Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS review

Features
Although the 12x zoom -- with its 35mm equivalent maximum of 430mm -- is impressive, zooming in and out is something of a chore. The screen loses focus entirely when the zoom is in motion.

Zooming is controlled by a rocker switch, which isn't as responsive or as fast as we'd like, and moves in annoying increments. We'd prefer it to be controlled by an SLR-style manual ring on the lens itself but these are rare on superzooms not made by Panasonic. The manual focus is similarly unwieldy, controlled by the click-pad and somehow even less fluid than the zoom rocker.

The Z712 IS has a remarkable 12x zoom but the camera is slow to process its shots

The 'IS' in Z712 IS stands for 'image stabilisation', essential on cameras with such long lenses that magnify camera shake. This gives you two or three stops of exposure when pushing the telephoto to its limit.

One feature we'd like to see more often is an orientation sensor. This senses whether you are holding the camera in portrait or landscape position and rotates the image accordingly. While this clever feature cuts down on your image processing time, it does unfortunately shrink the images you see on the screen in playback mode, making reviewing tricky.

Another interesting feature is a panoramic mode. This allows you to take a number of pictures and then have the camera stitch them together. It takes a while to process the final image but the results are impressive -- ideal for holiday landscapes.

Menus are simple and easy to navigate, as most of the functions are controlled by dedicated buttons. This gives a satisfying sense of control, cutting down on the menu-sifting inherent in compact design. Shooting options are easily selected and altered with a pleasingly zippy thumb wheel on the camera's shoulder.

Performance
The Z712 IS is faster than most superzooms, which still isn't exactly blistering. When you trip the spring-loaded power switch, it fires up in a gratifying 1.5 seconds. The autofocus is acceptably quick to lock on to subjects but after all this, the camera is let down by its processor. After four or five shots the Z712 IS tends to lock up for a couple of seconds while buffering pictures. Even in continuous mode there are regular pauses to process.

Image quality
Starting at ISO 64 is good, as images are sharp and entirely noise-free at this setting. Noise begins to show up at ISO 400. Images are substandard at ISO 800 and unusable at ISO 1,600. Image quality at the lower speeds is excellent, with the Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon lens showing hardly no distortion or softening at the corners.

The portrait preset was disappointing, softening up images and showing pale colours. This was especially a problem when image compression adds artefacts to the picture as it tries to squash file sizes. The automatic mode is a better bet.

Nevertheless, for less than £200 there is plenty to like about a camera with a zoom this size and decent image stabilisation.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday