Kodak DX6490

At a party last night I was asked about my camera. The couple I was talking to have a large, heavy digital -- the kind that take great pictures on those few occasions when you are willing to lug ten pounds of camera to the photo-op. They are thinking about a somewhat lighter camera and my Kodak DX6490 caught their attention.

I really like the camera. It isn't the smallest camera in the world or the lightest. There are other cameras that have more features, are more convenient or easier to use. But the DX6490 has been a very good compromise for me. It's a couple of years old and I bought it used on eBay. The newer version of the camera has more megapixels and a few other features I like but is quite similar in most respects.

While we were talking about the camera we took a few sample pictures. While demonstrating the use of the LCD screen as a viewfinder I took this photo of my lovely wife. Click on the photos for other sizes including original

Flash photos taken outside in the dark almost always suck. This one is no exception. The meter seems to have been a bit worried about that white shirt and the photo is a bit darker than perfect.

I handed the camera to the lady I was talking to and she took this one. The camera did a nice job of finding the slightly-off-center subject whose blue shirt was less confusing to the metering system.

Below are a couple of photos I took at the NC Zoo on Memorial Day. The photo of the bear in particular shows off the decent 10x optical zoom lens which is one of the best features of the camera. If you are interested click on this link [large file] to the original size version of the bear. Look at the bear's fur and the texture of its nose. Also notice the typical Kodak colors in all the photos -- a tad warm and saturated.





And finally, a photo of our host and hostess at the western-themed party. I have adjusted the exposure, contrast and saturation on this one on my computer. I was standing a bit too far away for the flash and the original was dark. All the other photos are exactly as they came from the camera.