"Sunlit" Portrait:
(This is my new "Outdoor" Portrait test - read more about it here.)

Reddish color cast and a bright exposure with high contrast. High resolution and good detail though.

• Exposure compensation: +0.5 EV, less than average.
• Contrast/Tone: High contrast, very bright highlights. Half-step EV increments are too big for this shot. (+0.3 EV would have been a better exposure, +0.0 EV was way too dark, but +0.5 EV was too bright.)
• White Balance: Auto and Daylight very similar, reddish.
• Color accuracy: Slight red cast creates purple tints in the blue flowers. Other colors fairly good, considering the color cast.
• Skin tones: Somewhat pink.
• Resolution/sharpness: Pretty good, and good detail definition.
• Shadow detail: Low to moderate, moderate noise
  

To view the entire exposure series from -0.5 to +1.5 EV, see files Z700OUTAM1.HTM through Z700OUTAP3.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Slightly dark (exposure steps are really too large), but great resolution and detail.

• Exposure compensation: None, less than average, but exposure was a little dark as a result.
• Exposure/Tone: Slightly underexposed, but +0.5 EV boost was much too bright. Slightly high contrast with deep shadows.
• Detail: Stronger detail and higher resolution.
• Distortion: Good, zoom lens avoids distortion close-in like this.

To view the entire exposure series from -0.5 to +1.0 EV, see files Z700FACM1.HTM through Z700FACP2.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Normal Flash +1.5 EV

Night Portrait Mode

Underexposure with the flash in the normal setting, very nice results with an exposure boost though. Night Portrait mode performed slightly better, though both have a slight warm cast. (Not unappealing though.)

• Exposure: About right at +1.5 EV, but very dark at the default exposure. Night Portrait mode results in brighter exposure, more even lighting.
• Flash balance with room lighting?: Very good, no harsh blue highlights from the flash.
• Color: Slightly reddish skin tones, dark colors in bouquet.
  

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.5 EV in the normal flash mode, see files Z700INFP0.HTM through Z700INFP3.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Auto White Balance

Incandescent White Balance

Slight color casts with both white balances but much better than average among the cameras I test. Lower than average exposure compensation required.

• Exposure: +0.5 EV adjustment needed, a fair bit lower than average. (Exposure slightly dim, but +1.0 EV too bright.)
• White Balance: Incandescent best, though warm. Auto too reddish.
• Color: Skin tones good, just a little pink, blue flowers a dark and purplish. Reds a little hot, but other colors good. (Pretty good though, given the tough light source.)

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.5 EV, see files Z700INTP0.HTM through Z700INTP3.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

ISO Series:
Noise is moderate at the lower ISO settings, but becomes noticeable at ISO 200, objectionable at ISO 400. ISO 200 shots are a little rough-looking when printed at 8x10 inches, but should be acceptable for most users at 5x7. ISO 400 images are still quite rough at 5x7, are really only usable when printed at 4x6 inches.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Pretty good color, though slightly warm, with high resolution and pretty good detail.

• Sharpness/Detail: Good detail and resolution.
• Sharpness in Corners: Very good, no noticeable softening .
• Color: Auto and Daylight white balances very close, both slightly warm.
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: Moderate, visible in shingle and shaded brick patterns.

High resolution and good detail, average dynamic range.

This image is shot at infinity to test far-field lens performance, and to present a near-infinite range of detail to the camera. NOTE that this image cannot be directly compared to the other "house" shot, which is a poster, shot in the studio.

• Sharpness/Detail: Average for a 4.0-megapixel camera.
• Sharpness in Corners: Very good, much better than average.
• Color: A little dark, and slightly reddish, but good overall.
• Dynamic Range: Average - Just holds onto detail in the highlights, shadow detail is a tad weak though.
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: Little or none in this particular shot.
  
  

Resolution Series:

Color Effects Series:

Color Effects Series
Normal Color	Black & White	Sepia

Lens Zoom Range

A good 5x zoom range.

The Z700's focal length range of 35-175mm equivalents is noticeably better than those of most point & shoot digital cameras. It corresponds to a moderate wide angle to a pretty good telephoto.

	Wide Angle
	5x Telephoto
	4x Digital Telephoto

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Slightly warm color, but still good results. High resolution and strong detail.

• White Balance: Auto best, though slightly warm. Daylight setting reddish.
• Color: Skin tones slightly warm. Faint purple tints in blue robe and background, but good color overall.
• Sharpness/Detail: Very good. (Close to the limits of the poster though.)

Standard Macro Shot

Macro with Flash

A small macro area with great detail. Flash has trouble up close though.

