I have owned this camera for a couple of weeks now. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the different settings that it offers. But after spending some time playing with it and learning about it, I am so pleased with it.

The zoom is incredible - I can see things through the zoom that I can't see with the naked eye off in the distance. The image stabilizer really works well, especially out at the long zoom. I've taken several full zoom sharp/clear photos. NICE!!

It has a large LCD screen to view your photos or even set up the shoot. Or you can use the view finder, which also has all the info on it. That is very handy if you don't want to use the LCD screen.

It's lightweight and easy to use... the controls are set up nice. The video mode is wonderful - especially being able to zoom in and out WHILE shooting video. That is a nice feature. The colors are pure and the low light capabilities are fantastic. I've taken a lot of photos inside, in very dim light, action shots, and more - a very wide range of photos. I am very pleased with what I have gotten from this camera. And it's fun to use too.

It offers a large variety of picture modes - sports/action, portrait, backlight, and many more. It also has a panaromaic mode which allows you to take 2-3 photos to make a panoramic shot. The camera stitches those photos together (seamlessly) and it makes for a really great panoramic shot!! It also offers ISO and several manual controls - PASM. Flash options, macro, landscape, continuous shots, timer, etc. This camera has it all. There are also available lenses to go with it if you want even more!!

The only negative I have found is the lens cap, I wish it was a bit more stable. But it's not a big deal as it fits fine when the camera is turned off and that's when it's set down and could get the lens touched/scratched. When on, the lens cap cannot be put on, but I don't want it on anyway. :-) I used the little lens strap to secure it to the camera so I didn't lose it.

I've had really good luck with battery life. The battery that came with it lasted about 4-5 days with VERY heavy shooting, zooming, and using the LCD screen. I have a Klic-8000 rechargeable battery ordered but haven't received it yet.

This is a GREAT camera choice with lots of options. From fully automatic to lots of manual controls. This super zoom can play ball right up there with the big boys and deliver stunning photos.

Upon receipt of this camera, we opened the box and found it very intuitive to operate. Nice, large screen on the back, good feel and heft, with apparent decent build quality. The problem came, though, on closer inspection of the camera's power source. It uses a proprietary battery pack, and in looking for cost of backup batteries and chargers, it pretty much negates the initial cost savings of the camera, so we opted to return it for the Canon S3 IS. We're very happy with this model, though we miss the large screen of the Kodak.

This is my first digital camera. I am still a die-hard 'real' camera (film and all!) fanatic----but I've come to realize the ease and immediate results that come with this technology and decided I needed 'in' on the excitement. Prior to this purchase I read reviews much like these from various sites---pros and cons for many brands/models. The Kodak Z712 seemed the perfect fit for my needs.

I specifically wanted a camera with a viewfinder. Too many reviews rated lcd screens pretty much worthless in bright sunlight (and of course, I'm comfortable with a viewfinder and wasn't sure I could easily part with it). I also think people look kinda nuts sometimes moving their camera around and using the screen----well. . .I guess I'm now one of those people, too. I don't use the viewfinder as often as I had expected----but it has come into play with the sunlight issue---and I like having it as an option in some situations!

Criteria 2: I wanted as much optical zoom as I could get in this price range.

Criteria 3: Image stabilization. Strange sensation---feels like something 'alive' in the camera as it works its magic.

I was pleasantly surprised by the 'panoramic stitch' mode---whereby you can line up two or three images into a wide shot. Easy to use---pretty nice results.

Overall the camera is easy to hold (like that curved grip!)---and I find the menus easy to navigate and the setting buttons easy to adjust.

You'll read from other reviewers that they hate the lens cap---yeah, it falls off. Keep the 'noose' on it to be safe.

I'm not offering up technical camera advice here. As I said, I have nothing to compare it to (as far as other digital cameras)----but I am happy with my choice. I think I did my homework---and I hope this will direct others (one way or another) to a camera compatible with their needs.

This new camera was specifically bought because we were expecting a new granddaughter and had given our old camera to our son & daughter-in-law. We love it and the pictures are absolutely beautiful.

I'm very happy with this camera. The pictures are crisp and vibrant. The video quality is not that good (it is not ment to shoot video). The 12x optical zoom is fantastic and with the digital zoom you can see even farther. It is a bit bulkier than the point n shoot, so it might take a while to adjust. The 2.5 inch LCD screen is good. About the rechargeable batteries, do not purchase "Kodak KLIC-8000 - Camera battery Li-Ion 1600 mAh" battery as we dont have a charger for this battery. Kodak claims that the charger "Kodak K7500-C Battery Charger Kit" can be used to charge the KLIC-8000 battery, but it does not work out. I had to return the charger because it was not able to charge the KLIC-8000 battery which i purchased. The battery that came with the camera has lasted for quite a while though. A very good camera at a very reasonable price.

Indoor photos come out with way too much noise however outdoor photos seem to do very well. Image stabilization isn't worth mentioning...good price for what it is I guess but not great for me since I take a lot of indoor photos. My 4.0mp canon powershot A520 does a better job then this...I was really hoping for more out of this camera.

Great camera. Have used my Z712 for all things I can think of and I love it. The zoom is fun and creats very good prints at high power and no tri-pod. One BAD thing is no charger or batteries!

I upgraded to this camera from my Kodak EasyShare C330. I LOVE it! The pictures are very clear, and the zoom is awesome! I did run down the battery within about three weeks, but I played with this camera daily so I can't blame it on the battery. I would recommend the Z712 IS to anyone!!!

Upgraded from the dx7590. The Z712 drops the external flash connection Ugh! I need that. Also does not come with rechargeable battery. The Z712 does not improve on the indoor ability, still pathetic (this is why the flash connection is important.) Great outdoors though. Great speed in start up and between pictures, a ton better than the dx7590. Image stabilization not worth mentioning, can't really tell that it does anything. Good manual controls. GREAT price for a 7mp 12x zoom.

The image has so much noise. When one see the full size of the picture you fill the picture is like full of noise, so dirty. and the image size cannot be reduced too, just only mega pixel can be reduced, not the image size.

This camera takes very good pictures by simply pointing and shooting with no user adjustments. This camera also allows you to make all of the adjustments that you want very quickly if you know how to do it. This is not what I would buy as my number one professional camera, but I would not hesitate to use it as my professional backup camera if my main camera broke down. You can easily take professional quality photos with this camera.
I looked at other cameras that had very similar features but I do not have any experience with those cameras and thus cannot compare them. For the price, this appears to be the best value on the market for the following reasons:
12x Zoom----fast, clear, reliable focus
foolproof---any bad pictures that you get in automatic mode are probably because you did not heed the warnings about camera shake
Adjustable----Make whatever adjustments you want without looking up from the viewfinder
Presets---I love the 3 picture stitching in the panorama mode. Allows fast photography in a variety of conditions
Quality---very good quality photographs
Compact---Not pocket sized but small enough to easily carry with you
Video---Very good quality video
The focus and light meter are right on target
Flexible power---You can use AA batteries in an emergency (short duration)
The entire goal is to take good pictures. I have not been able to find a flaw with photos that this camera takes after taking photos in every mode and condition that I can find. It is grainy in the high ISO range, but that is the nature of a high ISO.

