Kodak EasyShare DX7590 5MP Digital Camera with 10X Optical Zoom & Kodak EasyShare Dock 6000 Bundle

Rating:
Summary: Really a great camera, even for beginners
Review: This is my first modern digital camera. Years ago, I had one of the early Apple-branded digital cameras that was more of a novelty than a true camera. I was waiting for both some specific features, a good price for those features, and quality printing at a good price. I feel like with that camera and with digital printing services at places like Costco and Walgreen's, this was the time.

The camera functions great. I'm a basic user, so I'm still exploring some of the awesome features. A biggie for me is the optical zoom. A 10X optical zoom is not very common but really important to get quality prints when you zoom. This camera won't let you down there.

Of course, you'll want to get a memory card for your camera. The camera has 32MB built-in (great for spill-over), but I bought a 512MB card that lets me store over 150 high-quality pictures. Well worth the investment, trust me.

The battery life so far has been really great. Kodak says I can leave the camera in the dock (but I hate leaving things on a trickle charger - I'm old school and have wrecked too many batteries by overcharging), so I only charge as needed. I've gone days (like over the holidays) taking pictures with no need to recharge.

The transfer via the dock is pretty slick - just dock the camera, hit the transfer button, and let it go. I'm using USB 1.1 and it works great. I did buy a memory card reader too (in case I needed pictures off the camera but the camera wasn't available), but so far it's been easier to just use the dock.

The software that comes with the camera is good - but very basic. It allows for basic corrections - red eye, cropping, rotating, brightness, contrast, that sort of thing. I highly recommend getting something else to do heavy-duty editing - like a nice Adobe product. I use Photoshop Elements 3.0 myself.

One cool feature in the Kodak software is the ability to easily upload your pictures to Ofoto.com. I don't use their printing services (Costco & Walgreen's is generally cheaper), but it is a great way to share photos with others (who can then order them if they want) and it's also a great way to archive those photos. Best of all, it's free.

Overall, I've been very pleased with this camera. I've got plenty to learn, but this camera let me get started with taking great pictures immediately.