Kodak’s EasyShare V610: Point, shoot & share

Point and shoot. Those are the words that camera manufacturers kept in mind when the instamatic was born, especially when targeting the mass market.

While we don’t have to be camera-savvy as a National Geographic photographer when taking pictures, we do want to preserve memories. Thus, the need for user-friendly cameras. Just aim and fire.

Pushing the principle of point and shoot further, digital cameras solved the problem of figuring out what film with what ISO to buy in camera stores. It was unrealistic to expect common people to take the time to understand exposure, film sensitivity and all other photographic geeky terminologies and techniques before they actually hold a camera.

Digital cameras also eliminated the need to take a trip to the camera store to have your pictures developed.

However, even the invention of the digital camera didn’t seem to be enough in this modern age of technology and convenience when you want something done fast. There are people who seem to never have enough time.

Taking pictures is half of the equation. The other half is getting them out of the camera and putting them onto photo paper or into a computer.

Easyshare

In keeping up with its tradition of innovation in the camera world, Kodak recently introduced a pocket-sized digital camera to solve that photo downloading part of the equation.

Meet the Kodak EasyShare V610. The emphasis is on the word "EasyShare." Kodak’s V610 is the younger sibling of the V570 – the world’s first digital camera to use a dual-lens system, which allows the picture-taker to zoom up close to a subject 10 times.

What the V610 sports is Bluetooth, making it the smallest camera that utilizes the technology. This is where the "EasyShare" part comes in.

First of all, for the unfamiliar, think of Bluetooth as a radio transmitter. You can use it to answer a cellphone without that sometimes irritating wire. It also allows you to transfer data back and forth from one device to another.

In the case of transferring pictures from the V610, think of it as an invisible wire.

Since I run a badminton website, Badders Online (www.badderson-line.com), the camera is simply a joy to use. Bluetooth makes it easy for downloading pictures from the camera to my laptop. No more uncoiling and plugging USB cables. All I had to do was plug a Bluetooth radio to my laptop, wait a few seconds for it to activate and I was ready to go.

Note that Kodak put emphasis on the words "easy" and "share." This is the fun part. Bluetooth also enables you to beam photos from the V610 to cellular phones, PDAs and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.

Pictures are snapshots of memorable moments, remember? With the V610, you can take party pictures and later Bluetooth them to your friends’ cellphones right there. Goodbye to the hassle of downloading and e-mailing them.

With the V610, Kodak was able to blend high technology and the point-and-shoot principle.

And in keeping with the user-friendly objective, the V610 comes with easy-to-understand function buttons in the back so you’ll know what to press when you want to review, delete or share pictures, or change camera settings. Easy-to-understand instructions appear in the viewfinder screen in the back, which makes the camera a godsend for those who don’t like reading manuals. Yes, the V610 also comes with a manual for those who insist that reading manuals is a must.

Kodak’s V610 also bridges the principle of point-and-shoot and photographic experience for those who want to take more than just pictures. Press the "scene" button in the back and you will have 22 photographic setting options to choose from to get the most from your pictures depending on the subject you’re shooting – from landscape to sports, from portraits to parties, etc.

I took several test pictures under different conditions – how fast it takes photos of subjects in motion, close up, overcast skies – and found that the V610 holds up pretty well.

Press the "on" button and the V610 takes less than a second to activate. I really like that a lot because I sometimes take pictures of what I call "photographic moments" or picture-perfect subjects usually when I’m on the road. Talk about "Kodak moments."

And, oh, for those of you who miss the ISO days of film and want to reminisce, there’s a setting in the camera for you to squeeze all you can from natural light.

Easyware

Kodak’s V610 comes with a CD that contains computer software that enables you to get the most from your pictures. Simply pop the disc into the drive, run and install it.

What I found a bit of a nuisance was the necessity of registering the software online, although a very understandable request from the manufacturer’s point of view. I almost expected the registration form to ask the theme song of my wife and I.

Another irritant – although I have yet to prove it conclusively – is that the software program appeared to have slowed down my computer when the software’s so-called "Kodak updater agent" was activated to update the program. I deactivated the confounded function when I got fed up. And when I did, my laptop, which runs at 100 Mbps, acted normally again.

However, in fairness, the Kodak camera software is wonderful to use when it comes to enhancing pictures. One click of the "enhance" button and that’s it. There are other software functions if you want to make tweaks in the pictures.

When you’re done with the pictures, just save your changes either into the computer or a disc and you’re done.

Kodak’s V610 actually brings back memories of my first camera, a Kodak Ektra 100 instamatic that used a now-ancient 110 film cartridge. My mother bought me one in 1981 for a high school project.

One vivid memory I have of that camera was the Kodak television commercial of an ordinary Filipino family purchasing their first camera. Of course, the commercial’s focus was the Ektra 100’s user-friendly point-and-shoot principle.

It’s amazing that 25 years later, some things remain unchanged.