I graded it down for the following reasons:
I had to scrounge around to find a good rechargeable battery and charger
I had to download a player from the internet to view the videos

I bought this camera to upgrade my little Olympus point and shoot from 2002. A great product as I detail below.

This Kodak is a great camera, and for the money delivers unbelievable features. This camera is not just a simple point and shoot, but rather it is an advanced amateur camera with lots of features to go from simple point and shoot to more manual features such as choosing exposure time, settings for certain types of light and even video with sound. You can easily choose - with one button being pressed - between the digital viewfinder or the larger LCD screen for taking the picture.

By using the wheel on top of the camera, you can easily access all features. The camera comes with a proprietary battery, but you can use standard AA batteries in a pinch, although standard AA batteries probably won't last long.

The lens has 12 times zoom with digital zoom taking it to 18x normal. The camera is certainly larger than a point and shoot, but it is fairly small - about the size of your hands if you cup them together to make a bowl.

Pictures
The camera takes some outstanding pictures that make you seem like a better photographer than you probably are. Colors are vibrant and come out beautifully. 7.1 MP gives you sufficient range to zoom into a picture of you want without too much grain.

Download
The camera uses a standard SD memory card. I bought a 2 GB and 1 GB card for use with the camera and on the highest settings a 1GB card should give you about 300 pictures, quite a lot for almost any situation.
Downloading the pictures onto your computer is fairly easy - using a included USB cord. However, I must say that the instructions are not as clear as they could be and I had to figure out some features by trial and error. This included how to look at the pictures on the camera without having the lens pop out (go to features and press on and you will be fine) and downloading the pictures to the camera the first few times (you have to put the cord in order before the computer will probably recognize the camera for download - frankly my Olympus was easier to accomplish this task)

Shortcomings
Of the few shortcomings this camera has, I mentioned the confusing download which is not intuitive at first (I admit I actually had to look at the directions). Second, sometimes the auto-focus will take a few moments to capture the subject you want - again not a real huge issue but it is noticeable. And I suppose that is really the only issues I have with the camera. It is a good product.


Conclusion

Give the price, if your looking for a camera which can serve as an all-around platform for simple picture taking to more advanced features giving you manual control, and in a pinch a decent video camera to take video with sound limited only by memory - than look no further because this is a great camera. For the money it is a very good deal! I am very satisfied with this camera.

The camera is fantastic in all ways mentioned. For the price, you can't beat it.

There are, however, several things that Kodak doesn't tell you that are fairly severe limitations.

1.No filter ring. Kodak lists the ring as an Accessory Ring. It is different from a filter ring. I use a Polarizer regularly and wanted to mount one here. In the Kodak world, it requires an Accessory Tube that costs about $20. Only problem is that the tube causes major vignetting at low zoom (1X to 3X).

2.There are many Wide Angle and Telephoto attachments available on Ebay. Don't bother. They don't really work.
A.The Wide Angle lens vignettes so that about half the frame is unusable. If you zoom enough to eliminate the vignette, you loose the wide angle. The picture is a nice circle that doesn't fill the frame.
B.The Telephoto lenses often advertise increasing your zoom by 2X, but it actually only adds about 2X to the zoom. So the 12X zoom the Z712 becomes about a 14X. Not worth the headache.

3.Batteries - You can't use the Ni-MH AA batteries that I've used on older cameras. They only deliver 1.2 volts per battery (2.4 volts total.) The Z712 requires more voltage. I only get about 40 pictures per charge on the Ni-MH batteries and that's not acceptable.
A.The only rechargeable battery the Z712 is compatible with is the Klic 8000 or the the Ricoh DB50. The Klic 8000 costs around $18, plus $20 for the charger. The Ricoh is available on Ebay for considerably less, but the mili-amp ratings are lower.
B.Radio Shack sells a CRV3 NiMH Rechargeable with 2.4 volts. Don't use it as it's not compatible. This thing requires 3 volts.

4.Lithium Ion AA batteries are expensive. As of today, you can find them for either $10 for four batteries, or $14 for eight batteries. Expensive, but each pair of batteries gives about 200 pictures according to Kodak. That means that the 8 Pack will deliver about 800 pictures for $14. When comparing against buying the recharger and rechargeable batteries, purchasing the Lithium Ion batteries isn't that bad.

I got around the filter attachment limitation by gluing a 49mm to 52 mm reduction ring onto the lens barrel with silicon caulk. Tiny amount and extreme care to keep the caulk from the lens. The reduction ring fits nicely inside the outer barrel and sat on the outer barrel while gluing. Now, I have a filter ring for the Daylight and Polarizer filters that I use so often.

So far, I love the camera. High zoom, self installed filter capabilities, higher resolution, loads of features. Even with the limitations, I give it four stars. The battery issues I can live with, but not having a filter ring is just foolish.

Having worked as a professional photographer for many years, I am extremely conscious of image quality. I am also a realist, in that I don't need a 12+ mega pixel camera for my needs now.

The lens and sensor on this camera give excellent results, while still holding the line on costs. The camera is also reasonably light weight enough for me to carry it backpacking. I have carried high quality cameras with me before, but this is a very good quality camera that fits the hand well, and has virtually all of the features one needs to accomplish fairly sophisticated photography, without all of the baggage.

The only accessory that really needs to be considered is a good tripod, as this camera can provide very good long exposure results.

The Kodak Z712 IS has more advanced photographic capability built in than most photographers will ever use. At the same time, those who need advanced capabilities can find most of them here.

Image quality is very good. Color is quite accurate, and I have found no color fringing or other image faults in any of the images that I have made. The ability to manually manipulate all of the controls is very welcome. Being able to natively create Black & White, Sepia and Full Color images at the push of a button is very nice, too.

The one thing I wish the camera had is some method of triggering external flash units (other than photo slaving them).

Used this camera extensively on a trip abroad and am very pleased with the picture quality in low-light settings. The image stabilization system helps produce sharp pictures even when using the zoom indoors. Movie quality is better than what I have experienced with other low cost digitals in the past and the zoom lens can be used during the filming for close-ups. Manual controls are easy to use. This camera does so much more than my 35 mm of old. I really appreciate the range of ASA settings.

The viewfinder is electronic and provides all the data that that the large LCD provides which means I can use this camera without my reading glasses; very important for a middle-aged guy or gal.

The supplied battery only lasted for 3 days of shooting with very limited use of the LCD. Looks like the rechageable lithium battery with a charger is a must which adds $50 to the cost of this system. (I ordered these from bestbattery.com).

This camera is light but will not fit in your pocket but does stow in a jaket pocket without too much difficulty.

It's the best camera that you could buy under $250, the pictures using 12x zoom are amazing, the stabilization is great, in total darkness the pics are a little bit grainy but aceptable.
The cons, it's a battery eater, buy the ion-Li rechargeable from kodak, buy a high speed memory card (the Sandisk 2Gb Extreme III SD is the best around), this saves battery too... and try use the EVF isntead the 2.4"screen.

I like the 12X zoom and the photos are good so far. I expected a little better based on the fact that I was upgrading from a 3.1MP Panasonic. I still have to learn some more about the settings since some pictures were blurry--probably my fault

My main problem is with the battery. The CRV3 lasts pretty long (300+ with lots of reviewing), but isn't cheap. I bought mine at a store and was mislead to believe that it would run with normal AAs or rechargeable NiMH AAs. Nope! Not for very long anyways, maybe 20 and 2 photos respectively.

I am going to get a KLIC-8000 and a charger but that will cost me another $50. I assume it will last pretty long, too expensive to buy a backup. For the extra $50 I would have considered some other cameras where I could also still use my rechargeable AA batteries that I use for everything else I run.

I have been using a Kodak z712 for about two months now and have shot about 2,000 pics. The camera is capable of excellent pictures, great zoom range, exceptional video, and all at an excellent price in a very small package, but I do notice some problems.

Worst is batteries-The camera can deplete NiMH rechargables just sitting for a few days. The unit comes with a nice lithium ion battery but it is NOT RECHARGABLE. Nor is a recharger included. If you use lithium ion 's you will get good battery life , but they are expensive! If you use rechargables other than Li-ION you will get very poor battery life (40-50 images). AND I found it hard and expensive to get Li-Ion rechargable batteries and especially a working charger. On that note avoid shopextreme.com - they rip off alot of customers.

The camera does very well in good light but has problems focusing in lower light. (It helps to select macro or distance settings to aid focusiing) Sometimes it just won't focus (then go to manual). Sometimes it won't snap the picture, and that's frustrating.

The LCD is very bright, the menu system is very good, The image stabilization is very good. There are a lot of features and manual controls.

The zoom is amazing for so inexpensive a camera. At full zoom I recommend a tripod. I could actually get clearer long distance pictures from the z712 that I could from my Canon 350d with a 300mm lens. (Don't get me wrong - overall $1,200 of DSLR and lenses are a much better platform)

Concluding: for the price -amazing possibilities, but spotty performance in lower light - worst are the battery issues

you can,t buy a better camera for the money. the megapixils and zoom are excellent. and for you sports fans there is a one dial switch to adapt your photos for moving action such as the pittsburg/browns game i bought it for! there are many other easy to learn options with this camera.

Get an extra chip! The internal memory was good for 12 pictures. I purchased a 2gig chip and I have yet to fill it up. The chip one inserted is estimated at 900 pictures. I was able to utilize the camera features right out of the box. The basic features are easy. The zoom is easy and very good. The pictures on the screen look poor but the downloaded pictures are wonderful! Some of the advanced features are harder to locate, but my camera came with a good manual. The built in "i" for info is very good for most features. I was able to utilize the movie mode and it came out great. The night pictures come out like day. I took a picture of the harvest moon and it looks like a sunset. I'm pleased with the camera over all. There is a slight delay when snapping pictures and between pictures. I was also able to substitute double AA batteries when I was in a crunch for power. I've purchased the Lithium rechargeables. I highly recommend the use of the Kodak Easyshare software. Fast!

I purchased this camera after considering the Panasonic Lumix and Canon cameras in the same price range and details. I am happy with my purchase, I agree with other reveiws that it feels like something is alive inside because of the IS, it is small and at first felt awkward, but now I am used to it. My pics come out clear and crisp, I used it at various sport games for my kids and the action shots were great. I shopped around, price being very important to me, and this was by far the best deal. Other reveiws mentioned the batteries but I haven't had any trouble with them, or finding a replacement.

I got this camera as a birthday gift. All of my family members also have similar cameras, but earlier versions. This one definitely beats all the others. The LCD screen is very large and clear, making it easy to view pictures. The 12x optical zoom is AMAZING. You can zoom all the way in and still get very clear pictures. I would recommend a large memory card - I have a 2gb that I got at Wal-Mart for $20. It will hold about 800 7.1 MP pictures, and about 2000 4 MP pictures. It really depends on how many pictures you take and what size you need them. I would also recommend Duracell Rechargeable batteries. They have a value charger that sells on Amazon for about $15, with 4 AA batteries included. I would also recommend buying four spare rechargeable batteries: you can get these for about $10 at Wal-Mart and they last longer than the originals. These batteries charge up overnight, four at a time, and last about 2 hours per pair in the camera with moderate flash and video.

The camera is great and every thing I expected. The only thing I have a small complaint about is, although the camera was at a very reasonable price I had to spend more money getting a rechargable battery and a charger. I would have prefered that the camera was listed with and without these options.

This is a good basic camera, with better options and resolution than most point-and-shoots. If you're looking for easy-to-control manual settings, you should be looking at an SLR. If your looking for better-than-average photo capability, this is your camera. I find it to be very light for it's size, easy to hold, and easy to take pictures. The menus are fairly self-explanitory. The "manual" settings are not intuitive, and changing them is not really fast or easy, but they are there. For me, it's a cheap alternative to an SLR that I don't have spend all my time worrying about.

Bought this camera just before a weeks vacation in New England, and it worked flawlessly! Easy to use, and really versatile. Really liked the panorama settings, took a number of shots of the fall foliage and they came out just fine. My wife took charge of the camera most of the time, and even as tech challenged as she is, she had no problems using this camera.

I bought one of these Kodak's the other day because I have owned three Kodak digital cameras and I like the Kodak interface. The fact is that this camera takes excellent pictures, but it eats batteries so fast (so UNBELIEVABLY fast) that I have to give it one star. I am using AA rechargeables and I am lucky if the batteries last two days or over 20 pictures. It really is that bad. Forget about movie mode or using the LCD screen. I've never had a camera die on me so many times, and I've only had this camera about two weeks.

Was shopping @ Target & saw the Z712. I didn't do any homework or research, simply went home & looked up on amazon. To my surprise, I found it $50 cheaper, shipped directly to my house including the memory upgrade. The camara has been great, I use it personally to take pics of my little kids and outdoor shots. I was in desperate need of an upgrade from my old camara & was too excited to bother reading the instructions. I'm sure there are some features I have yet to figure out but it has been easy to use. The 2gb chip upgrade will hold an amazing 1000 pics, the lithium batteries included took ~ 125 pics and 20 minutes of video before dying. For the money & time invested I am very happy.

