge camera-tech person, I'm pretty easy to please. I just love bright, vibrant colors, a nice zoom, etc.

 

I am considering the Kodak P712. It's the most expensive camera I could look at, so all those nice Nikon's are out :) I found one for about $330.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this camera, or know anything about the quality of pictures it takes? I have been researching for a while and most of the reviews are really good. There are a few bad reviews in there, but I am thinking they are probably from people who are used to a lot more than I am.

 

One thing in particular I am interested in, is being able to take some decent photos during the production shows Carnival puts on. I know you're not allowed to use flash, so I know my current camera wouldn't pick up anything. It takes lovely photos indoors and outside during the day, but if it's dark, nothing appears except maybe one little shadow or bright spot. I am basically just trying to find out if I might be able to take any indoors/low light/no flash decent pics with this camera, or if that is only possible with other more higher up kinds.

 

Anyways, sorry this is so long, but would love to hear any thoughts you guys might have.

[ghsmith178613]

Hey guys -

 

First, I want to start off by saying that I am by no means a professional photographer. I do, however, LOVE to take pictures. Whenever there is any kind of event coming up, my first thought is "what kind of pictures can I get?" So, yeah. I love photos, photo albums, scrapbooks, etc.

 

I have a Kodak EasyShare camera (CX 6445) and I love it. I know it's not the most high tech and some pros would look down on it, but I think it's nice. I am considering upgrading though. One of the things I am thinking about with this upgrade, is the cruise I am taking later this year. I am so excited about taking Island/Beach/Ship photos. I have never taken a vacation like this before, ever, and I want the best possible pictures to remember it by. Well, the best "reasonably priced" pictures :)

 

Since I'm not a huge camera-tech person, I'm pretty easy to please. I just love bright, vibrant colors, a nice zoom, etc.

 

I am considering the Kodak P712. It's the most expensive camera I could look at, so all those nice Nikon's are out :) I found one for about $330.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this camera, or know anything about the quality of pictures it takes? I have been researching for a while and most of the reviews are really good. There are a few bad reviews in there, but I am thinking they are probably from people who are used to a lot more than I am.

 

One thing in particular I am interested in, is being able to take some decent photos during the production shows Carnival puts on. I know you're not allowed to use flash, so I know my current camera wouldn't pick up anything. It takes lovely photos indoors and outside during the day, but if it's dark, nothing appears except maybe one little shadow or bright spot. I am basically just trying to find out if I might be able to take any indoors/low light/no flash decent pics with this camera, or if that is only possible with other more higher up kinds.

 

Anyways, sorry this is so long, but would love to hear any thoughts you guys might have.

 

the users guide for that cx6445 camera is really good.

http://www.kodak.com/global/plugins/acrobat/en/service/manuals/urg00293/CX6445_GLB_en.pdf

 

look at the memory card storage capacity when consider how many photos you might take. the math is really simple.

look at the hours/photos expected out of the battery. switch to LIon batteries, get a spare and a charger. turn off the lcd display and edit your shots later. it will prolong the battery.

there is a night shot option. check it out before you leave. i just skimmed through the manual.

there is a way to disable the flash. remember to turn it back on later.

there is a way to adjust the asa/iso up to 400. remember to set it back to 100 for your outdoor shots.

the night shot option might do that. remember to set it back to daylight when you head outside. again, test it before you sail.

 

 

the p712 is a decent jump up in performance and image quality. this camera has a lot of advanced features, including the camera RAW file format. the manual is at

http://www.kodak.com/global/plugins/acrobat/en/service/manuals/urg00579/P712_GLB_en.pdf

page 77 tells the story.

"Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon lens; 12X optical zoom, f/2.8–f/8.0

(wide), f/3.7–f/8.0 (tele) with image stabilization; 6.0–72.0 mm

(35 mm equivalent: 36–432 mm)"

this is going to take you indoors with a lot less exposure hassel, but, you will sacrifice things that are sharp and seperated by distance from the camera (depth of field).

my wife shoots a fuji camera very like this one. she loves it, but refuses to read the manual.

if you want to use those advanced features, you need to look at something that will take the CF Compact Flash cards. the files created are a lot bigger. you are accustomed to 1.2mb... well, the 712 can shoot up to a 7.1mb file. or, about 250 images on a 2gb card.

lastly, if your camera reseller or local camera store offers one-day seminars, get involved. they will help you take better photos.

 

sorry this was long, but free stuff from a pro and the subject are complex!!!:cool:

 

shoot lots, edit later, share always.

[jerseyjk]

imaging resource (www.imaging-resource.com) gives it pretty good marks. 12X optical zoom with optical image stabilization is a nice feature too.

 

Conclusion

Pro:

• Generous 12x optical zoom lens
  
• Effective Optical Image Stabilizer steadies long-range shots
  
• Handsome black design with solid feel and good hand grip
  
• Relatively lightweight
  
• Virtually no shutter lag when you pre-focus
  
• Very handy focus indicator in Manual Focus mode
  
• Very bright LCD with 237,000 pixels of resolution
  
• Wide range of exposure options and creative shooting modes
  
• EVF eyepiece has fairly high eyepoint, wide diopter adjustment range, good for eyeglass wearers
  
• Compatible with EasyShare camera and printer docks
  
• Appealing, natural color
  
• Effective fill-flash feature
  
• Good flash range (powerful flash)
  
• Hot shoe and lens threads for expanded capabilities
  
• Good battery life
  
• Possible to zoom during movie recording, good audio, frame rate, and white balance

Con:

• LCD viewfinder blacks out between shots
  
• Zooming is slow and noisy
  
• Lowlight focusing can be very slow, especially at long focal lengths
  
• Number of buttons excessive yet doesn't include dedicated buttons for ISO or white balance
  
• ISO only goes to 400; adjusting light sensitivity too complicated
  
• High-ISO shots show more noise than average
  
• Slow to start up and shut down (Otherwise a fast performer though)
  
• Contrast is a little high, holds highlight detail fairly well, but loses shadow detail under harsh lighting
  
• Tends to overexpose images slightly
  
• Loud zoom can be heard while recording in movie mode
  
• Image quality not spectacular for a camera with these specs
  
• Images a little soft in the corners at wide lens setting

 

(full review is here)

 

Steve's digicams says the following though ...

Although we were a bit disappointed with the outdoor results' date=' indoor "people shots" were pleasing.[/quote']

 

(full review is here)

 

SD is a plus because you can get large capacity SD cards really cheap these days.

 

Incidentally, both those sites offer some really good advice and unbiased reviews of lots of cameras. It's how I've chosen my last two cameras.

[catmand]

AH.................I was going to another thread and saw the Kodak p-712 and thought I could see some pictures taken with it....:D

You see, I too have been looking at this camera since before the holidays. I am on my second Kodak Easy Share, using a DX 4530 which takes pretty good pics (except indoors).

I plan on getting the 712 before we sail to Alaska this May, I can't see how we could go wrong for the price! Good luck.

[pierces]

One thing in particular I am interested in, is being able to take some decent photos during the production shows Carnival puts on. I know you're not allowed to use flash, so I know my current camera wouldn't pick up anything. It takes lovely photos indoors and outside during the day, but if it's dark, nothing appears except maybe one little shadow or bright spot. I am basically just trying to find out if I might be able to take any indoors/low light/no flash decent pics with this camera, or if that is only possible with other more higher up kinds.

 

I took this photo with my compact camera panning set on manual focus:

 

This was taken with a DSLR and a fast f2.8 zoom:

(you can click on the Travel Gallery image in the signature to browse the originals)

 

Compacts and superzooms are inherently bad at capturing action in poor lighting. You can use tricks like waiting for a freeze point in a finale or pan with the moving object/person, but be prepared for a lot of practice shots!

 

Your choice of the P712 is a good one. Another ($50 higher or so) would be the Canon S3 IS. Whichever you choose, it looks like you've already got the right plan...take pictures!

 

I have a few articles on camera choice and memory requirements HERE at my web gallery. I get asked a lot of questions while taking pictures out in public and I've put down some answers to the common ones. Might help with some of your's?

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave