Rating: 
Summary: Great Digital Camera!
Review: This is one digicam that takes pro quality photos. I've used it for four months now and I do not have any complaints. The camera is easy to use and with the camera dock, that comes with it, download pictures to your computer with one touch of a button. It is not a battery hog like other digital cameras I've owned. I would highly recommend this digicam.
Rating:
Summary: DX6490 an excellent choice
Review: I recently purchased the DX6490 camera with the Easyshare docking station. My purchase criteria was a good lens and high power optical zoom. I shoot landscapes and portraits and use a digital camera before committing to large format film. The lens, color imaging, and ergonomics of the Kodak are great. I can take macro type closeups of flowers and bring faces in with the 10X zoom lens. The camera performs flawlessly and I took many successful photos without using the manual. Downloads are a snap with the docking station. Kodak lets you send your digital files for processing on Kodak paper. The Kodak easyshare software is excellent especially if you are new to digital photography. I find myself using this camera for more and more tasks including ebay sales. I previously owned a Hewlett Packard 2.0 MP camera that was replaced three times under warranty and smashed with a hammer when the warranty ran out. I also have a Fuji 3.0 MP camera that I gave to my kids. I highly recommend the DX6490 for new users and experienced digital photographers. The 10X zoom alone is reason to buy one. I could have bought a package that includes the Kodak photo printer which usually retails for 200.00. The printer has a maximum print size of about 5 X 7 prints which is ok for snapshots but the camera is very capable of larger prints. I opted to buy the Epson Stylus RX-600 photo printer for another $100.00 that gives up to an 8 X 10 print using 6 color technology. So think about the maximum size prints you would make before committing to the Kodak bundle with printer.
Rating: 
Summary: DX6490 Movie Mode Poor Quality?
Review: HiThe camera takes nice still pictures, but very disappointed in the quality of the movie clips. There's whitespots (that look like white rain running across the picture) distorting the image on playback and some delay in picture playback. Maybe it's an adjustment or something I'm doing wrong and would appreciate any tips. Setting are all factory default at this time. Do you have the hold the camera relatively still while taking movies. All the movie clips were taken outdoors in full sun or indoors with plenty sunlight coming through windows so I don't feel lighting is an issue. With two small children the movie mode is an important feature but with such poor quality, now regret not buying a digital video camera. Use a 800mhz Gateway computer and wonder if that has anything to do with the playback lags, but feel certain the distortion in the picture is from the camera. Will probably return this camera if it can't take better movie pictures. Will try altering some setting to improve the quality, but at this point think it's in the design and tend to believe the technology has some catching up to do. Steve
Rating:
Summary: Do you need this much camera?
Review: This camera is phenominal. The only question you have to ask yourself is, do I need such high quality? I can take a picture of someone 100 yds away, and when I zoom in from my computer, I can tell you the color of their eyes. I went to the zoo, and took a picture of a couple owls that were far away. When I got home, I could see that they were feeding on mice. The zoom is awesome; as are all the other functions. Unfortunately, the same goes for blemishes. If you have a zit, it WILL show up. Nothing escapes the power of this camera. It photographs things your eye may not see. You think you did a good job washing the floor. Then you snap a picture of your girlfriend in the kitchen, and the camera picks up spots you missed with the mop. It is amazing.
One Downfall: The camera is about the size of a softball. You will not be able to take it anywhere, anytime. I wish I would've got something more compact, because although this camera is great, I do not need this much camera. 3MP and 3x zoom is good enough for day to day operations with friends. If you're a professional landscape or nature photographer, this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Kodak DX6490 - Buy it Now!
