Digital Trends

Poor Panasonic. Trying hard to make headlines in the digicam arena with the new 5-megapixel Lumix DMC-TZ1, the “thinnest 10x optical zoom camera available” at 1.58 inches thick Kodak comes along and trumps them with the 6MP EasyShare V610, a dual lens 10x zoom camera that's .9 inches thick. Although it's not a true 10x optical zoom like the TZ1 with its range of 35-350mm (more on this in a bit), Kodak's marketing hype will surely trump our friends in Secaucus, NJ. Life is tough for manufacturers but good for us as they try to leapfrog one another. But enough of business, what about the new $449 EasyShare V610? The new camera is the latest version of the V570, a fascinating 5MP dual lens camera that offered one lens with a 23mm wide angle view and another 3x zoom ranging from 39-117mm (a digital zoom transitioned between the two if you desired or it simply jumped between them if you turned it off). In the case of the dual lens V610, one lens handles 38-114mm and the other 130-380mm. As you zoom through the entire range, there's a definite jump between 114-130mm. And it's pretty annoying. I have to give the marketing folks at Kodak a pat on the back for chutzpah but there really should be an asterisk on the camera. Still the lens does travel between 38-380mm so it is officially a 10x optical zoom.  

Beyond the missing millimeters in the optical zoom range, how does the V610 compare to the 2006 class of digicams? Here's digitaltrend.com's take...