I did alot of research before deciding on this camera. I had opportunity to use the Z650 quite a bit in the past year and I feel that the Z712IS adds to the 650 in zoom quality, image stabilization and image quality.

There are a lot of other reviews that will talk about the technical specifications of this camera. I read them all and bought my camera on Amazon. (I used MyPoints.com and earned $150 in Amazon gift certificates.) The camera works great and I had a lot of fun taking pictures with it. In fact, I liked it so much that I wore out the battery in about 2 or 3 weeks.
I tried using AA and AA rechargeables, but they don't give the camera enough power. So I'm stuck buying a $10 battery...and haven't yet found a decent rechargeable one that'll work for this camera. Just know ahead of time that while it says it can take AA, they don't give the camera enough juice to turn on.

I owned the Z740 for almost two years, and the Z712 keeps most of the same features, while adding higher ISO settings, a larger screen, more zoom, and better resolution.

I take most of my photos in a challenging environment - pro hockey games. The main attraction I had to this camera over others in this price range is the zoom, which gets me close enough to the action.

The menu items and buttons are well designed and easy to figure out. Several preset modes allow amateur photographers the ability to get great photos in many different environments, while more experienced photographers have the freedom to change exposure, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings to get the best shot every time.

A few downsides
- A poorly designed lens cap, which easily falls off.
- Shorter battery life than I'm used to. I go through three pairs of rechargeable alkalines in a three hour stint at the hockey rink. I'm switching to rechargeable lithiums soon to get longer battery life.

Unless you are someone used to the performance of a $1000 camera, you will likely be very happy with the Z712.

Amazon rocks. I could not find this camera anywhere else at a better price. Free shipping was available when I ordered it on a Tuesday, and my mail carrier delivered it to me that same week on Saturday - almost two weeks ahead of the anticipated delivery date.

This camera has a very powerful zoom (12X). Like my last Kodak Easy Share, it is easy to take great pictures - just let the automatic settings do the work. Settings can also be adjusted for the more intricate shots. The colors are true to life and the camera is not too bulky. My daughter has a much more expensive Cannon and was quite impressed with this camera. Price was great on Amazon with no shipping charge. Very satisfied.

this great camera has almost all the features of a $1000 DSLR. Clearly the top of its class right now.

This is a really good product. I can get long distance shots and still have them come in fairly good. It's not pocket size though, and isn't made for those little shots of yourself by any means. It stabilizes well and takes fairly quick shots.

Owned a few slr's and a Fuji Finepix 3mp , this by far has exceeded expectations. The lens is awesome, no need for a telephoto lens! Very sharp pictures. The included Lion battery gives you about 200 pictures. You NEED a lion rechargeable, it is not included, forget Nimh , they will not last even 20 pictures! Trust me! Search Ebay for the klic8000 , bought 3 VERY cheap and they so far are great. Also get atleast a 1gig sd card, over 300 pictures on a 1 gig.

I bought this camera to replace another highly rated digital that I never "bonded with." That might sound stupid, but I love taking pictures and need to have a great working relationship with my camera. This one may be my soul mate. I love the big LCD review screen and the purring sound the motor makes. I did a portrait of my friend's dog yesterday and she was delighted with the results!

I am so happy with this camera! I love that there's no shutter delay & takes great action shots. The red eye feature is great, too. I don't know why people are complaining about the battery, I have been using the one that came with it & it hasn't died yet. My old camera with the AA batteries would've died LONG ago. I just bought a rechargable lithium one on Amazon anyway for a good price. Takes great shots in low light, too. Great for those bar party pictures!! :) I highly recommend it.

I did quite a bit of research on a prosumer camera and reached the conclusion that the Kodak Z712 IS had the best bang for the buck. Other cameras with similar features usually cost $100-200 more than the Z712. The features I liked best were the 12x optical zoom and optical image stabilization. It took sharp hand-held pictures (especially in low light with IS). The IS is also necessary for most handheld shots in high zoom.

The image quality was very good. The main difference between this and the more expensive dSLR is the sensor sizes and interchangeable lenses. The z712 has a 1/2.5" sensor, dSLR's start at about 15 times that area and up. This makes a huge difference in low-light and dynamic range of the pictures. But of course dSLR's are a lot bulkier and expensive. The Z712 has a lot of advanced features, I especially like the live histogram. Performance was overall quick, except when the buffer filled (about 5 burst pictures), then it takes almost 10 seconds to write it all into the memory card.

The lens is fairly fast, meaning the aperture doesn't close down too much when fully zoomed (its widest setting is f/2.8 to f/4.8 at 12x zoom), so there's more available light even at highest zoom, so the shutter can be fast enough to freeze sports action, or ISO can remain low for low noise)

The video mode (640x480 30fps) uses MPEG4 compression, which allows much longer clips due to its more efficient algorithm.

This camera is smaller than it looks in pictures, my right hand (avg size) feels kind of cramped operating the shutter button and the mode dials and buttons with the thumb. The flip side is the camera is more portable than I had imagined, almost like a compact P&S camera.

The macro mode needs to get a lot closer, it can only get close to about 5 inches.

Another thing is there's no manual white balance in the camera. This isn't a major concern, but for a prosumer camera, I would've expected this simple feature. But then again white balance can always be corrected in post-processing on a PC, but the extra step should be eliminated. Even though Kodak is known for their vivid print colors, they shouldn't be forcing the user to use the defaults, since users might occasionally want to balance their own whites and maybe even intentionally shoot with off-white colors for effects.

One of the biggest problems with this camera is how much power it consumes. I tried AA alkalines just for fun and it took less than 20 (though there's still quite a bit of power left in the cells for other uses, the cutoff voltage seems high for triggering the low battery warning). I eventually ordered a charger & 2 Li-Ion CRV3 batteries (similar to Kodak's KLIC-8000) and they work as intended with probably around the CIPA rated number of pictures. I believe the documents state the camera was only inteded to use Lithium batteries, but if that's the case they should've made the battery a more proprietary type so people don't confuse with being able to use standard AA batteries that don't last long at all.

Overall it's a great camera if you can overlook the issues I mentioned. Eventually I sold the Z712 online because the size was not portable enough for my personal tastes, and also the large zoom isn't as useful as I had thought for my type of shooting. I went with the Canon A720 IS for about the same street price with less zoom (6x), better battery life, slightly better image quality, & a more compact body.

