The 7.1-megapixel Kodak EasyShare V705, a new addition to the company's series of dual lens digital cameras, debuted in August 2006 as the world’s smallest ultra-wide angle digital camera. It is only 0.8-inch thick and carries a 23mm wide angle lens. With 22 scene modes and limited manual control, this digital camera is meant to give point-and-shooters a little more width – and zoom. The Kodak V705 had an initial retail price of $349, but it currently sells for about $275 online.
The most interesting feature on the camera is the lens system. Kodak's Retina technology pairs two lenses which combine to create 5x zoom. The top lens is the ultra-wide 23mm lens and is not a zoom lens. The bottom lens is a standard 3x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 39-117mm (35mm equivalent). Kodak claims that the 23-117mm range translates to a 5x zoom, but this can be misleading.
There is a gap between the 23mm lens and the 39mm lens and it shows; there is a big jump when you zoom through that portion of the range. This jump is most noticeable in the Movie mode, and is accompanied by an also frustrating electronic noise that's audible when zooming out. The end of the zoom range isn’t as far for what a 5x zoom should be, so it’s a little disappointing. The Canon SD700 IS has a 4x optical zoom lens that reaches much farther than the Kodak.
The Kodak V705’s 2.5-inch LCD screen delivers nice results with its 230,000 pixels. The smooth resolution and wide viewing angle make for a good viewing platform. This is important since the camera lacks an optical viewfinder.
The thin flash unit is located in the top right corner of the front – right where the left fingers wrap around the camera. The flash isn’t very powerful to begin with, but it will be even less effective when your fingers are blocking it.
After extensive testing on the Kodak EasyShare V705, we determined that it isn’t very effective in capturing detail. Colors aren’t very accurate either, but at least pictures are focused and clear in good lighting. When photographing in low light, pictures look garbled and the camera sometimes has trouble focusing.
The V705 has a distinct rectangular shape with its 4 x 2 x 0.8-inch measurements and comes in three colors: Silver Essence, Midnight Black, and Absolute Pink. The Casio V7 is an inch thick and claims to be the smallest camera with a 7x optical zoom lens; it reaches much farther than the V705 but is fatter. The trendy Kodak camera has an interesting e-mail feature that stores up to 30 e-mail addresses and automatically sends selected photos when connected to a computer. If you need to e-mail pictures immediately, the Bluetooth-enabled Kodak V610 might be a better choice.
Earlier EasyShare cameras had a different twist on this feature and would only allow the e-mail addresses to be changed when the camera was hooked up to the included Kodak EasyShare Software. The new V705 allows you to edit e-mails directly in the camera. Images can be printed directly from the camera too since it includes compatibility to PictBridge and ImageLink systems.
In the end, the Kodak EasyShare V705 is a very good-looking camera that appeals to non-traditional consumers with its dual lens look. Unfortunately, it doesn’t perform well, and at $349, it is much too expensive.