Review: This digital camera from Kodak has far exceeded my expectations. I have used Kodak and Sony Digital cameras for three years now and none of them can compare with this new model from Kodak. This camera employs the Kodak Color Science chip which is a marvel itself. I purchased a 256MB SD memory card which claims to allow you store up to 190 images at the highest quality. I took 105 pictures and then went home and docked my camera to download the pictures. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had only used 60MB of the available 256MB! For 105 pictures! As if that wasn't reason enough to buy this camera, with the added memory you can take a full 15 minutes of digital video. Gone are the days of the 60 second video clips. To top it off, the battery life of the Li-ion battery is amazing. I wanted to fully discharge the camera's battery before taking to use at a family gathering. In my attempt to deplete the battery, I took six 15 minute videos by placing the camera on the table and just pressing the shutter. After 90 minutes of filming (on an already partially discharged battery, the camera batery still wasn't fully discharged. I then charged the battery and used it to take over a 100 pictures WITH the flash indoors. When I was finished, I still had two of the three green status lights lit. What are you waiting for? This is the camera to buy!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best digital cameras out there!
Review: I chose this camera over all others as my first digital camera, and I have no regrets! One of the main reasons I bought it was for the 10X optical zoom. I like to shoot animal and nature shots, and all other digital cameras in the price range at the time were worthless for that. Just remember to read in the manual how to turn off the digital zoom, or it will wreck all your zoom photos. Digital zooms in all cameras are nothing but worthless parlor tricks. (And if you think you might not need a 10x zoom for the photos you take, you may want to wait for the DX7630 that is coming out later this year. It has some outstanding features, but only a 3x optical zoom.) The DX6490 also comes with a dock, which is just very appealing to some of us. It has a Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon lens--and do remember the maxim: "A camera is only as good as its lens." The lens cap is lousy, but that's a small matter to me. It uses the compact SD or MMC memory cards. My 128MB Kodak card, with a 5 year warranty, will hold 96-280 photos! You just pop it in the camera, forget about it, and never have to buy film again! (What is there to complain about that???) The camera also uses a Li-Ion battery, which has never run out on me, and I don't do anything to save battery power. And it can be recharged at least 300 times. The Kodak EasyShare software has got to be the easiest and most useful photo software on the market. You create folder names and list e-mail addresses on your computer with the software, and then download them into the camera; then, you can mark photos before or after you take them with addresses or folder names, and as soon as you put the camera back on the dock, the photos go into the correct folders, or are ready to be e-mailed to who you want them to go to! E-mailing is simple. You can also e-mail videos, but no one I know has a ISP who will accept them! Ordering prints of your photos online is also simple, as well as editing the pictures. You can even do fun things like turn your photos into comic book pages or coloring book pages. Printing photos at home and burning them to CDs has also been no problem at all for me with XP on a Dell. The Kodak software instantly recognizes my Iomega CD burner and my HP printer, and controls the whole process. I don't even need to use the Iomega or HP software. I can burn hundreds of photos on a Verbatim DataLifePlus CD is less than 5 minutes. You just choose the photos and choose the burn speed. And printing turned out to be much easier than I thought. You just pick your photo, pick the size you want, and pick the paper. There are 3 choices of paper--Kodak Ultima, Kodak Premium and Other. When you choose Other, it tells you you can't use any other paper. Nonsense! How would the software know what paper you have in your printer? I printed a nice shot last night on HP paper; I just chose Kodak Premium paper as my choice. If you're using thick paper like 10 mil., just choose Kodak Ultima. I am using Kodak Ultima, too--I highly recommend it, but use what paper you want. My prints are beautiful, my photos are beautiful, my CDs look like something that would cost a whole lot more if I had to pay someone to burn them. The Kodak DX6490 has changed my life! It's added a lot more fun and creativity to it. And anyone who thinks Kodak does not make some outstanding digital cameras is living in the past, and choosing to do so! Look at this camera! And go to Kodak.com and look at the DX7630!
Rating: 
Summary: Great camera
Review: Have had this camera for about 3 months now. Have taken over 500 photos with it. I'm very happy with the picture quality. I have my prints printed thru Ofoto, a Kodak company. Prints are very clear and crisp. Camera is easy to use. Software and uploading on the camera dock are all very user friendly. My favorite things about this camera are the large LCD screen and the 10X zoom. I'm no pro so I definitely haven't used every feature...most shots I've taken have been in Auto mode or the Sport/Action. I've taken a few with the Landscape and Portrait modes. Flash is great - pictures come out fine in low light. I really don't have any complaints about this camera except for maybe the delay in between shots. I've tried the burst mode and the pictures don't come out as clear. I like the large size of the camera. I've taken pictures on friend's cameras that are the size of an Altoids tin and b/c it was so light in weight my hand shook each time I snapped a picture causing the shot to be all blurry. I think a camera needs a little size and weight to it. Rarely do I get blurry shots with this camera. I definitely recommend this camera - it's worth every penny!
Rating:
Summary: Hands-down jewel of a camera.
Review: The 6490 is a compact jewel of a camera that will be simple enough for the beginner and robust enough for the serious craftsperson. It sports a wonderful 10X optical zoom and multiple focusing options. There is no manual focus, but the autofocus is quite accurate and quick. Color rendition is the best I have seen. It outdoes my Nikon 4500 in color accuracy. The built-in flash produces beautiful skin tones with none of the frequent blue or cyan casts so often seen in digital cameras. Though 4 megapixels isn't the maximum now, this is the best under $500 camera model I have found. I own a Canon 3 megapixel camera, the Kodak 3400, the Kodak 5000, and the Nikon 4500 cameras. The Kodak 6490 has quickly become my camera of choice. My only quibble is that it uses SD cards and I have gigabytes in Compact Flash cards. But, even though I have to buy new cards, this was a worthwile purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera, Easy to Use!
Review: This Kodak DX 6490 is my 5th Digital camera; my 3rd Kodak. I have had it for over a month now. I like the sharp pictures, the ease of use, the 10X Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon optical zoom lens and the large 2.2" display. I did have to look around for a case to fit this size camera, but there are several out there, including a $9.99 Wal-Mart large camera case that I'm using. The camera is small, (about 15 oz) but not exactly pocket size. (It will fit in a large loose pocket though). The large display makes is easy to show off a picture to family and friends. Pictures can be tagged for instant emailing. Even an email data base can be stored on the camera. The lens cap is attached, not easy to lose as with some other cameras. There is one other really cool feature. The camera has an auto-orientation feature that rotates the pictures if you take a vertical shot. I love this feature; instantly the picture appears correctly oriented on the display! For a gadget freak like me, that's great to show off. Every menu item has text explaining how to use the setting. This is great for novices and can be turned off once you know the settings. The modes are: automatic, sport, portrait, night, landscape, close-up, program (aperture priority, shutter priority) and manual. The pictures are mostly very clear and the colors are great. I take a lot of cat pictures and as another reviewer pointed out; you can see individual hairs on your cat! The zoom is fantastic, the best I've seen in a digital camera. The flash is adequate for close range; most digital cameras don't take great indoor pictures beyond 10 feet unless the room light is bright. There is an external flash attachment. Outdoors the pictures are wonderful, even with the zoom. The dock is good for novices; I would prefer just a cord for recharging. I use Windows XP and I prefer to remove the memory card and download the pictures with a card reader. Either way there is flexibility with this camera. There is a slight 2-3 second delay between pictures, but it's not bad. A burst mode is available that can take 6 sequential pictures. I don't use the easy share software; again if you use Windows XP it will handle your pictures. There is some occasional red eye with this camera, but not much. All digital cameras seem to have it. I returned my previous Olympus camera because every picture I took seemed to have red eye. I use Photoshop Elements to fix red eye, crop and fix any contrast and brightness. Rarely do I have to adjust the contrast with this camera. My only complaints would be the battery and the shape of the camera. Only one time the battery ran out. Usually it will take hundreds of pictures. I will probably buy a separate battery for emergency; I take a lot of pictures. Holding the camera does take some getting used; now I now find it easy to hold, it's just the 10X lens protrudes more than a 3X lens. Buy this!
Rating: 
Summary: SERIOUS DOUBTS ??
Review: I HAVE SERIOUS DOUBTS ABOUT MY SELECTION OF THIS CAMERA AND WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU CONSIDER OTHER ALTERNATIVES. TO QUOTE A KODAK REPRESENTATIVE AT "CAMERA CORNER", ONE OF THE LARGEST KODAK DEALERSHIPS IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA: "SIR, I DON'T MEAN TO BE RUDE - YES, KODAK IS AN OLD COMPANY, BUT IS IS NO LONGER REPUTABLE. FOR MANY YEARS THEY HAVE ONLY MADE CHEAP CAMERAS AND THE 6490 IS NO EXCEPTION. YOU HAVE ALREADY FOUND TWO THINGS THEY OVERLOOKED (FILTER ATTACHMENT AND LENS HOOD), AND THERE ARE OTHERS." THIS COMMENT IS FROM A RETAIL OUTLET THAT WAS FEATURING THE 6490 IN NEWSPAPER AND WINDOW ADS FOR $990AU($760US). THEY WERE THE 20TH+ KODAK DEALERSHIP I HAD SPOKEN TO IN NANJING, SHANGHAI, KUALA LUMPUR, SINGAPORE AND SYDNEY IN AN EFFORT TO FIND A FILTER ADAPTOR AND LENS HOOD FOR "A PROFESSIONAL QUALITY" (KODAK'S WORDS) CAMERA. NONE OF THE 20+ DEALERS HAD ANYTHING POSITIVE TO SAY ABOUT THE CAMERA, AND EACH TOLD ME THE HOOD AND FILTER ATTACHMENT WERE EITHER NOT AVAILABLE OR SPECIAL ORDER ITEMS. EVEN "CAMERA CORNER" TOLD ME THE ACCESSORIES WERE AVAILABLE, THEN BACKED-OFF WHEN I ASKED THE PRICE AND DELIVERY TIME.
I E-MAILED KODAK ABOUT THE NEGATIVE ATTITUDES OF THEIR DEALERS AND ASK ABOUT THE HOOD AND FILTER ATTACHMENT. THEY CHOOSE TO IGNORE THE INQUIRY ABOUT THEIR DEALERS' NEGATIVE ATTITUDES AND SAID THERE WERE NO PLANS TO OFFER THE ACCESSORIES, AND GAVE NO SUGGESTIONS FOR A GENERIC ALTERNATIVE. A WEEK LATER, A SECND E-MAIL FROM KODAK STATED THAT THE ACCESSORIES WOULD BE AVAILABLE IN THE 1ST QUARTER, BUT DIDN'T SPECIFY WHICH YEAR.
I HAD PURCHASED THE CAMERA IN PREPARATION FOR AN UPCOMING TWO-MONTH TREKKING TRIP TO TIBET, WITH THE INTENT OF REPLACING A PENTAX-SLR AND LEICA-MINA WITH A SINGLE LIGHT-WEIGHT DIGITAL ZOOM. AFTER ENCOUNTERING THE 20+ DEALERS' NEGATIVE ATTITUDES ABOUT THE CAMERA, I HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT OTHER FEATURES OR QUALITY-CONTROL ITEMS WERE OVERLOOKED BY THE JAPAN-DESIGNED/CHINA-MADE/USA-MARKETED TEAM THAT MIGHT CAUSE MALFUNCTION OF THE CAMERA AND/OR LOSS OF PHOTOGRAPHS.
I WOULD APPRECIATE RECEIVING ANY INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER'S EXPERIENCES CONCERNING THE CAPABILITIES AND RELIABILITY OF THE 6490 BEFORE I DEPART FOR TIBET IN JUNE04.
THANKS IN ADVANCE: col_mac58@hotmail.com
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