I bought this camera for my wife. We've shot about 1200 or so pics and a few minutes of video over the last several months. Super features for the price are: Mega Zoom & superb optics along with a pretty darn good image stabilization system. Hey, I've parked my Nikon Coolpix 5700 and a bag full of film cameras in favor of this little number. 12X optical zoom Is HUGE when composing an image. 3X zoom on most cameras, I can spit that far. 6X and you're getting there, 12X and you've arrived! The quality of the optics actually creates a better finished picture than my Nikon! Spend a little time with the manual. My wife did and taught her "know it all" hubbie a couple of things about the added features of this camera. She (and I) love its ease of use and overall convenience. She easily graduated from the point & shoot program mode to using several of the easy options to bring out her creative side. Yeah, it may not fit in your shirt pocket, but Kodak has packed a lot of horsepower into a fairly small, relatively inexpensive package. Thinking of a Canon PowerShot or a Sony? Save your money and pick up this little workhorse instead. Impress folks with your actual photos, not with the brand name on the front of the camera! The big LCD screen plus a regular "put your eye up to it" viewfinder is another big plus on those bright sunny days when the LCD screen is about useless. The "special picture" modes are all displayed on the LCD screen to let you choose one of the 14 choices, making it a snap to step up your ability to take unusual shots under varying conditions. In all, a well thought out, versatile camera at a very fair price - BUY IT! You won't be disappointed. And pick up a pair of rechargable batteries and a charger while you're at it (I bought 2 Lenmars for about $20 and a charger for $12 on EBay) - those CRV3's aren't a cheap way to take a lot of pictures.

This camera has all the bells and whistles if you want them: full manual control, shutter priority, aperture priority, panoramas, closeups, 12X optical zoom, image stabilization, high ISO, and so much more. All at a cost at least one-third less than its competitors. Oh, yes, and it takes great pictures.

We bought this similar camera three years ago but wanted an upgrade. We are very happy with our purchase!

I bought Kodak Easyshare Z712 digital camera 2 months or so ago. It was reasonably priced (approx.$210). It is quite easy to use and meets more than my limited needs! It is working out well and I am happy with it. One feature that It is missing is the ability to recharge the battery within the camera. I got a charger and a battery ($22) from RadioShack and the problem is solved.

It is a nice camera, I was surprised that after few months I got it, its price went significantly down and the z812 was immediately released.
The camera takes some good pictures using the automatic mode. My results are not that good using the other modes, like night, speed, etc. The pictures become pretty grainy so I mostly used the auto-mode. Zoom is good and fast.
Something that you will have to do is to procure yourself either the docking station with the rechargeable battery or use rechargeable batteries.
The camera can be connected to a PC using USB and you can download your images directly without additional software.
The camera's firmware can be upgraded; there is a simple procedure to do it that is highly recommended to improve the quality of your pictures.

In summary, nice camera for the price, but get the z812 instead, Kodak may have a good reason to have released this last one so quickly after the z712 and dropped the z712 price so low.

Buen producto con una buena y suficiente calidad de imagen de 7 MP, con estabilizador de imagen que funciona bastante bien y con múltiples modos de escena que permiten si no se tiene mucho conocimiento sobre operaciones de camaras obtener buenas fotos, su flash y zoom funcionan muy bien, lo unico que funciona de forma un tanto regular es su autofoco con baja luz, sin embargo, este es un obstaculo relativamente menor considerando que este es generalmente un mal de muchas de las camaras digitales de este rango de precios, si la comparamos con sus potenciales competidores (panasonic, sony, fuji, etc) su precio es un poco menor, lo unico realmente malo es que no tiene baterias recargables ni cargador, así que se recomienda comprar al menos una bateria y cargador junto con una buena memoria SD de 1 GB.

This camera is a great product... for a relatively cheap price (when compared to competitors like Canon). This is the perfect camera for the amatuer photographer that wants more than a point and shoot but not all of the bells-and-whistles of a fully true digital SLR.. nor the price. Everywhere I take my camera people keep saying, "Wow! That's a really nice camera." I love it because one minute it can be a point-and-shoot, the next a multi-optioned amatuer camera, and the next a relatively nice video recorder. It is extremely simple to learn but offers a lifetime of growth, practice, and love. Much love. Also just about everything on it is either changable or customizable which is a really nice feature. Nothing less than a beautiful product to take beautiful pictures!

My husband purchased this camera for me for my birthday in May. I had only had it 4 months when the lens froze up on me. It had to be serviced and was found to have had an "interface" problem with the lens. When I received it back it was less than a month before it "froze" up on me again. This time I was able to take the battery out and put it back in and it went back to "normal". I took this issue up with the retailer where it was purchased and with a letter to Kodak and neither could replace the defective camera. While it is user friendly, I am very dissapointed in Kodak for the way they handled my situation. This camera should have held up better and for longer than 4 months before needing service. I had a Kodak prior to this one, but doubt I will purchase another because of the service and product quality of the camera. My advice to anyone purchasing this camera is to do your homework and purchase some kind of extended warranty so you do not end up like me.

This is the 4th Kodak Easyshare camera that I have owned and I have loved them all. I just keep upgrading to get more megapixels and better features, and I haven't been disappointed in any I have bought! I passed down my other camera's to my daughters to use, and the pictures are still great quality in those too. I really haven't used the Z712 enough to really know what all it can do, but I love the zoom on it already with the stabilization installed. The EasyShare software with the online storage is worth every penny of it. I will continue to buy the EasyShare cameras and would recommmend them to anyone.

This is an excellent camera for the price. The pictures have really great detail. The "burst" option is a great feature, too. The "burst" option lets you take 6+ pictures at a rapid pace.

The only down side to the camera that I found is the software that comes with it. I found it to be a little tricky to use. You can not bypass the software either. But, I bought a USB SD card reader and will probably uninstall the software.

Overall, I have been extremely satisfied with the camera.

The Z712 is a good camera but Kodak really disappointed me with the lack of a charger. The only way I have found to utilize the included battery is to purchase a dock from Kodak, which I feel is an unnecessary expense. The chargers that work with the KLIC-8000 will not charge the battery that comes with the camera so I ended up having to buy two batteries and a charger plus a memory card making the true cost of the camera over $300 instead of the original $200.

I have had this camera for just a few days and I am delighted with my choice. I was looking for a camera that could zoom far and have a great picture. This is my 2nd digital camera and it is an improvement. I did a lot of searching on this camera and read the pros and cons, but for what I need it is great. My only complaint is that it did not come with a rechargeable battery and charger. I did however purchase the dock, camera bag and cleaner and I think this will work fine. I don't think I will get much use out of the bag because it is too small, and I don't like to hook things on to a belt. Also the battery that comes with the dock does not fit the camera, don't understand that either.. It is a little heavier than I thought it would be, but not too bad. I don't mind that it is a little bigger because it is easier for me to read the dial on the top of the camera and the buttons are a good size. If you order this camera I would suggest ordering a rechargeable battery, if you use the dock. Other wise I have read that wal-mart or radio shack has a battery and charger for a resonable price (I haven't looked yet).

So many features like 12x zoom plus n-number of options for taking pics just for 186$ what else can one ask for..

