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Kodak EasyShare DX6490
Camera Controls & Layout
Probably the most obvious thing about this camera is its 38-380mm Equivalent (10x Optical Zoom) Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon Lens. The lens is not threaded, and there is no lens adapter ring available for filters or additional lenses. There is a lens cap (and a tether to secure it to the camera) to protect the lens. Something worth mentioning here is that the strap is long enough to allow the camera to be turned on /off with the lens cap in place without harming the camera. But be warned, the tether is not so long that it is impossible for it to keep the lens from extending. It has happened to me a few times during testing, so be very careful.    Directly above the lens there is the hybrid autofocus sensor, which helps the camera to focus in low-light situations. I've found that the autofocus sensor does its job extremely well. The camera is able to focus in even the darkest shots, and it focuses fast at that. To the left of the hybrid autofocus sensor is the microphone. Further to the left of the microphone is the jog dial, which is used for making adjustments in PASM mode, as well as to adjust exposure compensation during normal shooting. Below the jog dial is the finger grip, which is a sort of rubber, but doesn't actually give as good of a grip as I would have liked. It might help if it was just a tiny bit larger!  If you continue around the camera in the same direction, you will see the SD/MMC memory card slot. The door seems pretty sturdy.  Round the corner and the first thing you'll notice is the huge 2.2" LCD, and the EVF. We'll talk more about these later... On the left side of the EVF is a diopter correction knob, to help focus on the image it is displaying. Above the top left corner of the LCD there is a small button labeled "EVF/LCD,' which will let you toggle between the EVF & LCD.   To the right of the EVF you will see the zoom controller. It takes the camera just around 2 seconds to go from full wide angle to full telephoto (10x, no digital zoom). The great thing about the zoom controller is that it has a LOT of steps between full wide angle and full telephoto (at least 50! yes, I actually counted). There are also two zooming speeds. If you slightly push the controller towards wide or telephoto it will move slowly, and if you push it all the way in either direction, it will zoom at full-speed.  The first button under the zoom controller is the "i' button, which may not do all that you might expect. What it does do is toggle the information on the LCD / EVF on or off. What I was hoping it would do (but it doesn't), is display information about shots you have taken when reviewing them on the camera. Oh well. Directly under this button is the "share' button. The share button lets you mark pictures to be printed, emailed, or as a favorite for retrieving later.  Under the share button is the Mode Dial. I've seen complaints of the mode dial being to easy to move accidentally in other various reviews, but I didn't have any problems with this myself (I didn't have a camera bag to put it in, either though! which is where most people found themselves accidentally turning the camera on). In the middle of the mode dial is the four-way controller, which is used for navigating menus. The mode dial gives you access to all of the following modes:
 Under the model dial you will find three buttons: "delete,' "menu' & "review.' The delete button allows you to unlock the deepest mysteries of the universe! Of course, it doesn't really do that, it deletes images silly. The menu button is another obvious one, but what it brings up will slightly differ depending on whether you are in Movie mode, Auto mode (or sports / portrait / night), or PASM mode. The review button will let you check the movies and images you have taken, and while reviewing you may delete any (or all) images / movies with, you guessed it, the delete button.  If you continue around the camera you will find 2 rubber flaps covering the I/O ports. The top one is a flash sync port (for external flash), which is nice to see on a sub $500 digital camera. Below that you will find the DC IN, USB, and A/V OUT ports. Worth mentioning here is that this camera uses a USB 2.0 interface, which is MUCH faster than the USB 1.1 interface you still see on many digital cameras today.  Moving onward to the top of the camera, you will find the shutter button, the speaker, pop-up flash + release switch. Also on the top of the camera are the Drive, Focus, and Flash buttons. The drive button lets you select self-timer or burst shot mode (up to 6 pictures @ 3 frames per second). The Focus buttons lets you select macro or infinity. The flash button lets you toggle between auto, fill, red-eye reduction, and flash off.  On the underside of the camera you will find the Lithium-Ion battery compartment, the tripod mount, and the Dock connector. 
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Looks Page 3: Camera Controls & Layout Page 4: LCD Screen & EVF Page 5: Features & Included Software Page 6: Camera Dock 6000 & Printer Dock 6000 Page 7: Test Shots Page 8: Pictures of DX6490 Page 9: Overview & Conclusion 
Related Reviews Digital Cameras September 23, 2004
Digital Cameras October 14, 2003
Add Comment
2 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Guest
on May 21, 2004 - 8:55 pm Thanks for the great review. You've answered about any question I could have asked...and did it very well. FYI: Since your writing, Kodak has come out with a lens adapter and wide angle lens as well as a couple of filters. http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-pa... Thanks again, John Gordon jhngordon@direcway.com 2 - Posted by
shafi
on June 29, 2004 - 1:42 pm I am very very happy with the performance of the DX 4690. The results of the same can be viewesd at http://www.rabia.name
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