Kodak DX7590. The Kodak DX7590 is a newer rendition of the DX6490 I bought a year ago and which I like a lot. The main changes are the addition of about a dozen more scene modes and one custom mode you can set up and store, top resolution went up from 4 megapixels to 5, and where on mine the was only one jpeg compression level they have now added a “fine” mode. The German Schneider 10X optical zoom (35mm equiv.38-380mm) is great for most wide-angle shots and lets you zoom right in on the wildlife, etc., and the 3X digital zoom (for a total of 30X) is not (totally)worthless like most I’ve seen. It has 2 thru the lens viewfinders–large LCD on back and internal electronic viewfinder with diopter adjustment. You can manually adjust all settings except you cannot turn off the autofocus—but the autofocus works better than that on my 35mm Minolta Maxxum or my older digital Kodak DC4800. You can however put it in closeup or distant mode. The autofocus even works in low light conditions (the internal viewfinder goes into a low light mode–black and white display but bright enough to see what you are taking a picture of). The lens adapter for the DX6490/DX7590 screws into the camera body around the zoom lens keeping grit, moisture, etc., from getting into the zoom mechanism or on the lens as long as you keep some sort of 55mm filter or attachment on the adapter. From other posts it sounds like I should be able to shoot pictures with it sealed in an Aquapac, but I’m fairly certain that I will need to reach into the bag to turn the little dial that turns the camera on/off and switches between modes.
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The only real things that I wish Kodak had done differently for a small digital SLR style camera (w/o interchangeable lens) are:
I wish it had option of focusing manually.
I wish the grip on the on/off/mode selection dial stuck out more so it could be turned while sealed in an Aquapac.
I wish their add-on Schneider wide angle (with main lens zoom at widest gives equiv.of 35mm camera 26.6mm wide angle) attachment listed for less than $149.95.
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I did a little search and found that Best Buy is listing the DX7590 with Easyshare dock for $449.95($50 less than MSRP). On their web site Kodak has refurbed (with original warranty) 4.0MP DX6490 like I have for $349.95 and a number of other sites on line have new ones for not much more, and unless you intend to buy the Easyshare Printer-Dock for about $150 rather than the basic Easyshare which is now separate from the DX6490 and lists for $79.99 you’re going to pay almost as much for a complete DX6490 4.0MP setup as you would for the new DX7590 5.0MP with the Easyshare dock included at Best Buy or other discounter web sites. Although there is 16MB of built in memory users are likely to want to add a SD or MMC memory card. If you shoot any video with it the internal 16MB is only enough for about 15 sec.
I just picked up this as an Xmas gift. I have not used it, but it does spec out well, is small, solid metal body and has an excellent lens. It also is being sold for $299 through Ritz Camera Shop who besides being in many malls is also on line. Scroll down to "Actions" (just above the list of on line stores carrying the camera) and click "next" to bring you to a long detailed review. Make sure at the bottom of each page you look for "Actions" and then click "next" to continue the review. This is true for all of their camera reviews. Good resource site for digital cameras.
New info on DX7590. I finally got my hands on a DX7590 for a minute at a crowded WalMart on my way to work. Kodak has moved the power on/off function off the dial which would be difficult if not impossible to operate while the camera is sealed in an Aquapac. They now have a push button that you should be able to press while the camera is safely sealed in an Aquapac. Use of the dial, which is now used only to switch between scene and other modes, will I suspect still require opening an Aquapac. Kodak has also increased the number of autofocus options, and the internal memory to 32MB.
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The dpreviews web site mentioned in a message below has a review of the DX7590. The only
camera they really thought was comparable was the Panasonic DMC-FZ20 which is a bit larger,
slightly heavier, has a Leica 12X zoom, and per the review is faster and produces pictures somewhat sharper, but has more noise in pictures at ISO speeds above 100, allows you to save pictures as TIFF files, and has image stabilization to allow shooting long zoom shots at lower shutter speeds. The lowest price for which dpreviews had a link for the Kodak DX7590 was $419.45 at Buydig.com or willoughbys.com. The lowest price shown for the Panasonic DMC-FZ20 was $494.00
at DBuys.com. The difference between cameras on sharpness and noise in pictures appears to
largely be due to decisions made by designers of their programming more than differences in the lenses. Kodak appears to have decided to prevent digital noise in picture files by softening
up images particularly at higher ISO speeds. Panasonic chose to tolerate noise in pictures at higher ISO speeds.
lens protection I used an Ewa Marine bag for my Sony 707 and had the problem of getting drops on the glass lens window. Finally, I fashioned a large very snugly fitting closed cell foam “lens cap”. I liked shooting in rough conditions and found that even if dumped by a wave and had to roll up - the glass would stay dry. For the odd drop that would get on while shooting, I’d carry a cloth in sealable bag inside my PFD.
There are some sea / surf kayaking shots at these links for your interest.
I have the Epic Stylus 300 and so far it has been very durable in a kayak environment. The small locking tab that opens the ports for the X Card and the USB cable broke so that I can’t really seal that opening but I’ve still not had a problem.
Very good pictures. Not sure how much you’d benefit with the upgrade to only 4.0 megapixels. Setting the resolution on the 3.2 to SHQ gives you a massive memory file of your image that would handle anything up to large posters.
But it’s not waterproof. I keep mine in either an otterbox-like container I have or a small drybag I keep in the cockpit with me. Being on saltwater, I’m more cautious since the salt leaves a residue even when wiped away and that hurts picture quality.
Pictures tend to be a bit blue but Photoshop cs fixes that easily enough.
Good camera but I would like one that was truely waterproof. But before I’d do that I’d just go for something like the Canon EOS digital SLR 6.3 megapixel so I can use all of my old 35mm Canon lenses.