I've only had this camera for a few days, but it has already far surpassed my expectations. Any/all reservation I had after reading other reviews, have been eliminated. So far it has performed flawlessly and does everything I wanted (and a lot more).

the shipping was fast i got a email after i had got the camera.i would buy from this person again .i got the z712IS after a friend told me about this camera i don't know what to say but this camera is great i only had this for a few weeks but i can say the picture is so clear compare to the last camera i had i can zoom in real far without being fuzzy i can say everything about this camera is great but i haven't try the video yet. but if you are looking into buying this camera i would. this is a great buy

Just what I wanted. And it arrived right on the date they said it would. Very pleased with the product and the service.

This camera is an upgrade purchase from a DX 6490. I like the added features. It makes the camera much more "user friendly." The only problem I still have with these cameras is the "lag" time that you get when taking a photo. What you see on the screen when you take a picture is not what you get when the camera finally snaps the shot. I have a two-year-old, and he doesn't stay still long enough for those quality photo moments. I haven't tried outdoor shots yet, so maybe these will be better, since a flash is not usually needed. Overall, a nice camera for the price!

This is a great little camera, I am having so much fun with it.
you can't go wrong with the Z712IS and a geat price too.

Works great! Nice colors, good image quality & easy to use. A good value for its price comparing to other cameras in the same class. Only fault is that the batteries are not quite convenient.

I bought this camera as a gift for my daughter and son-in-law. They love it. Takes great pictures and easy to use. They insert photos in their emails to us, which is great.

I have purchased three Kodak Easyshare cameras previously and have taken literally thousands of pictures with them. Very easy to use, and the software works great for processing the photos and files after downloading to my PC.

Camera arrived when stated. Pictures come out clear, not blurry. Is fairly user friendly. Doesn't seem to have battery problems as some other users have run into. I currenly have an easy share docking station for older camera. This camera doesn't fit, is not compatible. That is probably the only thing I don't like about it. The camera itself takes great pictures. Would recommend this to others.

This is a great camera! This is also why I use Amazon to purchase things. I used the feedback from Consumer Reports and the other customers who have purchased this item from Amazon and they were right, this is a great camera.

I had done lot of research before purchasing this camera. I had short-listed this camera and Canon Powershot S3. Finally I selected this one based on following:

1) This was costing approx $250 with rechargeable battery and charger (both original) as compare to Canon S3 was costing approx $290 with Sony Batteries and charger.
2) It has 7.1 mega-pixels as compare to Canon S3 which has 6.2 mega-pixels.
3) It has 2.5 inch LCD as compare to 2 inch in Canon S3

I am very much satisfied with this camera. This is one of the best ultra zoom cameras presently available. And the best choice if you consider quality to cost ratio. It takes pictures that are very impressive with great colour reproduction and with fine details. Even videos are so great that it can beat some of the low end video cameras. Optical zoom is fabulous. Low light results are also very good.

Few things bothered me in this camera...
1) USB 2.0 support absent. (Because of which data transfer to PC becomes slow...)
2) No RAW or TIFF image support. (Should not bother most of the users...)
3) Quick Time Movie format. (No problem if you are watching videos on PC...)

During my research I found many misleading reviews on battery issue. This camera works well with Lithium or Lithium-Ion rechargeable batteries. It is good idea to have Li-Ion rechargeable with charger. To buy original or compatible batteries / chargers is up to you. According to me it is not an issue at all.

Another misleading was about the loose lens cap. If it was not kept loose, it would have easily damage the zoom mechanism if you forget to remove the cap before turning ON the camera.

In a nut shell...

No matter who you are, except professional photographer, the camera is suitable for you. You may use it as just point and shoot camera. Or you may play with more technical stuff like f-stop or aperture or shutter speed or exposure compensation or so on. Also it is a good idea to have it as a backup camera to your DSLR if you are professional.

Conclusion...
Obviously it is not DSLR and how much you can expect in a $200 deal, but...
If you want some thing like DSLR at a price of point n shoot, this is the camera. The few bucks you save can be spend on accessories like high speed / high capacity memory cards, bags, tripods and so on...

It looks very nice, kind of cool. I like it very much. The picture is high quality.

I purchased this camera as a Christmas present for myself (2007). I was upgrading from a Kodak Dx7590.

I have found this camera easy to use, it takes great daylight and indoor pictures. It takes decent night time pictures.The 12x optical zoom is fantastic, I never use digital zoom as it degrades the quality of the picture.

I couldn't be happier and I would recommend this camera to anyone. For the price it can't be beat.

I would also recommend purchasing a couple of rechargeable Klic-8000 battery clones and charger from Ebay.

Of course you need a decent size SD card, at least a 1GB card or higher capacity. The internal memory I never use.

AA disposeables or even AA rechargeables should only be used in this camera if nothing else is available.

Really nice camera. I also got the docking station. Wife loves it.
Easy to operate, 12X zoom, nice size view screen. Some nifty bells and whistles. Got it on sale. No complaints.

We had researched this product for a while and it is everything we needed in a camera. Not hard to use, the strap keeps it handy, lens cover keeps it clean. Just right for us!

This camera is a great deal. Know though that you're only getting a camera. Other cameras come with extras like a battery, memory card, charger, etc. Not this one. All you get is the camera. You'll have to shell out some cash for a rechargable battery, it's charger, a good xGB memory card, case, tripod and software (unless you want to use Picassa). But its all worth it. I shopped pretty hard between this and the Panasonic Lumix which could be had mail order for much less. But everyone complained of terrible photo quality whereas all users loved the picture quality of this camera. It has to do I think with the Kodak ColorScience chip. Also, the menu and controls are quite well laid out. The only shortcoming in the camera's design is that the LCD Viewfinder does not swivel out. That way if you want to shoot in the sun with the sun behind you, you can't swing it out of the sun's angle. Otherwise there are many good features to this camera and Amazon has about the best price. If you compare it to Canon's, you'll find that Canon's, feature for feature are much more expensive, though very nice.

As with many things in life, there are higher end choices available. If you are looking to capture truly "perfect" shots, consider a Nikon on Canon.

However, if you are like most of us, and want a solid point and shoot camera, that will deliver excellent results without a great deal of time working on shutter speeds and what not, this is a great choice. Right out of the box it will take excellent pictures.

The large viewfinder screen is a huge hit with the family, kids and grandparents can see, in great detail, the pictures we just took.

The colors are vibrant and clear, and the ease of use is second to none. For its price, I strongly recommend that you consider this camera.

At first I did not think I was going to like it, we went to a graduation that the curtains were dark and the cloths were dark and the camera just could not pick up the pictures well. I really feel it was just to dark in the room because everything else has turned out beautiful. I really love my new camera, it takes wonderful pictures. It is easy to use, I am like several others I have read the lens cover does not stay on well and I feel Kodak needs to improve this. I have ordered a battery charger and extra batteries so I will not have to use so many batteries. Overall I a very well pleased.

Brand new out of the box.

I pop the software CD in and it says "not compatible with my operating system".

I'm on Windows 2000 pro. If your computer is on a dialup, be prepared to wait hours for the software to download.

There is no option on Kodak's website to download the software on a faster internet computer, to be able to install it on the slow dialup computer.

Kodak has no option to send you the software on CD.

Kodak tech support had no solution.


I don't have the patience for the headache of setting up this new camera.

This camera is the Z712.

I bought this as an upgrade from the z710. The z710 has everything you need to work under Windows 2000.

I found this camera to take nice composed pictures inside and out. The flash worked well.

Things I feel weren't perfect include the small size of this camera; it doesn't fit my hand well. Also the lens cap on my camera is extremely loose and there are no latching mechanisms. The slightest brush of a shirt sleeve causes the lens cap to slip off the lens, at least there is a leash for the cap or it may have already been lost.

The burst mode captures pictures in rapid succession very well. I'm still trying to discover the correct speed and focus settings though, as many of those burst pictures are still out of focus. This may be operator ignorance on my part, but the documentation isn't real clear either. A large rectangular piece of plastic was included in the box, and there was no indication on how this was to be used.

the camera is an excelent one. picture quality is very good. only thing is about its battery. battery consumtion is very high. otherwise its a very good product. i recommend the product strongly.

Good product which is easy to use. For the money it offer great help in taking pictures in all conditions. This is what I was looking for, something that when I pointed and clicked I would achieve a really good picture without having to be very knowledgeable about F stops, lighting flashes ect. The zoom is outstanding compared to cameras on similar value.

Software with it is ok, nothing magical but does the job for the very average camera user like me.

Estoy muy contento con el desempeño de esta cámara. no es de un nivel profesional, pero aun asi tiene muy buenas caracteristicas. El zoom es de lo mejor. Y si no les importa gastar en baterias recargables es una buena opción.
Toma buenas fotos tanto de noche como en la luz del dia, en espacios abiertos e interiores.
La recomiendo para aquellos aficionados a la fotografia, que busquen una cámara con altos megapixeles (7.1), buen zoom y un precio bajo para este tipo de cámaras.

I'm really loving this camera. I can hold it with one hand, zoom in on someone across the room and get a fantastic photo. It's a winner. Sarah Lowell

after a bit of research i was excited to get another kodak with more zoom for sporting events, etc. unfortunately this camera was nothing but a disappointment. i took this to my son's basketball game and came home with blurry, grainy pictures even after trying several different settings. outdoors proved to be a little better, but inside were all pictures i ended up deleting. i found the lcd to be very grainy, but it did clear up when displaying the picture taken. the quick reset between pictures was great. the friendliness of kodak cameras and software was wonderful as usual. my biggest complaint would have to be the battery life. after taking only 30 pictures, the low battery light would come on and within a few more pictures the camera was dead. the happened with MULTIPLE different batteries. i finally called kodak and sent the camera to the repair shop. when it was returned to me, i was given a list of types of batteries that were appropriate to use. apparently they found nothing wrong with the camera and assumed i didn't know what batteries to use. i did some research on the problem i was having and found out that this is a commom "bug" among this camera and the only way to fix it is to try a brand new camera. my frustration was too high at that point and i returned the camera for a full refund. this camera seems very appealing, but unless you want to chance getting one with this "bug", i wouldn't waste your money.

This camera takes great photos and the image stabilization lets me get sharp pictures when the camera is down to 1/30s at max zoom. The only quality issue I see is that the high ISO, 800 or greater, produces noise in the pictures so I avoid high ISO. It does well to ISO 400 though. I have not yet seen any digital camera that is not an SLR produce good photos at high ISO.

I highly recommend this camera. It is well built and a great size to carry around.

We love this camera so much that when my wife accidentally left it out in the rain and ruined it, we bought the exact same camera again!

Takes wonderful pictures in all variety of situations. We just used it to take pictures of a neighborhood roller skating party at the local roller skating ring. Even in the low light situations and with the movements of skating while taking pictures they all turned out great.

We really like the panoramic feature which allows you to take 3 pictures in a row (going right or going left) and it will automatically stitch them together. After you take the first picture it actually shows you in the view finder and on the screen the edge of your last picture so you can line up the next one. The end result is perfect!

My only complaint is the batter life. Sure seems to eat through regular batteries. But the batter pack that it comes with sure lasted a long time. Might just need to buy more of those.

I bought the Z712 IS because I wanted advanced features without the technical challenges and cost of a dSLR. I was not disappointed. The auto-focus is usually fast and accurate, pictures taken at full 12x zoom are sharp, and the colors are rich.

There are approximately 20 scene modes, selectable with the menu navigation buttons. I was able to use "night landscape" mode effectively to take otherwise difficult night cityscape photos. The camera chose a 10 second (!) exposure time at ISO 64, and the photos came out beautifully.

You can use the menu to select spot metering, to gain better control over exposure. And you can select center-zone or selectable-zone auto-focus. I didn't learn about this until I had taken a few pictures that turned out to be focused on the 'wrong' location because of the default multi-zone auto-focus.

There are a number of manual- and semi-manual modes including full-manual, aperture priority, and shutter priority. These give you control over depth of field as well as focus (and you need to use one of these modes to get the ability to do spot-metering or center-zone focus).

Battery life has been excellent, better than my other much simpler Kodak camera (an EasyShare 3 megapixel camera from about 4 years ago). I've been using an inexpensive rechargeable KLIC-8000 compatible. I recharge it after about 150 shots, but I think there's a lot of life left in it at that point.

If you buy this camera, buy a good tripod if you don't already have one. You just can't take photos at 12X zoom in anything other than bright-light conditions without a tripod. Also, if you are not using a tripod, at least use the 2-second delay feature to reduce camera shake as you press the shutter release.

I've had the camera about 4 months and I feel there's still lots to learn about it. It's been a great introduction to slightly more advanced technique, and I expect to get lots of enjoyment from this camera for quite a while.

This camera makes the worst video sound recordings I have ever heard. Scratchy and distorted. Worse than recordings by $5.00 recorders on $0.25 cassette tapes. I am returning mine today.

My husband and I like this camera. There are lots of options for him to play with but it is simple enough for me to just grab and snap pictures without messing with settings. I didn't install the software because I had a Kodak previously and the software is a nuisance. I really like how quickly the camera adjusts to the subject and snaps the picture.

I bought this camera the first month it was out and I hate it. The picture quality is very bad. Just about all the pictures come out blurry even with a tripod. I contacted kodak to posibly return the item and was told they would not take it back. This product does not perform as promised the 5mp kodak easy share I bought 4 years ago takes better pictures, and it cost $175.00 less.

I really can't add anything more than what some of the other reviewers have already stated about this camera other than to stress the importance of using Lithium-Ion batteries with it - makes all the difference in the world! Order the Kodak KLIC-8000 rechargeable batteries (one in the camera and one spare) and the Kodak K7600-C charger if you take a lot of pictures. If you don't want to invest in those because you only take pictures occasionally and would prefer to use disposables, make sure you at least invest in some disposable AA Lithium-Ion batteries, not Alkalines, since they last a heck of a lot longer. And forget NiMH or NiCd rechargeable batteries, if you already have some around the house - they do not work well with this camera and are not recommended by Kodak.

The Z712IS is easy to use, takes wonderful pictures, is amazingly versatile (with all of the manual settings and scene modes) and the 12X zoom really brings you close to the action.

If you're on the fence about getting this camera, don't be. If the 8MP version is only a few bucks more, get that one of course, but you really can't go wrong with this model. Highest recommendation!

I was reluctant to replace my Canon Rebel G with a digital camera that was not an electronic version of the SLR. But I bought the Kodak 712 IS when a good sale came up, and I have never turned back. The 12X optical zoom has a greater range for both close up and distance shots than my 35-80 lens did on the Canon, the pictures are exceptionally clear, the display is large. I can't say enough about it. It has all the same settings that the Canon did, and so far, the pictures are just as good. Just make sure that you if you take a lot of pictures in low light conditions that you have a back up battery as there is no low battery indicator.

Performance is inconsistent. Pictures taken several seconds (shutter lag is also an issue) apart look drastically different. Auto-focus is hit and miss and sometimes won't lock when zoom is fully extended.

After 6 months of use, I would give this camera a C- rating.

Just received my new camera today and i am amazed at the great pictures and fantastic video it takes.
It is every thing i expected and MORE!!

Very pleased with cameera and shipping and everything. Only issue i have is it keeps resetting Date/Time after i've set it and saved it. When i turn it back on it asks to reset date/time. Otherwise, great deal! Same exact camera in stores now for $100 more than what i got it for! Awesome deal!

Great camera for the price. Easy to use.
Delivered quickly in good order by vendor.

I had an old Kodak dx7630 that died and bought this. I am so disappointed. I never took a bad pic with the old camera. By the time this camera shoots the picture, my toddlers are already out of the room, nevermind out of the shot. Shame on Kodak.

great cam nice shooting pictures, even night time, good price, better then expensive cam ,only thing is that i dont like battery issue but when you get battery charger then there is no problem i liked it.quality stuff

The one I purchased makes a fair paper weight. It will not power up with the factory rechargable batteries no matter how good the charge is. With the disposable battery it takes about 20 photos and then goes dead. The batteries still read over 1.5 volts, but not enough to power up the camera, apparently. I'm sending it back.

I absolutely love everything about this camera so far! It is exactly what I was looking for. It has beautiful quality pics and a great amount of zoom. I would recommend this camera to anyone. And as always it was delivered faster than expected and in perfect condition. Thats why I shop amazon!!!

I had an older sony cybershot and it died several months ago. I just can't live without a camera so I needed one ASAP and immediately came to amazon to find one. The best part of this camera was the price. While the 712 is not a bad camera, I am now saving for a DSLR because my expectations are a bit too high. The pictures were hit and miss (yes, I know you only push the button half way down until the thing in the viewer turns green, 1/2 my pictures turned out blurry anyway). Outdoor pictures turned out very nice for the most part, but pictures not taken in natural lighting left much to be desired. They were grainy, and just not as sharp as I would like. My cyber shot took great photos even though it didn't have the telescoping lens and had a lower MP, I was expecting even better pictures but this kodak fell short. The audio on the videos is very distorted as well. It's almost shaky sounding. I've only taken a few videos, but it's videos are definitely not something that this camera is good for. Also, the soft plastic on the eye viewer fell off my camera within a few weeks (though it doesn't affect the camera's function, it was just annoying). As a side note, I got this camera, took a few pictures and nothing happened, it would not upload to my computer. I called kodak and got "help" from someone in India who had no helpful suggestions (besides "maybe you have bad cord, buy a new one"). Considering this was the day it arrived in the mail I contacted Amazon to let them know it was defective. I have to give it to Amazon, they sent me a new camera that I had in hand within 2 days and they sent UPS to pick up my broken camera the next day (I didn't even have to wait for them to recieve the defective camera first, I was very impressed) and the second camera worked fine right out of the box. I do wish it came with the rechargable battery (I have a kodak dock and I am buying the LION battery today and I am hoping I can use the dock with it), but I have been getting buy with store bought lithium batteries that last for a reasonable amount of time.

All in all, it's a nice camera for casual picture taking, takes nice outdoor pictures with vibrant color. Artificial light and video are short comings, but not even those are not horrible. I would recommend it to friends who want decent pictures at a great price.

When I bought this camera, was a little skeptical about Kodak but to my surprise the camera has performed above expectations. The easyshare software is pretty helpful too. I also have a compact Canon SD 1100IS but got to say I find Kodak 712 results far better. The results in low light were a little ... "low" but using this camera with a tripod during night gave better performance.

I bought this camera a while ago, at first I was very happy. After owning this camera for a little while I wish I had never bought it. The camera sucks through batteries like nothing. It can be very frusturating missing all those pics. If you didn't have to buy batteries every other day I would recomm this camera. I know someone else who bought this same camera and returned it due to the battery life.

Lots of features (still discovering all of them), pretty intuitive, easy to use. Image stabilization is a real plus. I'd recommend getting extra batteries, memory, and a carry case along with the camera.

The only complaint is that I wish a long lasting rechargable battery were standard.

It's an Easy Share camera and it will be nice to instantly share the catch of the day with other fishing friends. They have a friendly competition whether they are able to fish together or not.

This camera should be a great all around camera for most people and uses. I look forward to enjoying it for a long time.

We have been through about 4 pairs of batteries in the first three weeks of owning this camera. Hopefully we figure this out before we have spent much more $ for batteries.

I bought this camera. It died on its first outing, after 30 pictures. It would not power-on. I sent it in for repair and they claim that it had "physical damage" and I would have to pay $100 plus shipping to get it fixed or they would give me a 15% coupon to the Kodak on-line store. I'm not aware of any physical damage this encountered, but there was nothing I could do. Kodak does not have their own repair center or customer service people, they use service centers for both. All I learned from this is that Kodak is no longer a REAL company and their products should be avoided at ALL costs!!!

We bought this camera in May and are lovin the pictures it takes. We have used it to take pictures inside at our childrens 1st grade musical as well as outdoors at the beach and at Sea World. I am pretty impressed with all that is does and how easy it is to use. Even I, one who can not take a photo, can take photos that are centered and focused. woohoo!!! We did however upgrade to a higher memory card and couldn't be happier with our purchase.