• Minimum Macro Area: 2.44 x 1.83 inches (62 x 46 millimeters), about average.
• Softness in corners?: Some, but less than average. (Most cameras get fairly soft corners in macro mode.)
• Flash performance in macro mode?: Ineffective. Top of frame overexposed, with lens shadow in lower frame.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Slightly dark color, but good overall exposure.

• White balance: Auto best, though slightly warm and yellow. Daylight setting has stronger warm cast.
• Color Accuracy: Pretty good hue accuracy (orange shifted a bit toward yellow, cyan toward blue though), very high saturation, particularly with strong additive primary colors (reds, greens, blues). While not strictly accurate, the high saturation is likely to appeal to consumers, and fortunately, the camera doesn't seem to oversaturate skin tones too much.
• Shadow detail and noise: Very limited detail in the briquettes, with moderate noise.

The images series below duplicate examples of various camera controls we've already covered above. I include them here though, for our more analytically-minded readers, who'd like to see the effect of various camera controls with a well-known target like the MacBeth Color Checker (tm).

ISO Series:

Color Effects Series:

Color Effects Series
Normal Color	Black & White	Sepia

Low-Light Tests

Good low-light performance, though noise is moderately high at higher sensitivities. Good autofocus performance, works to a bit darker than 1/4 foot-candle.

• Exposure limit: 1/16 foot-candle at ISO 400. (About 1/16 as bright as typical city street lighting at night.) 1/8 foot-candle at ISO 200, and 1/4 foot-candle at ISOs 80 and 100.
• Autofocus Limit: Focuses to a bit lower than 1/4 foot-candle. (About a quarter the brightness of typical city night scenes.)
• White Balance: Pretty good.
• Noise Levels: Fairly low at the lower ISOs, but high at ISO 200 and 400, especially at the lower light levels.
• Detail loss to anti-noise processing?: Minimal at 1/4 foot-candle, much stronger at 1/16 foot-candle.
• General Notes: The Kodak Z700 did pretty well in dim lighting. It lacks an autofocus-assist light, but still focuses down to light levels less than 1/4 as bright as typical city night scenes, and could capture well-exposed shots with relatively modest noise levels down to that light level as well. (In our tests, it went all the way down to 1/16 as bright as city street lighting at ISO 400, but with considerable image noise and loss of subject detail. Still, perfectly able to shoot typical outdoor scenes at night.)

(Note: If you'd like to use a light meter to check light levels for subjects you might be interested in shooting, a light level of one foot-candle corresponds to a normal exposure of two seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 100.)

	1 fc 11 lux	1/2 fc 5.5 lux	1/4 fc 2.7 lux	1/8 fc 1.3 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux
ISO 80	4 sec f3.4	8 sec f4.0	8 sec f2.8	8 sec f2.8	8 sec f2.8
ISO 100	3 sec f3.4	6 sec f3.4	8 sec f2.8	8 sec f2.8	8 sec f2.8
ISO 200	1.5 sec f3.4	3 sec f4.0	4 sec f2.8	8 sec f2.8	8 sec f2.8
ISO 400	1/1 sec f3.4	1.5 sec f4.0	2 sec f2.8	6 sec f2.8	8 sec f2.8

Flash Range Test

Bright to about nine feet, then gradually decreasing intensity to 14 feet.

• Flash range at telephoto lens setting: ~10 feet.

8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft	12 ft	13 ft	14 ft
1/125 sec f4.0 ISO 80	1/125 sec f4.0 ISO 80	1/180 sec f4.8 ISO 80	1/180 sec f4.8 ISO 80	1/180 sec f4.9 ISO 80	1/180 sec f4.9 ISO 80	1/180 sec f4.9 ISO 80

ISO-12233 (WG-18) Resolution Test

Average resolution, 1,100 lines of "strong detail." High barrel distortion at wide angle, very little distortion at telephoto. Low to moderate chromatic aberration, very good sharpness in the corners.

• Resolution: 1,100 lines both vertically and horizontally. (You could perhaps argue for 1,150 lines though.)
• Artifacts begin at: ~800 lines.
• Extinction point: ~1,400 lines.
  
  
• Barrel/Pincushion distortion: 1.13 percent barrel at wide angle, 0.2 percent pincushion at telephoto.
• Chromatic Aberration: Moderate and bright at wide angle, lower and less bright at telephoto.
• Corner Sharpness: Very good at wide angle, some softening at telephoto.

Resolution Series, medium focal length

Wide Angle	"Fine" JPEG
2,304 x 1,728	Z700RES2304
2,048 x 1,536	Z700RES2048
1,656 x 1,242	Z700RES1656
1,200 x 900	Z700RES1200

 

Resolution Test, Zoom Series

2,304 x 1,728 (Fine, Wide Angle)	Z700RESW
2,304 x 1,728 (Fine, Telephoto)	Z700REST