Greetings,

I can appreciate your concern, Hugh, and would like to share on your
observation.

First, the fact that the camera does not have Image Stabilization was not to
reduce cost. Rather, the only camera Kodak offers at this time that includes
stabilization is the P850 12X optical zoom. It was felt that this camera had
an extreme zoom capability that warranted this feature and so it was
included.We offer three others that are the big brother of the Z740 that
have a 10X optical zoom but no stabilization, i.e. DX6490, DX7590, and the
Z7590. The top of the line model Kodak offers (P880) is a 5X optical camera.

If you or anyone excercises good camera handling, you can get great
pictures. At the extreme settings of 10X it is quite important that you use
care in how you hand hold the camera. There are a number of ways to do this
that I will share with you later in this posting. Whether or not you buy the
Kodak (of course I think it your best choice), you should use this
information to your benefit.

As to the card, yes, Kodak cameras will accept a 1 gig card. Also, Kodak
cameras have had burst mode features for a long time. So, it is not a
requirement that you have a larger faster card. Burst will take a series of
pictures and store the images in the camera buffer until it can process them
to the card. If you were to use Burst all the time, then a larger card would
make sense, but not many use this feature all the time. Also, the Kodak
cameras write to the memory card at one speed so the extra features of high
speed might not apply. It may for other devices she may have or get in the
future, so it still may be worthwhile.

Please also know that there could be many reasons why the pictures seem a
bit soft and out of focus which is not just a long lens. To avoid this, if
you have the option, I suggest you place the camera on a table or other
stable surface and use the Self-Timer feature. This will eliminate any
possible camera shake while the picture is taken. Might be a nice accessory
for your Daughter later. There are some nice tripods around that are
lightweight a small.

When you are going to take pictures while holding the camera, a good stance
is important in getting a good picture. Stand with your legs about two feet
apart with your arms close to your sides. Hold the camera comfortably, but
in a way that is not blocking the flash or the meter of the camera. If you
are going to take a picture using the viewfinder, keep this stance and bring
the camera gently to your forehead. View the image with both eyes open if
you are using the viewfinder and compose the picture. When you are ready to
snap the shutter, press the shutter half way to set the cameras features
(shutter, aperture, ISO, etc.) for exposure. When ready to snap the
shutter, do it slowly, yet deliberately, avoiding any jerky motions. Note:
Digital cameras take just a split second longer to capture the picture so
keep your position for just a second longer than you would with a film
camera. This will help you prevent blurring due to removing the camera from
the picture taking stance too soon.

If you are going to use the view-screen to preview your composition, use the
same techniques as noted, but do not hold the camera to your forehead. It
will be a bit more difficult to keep a good stance, as you will not have the
option of steadying the camera against your forehead. So, to limit blur,
lean against a wall, rest your elbows, or use some other object, if
possible. Try to rest your arms on something in front of you. You should
do this anyway if you can to enhance the quality of the image. The object
here, is to make sure you have the support to steady the camera and prevent
camera movement during exposure.

Hope this helps, Hugh, I will be around if you have questions.

Ron Baird
Eastman Kodak Company

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello All;

I was all set to buy the Kodak Z740 (10x Optical Zoom) for my daughter
for Christmas -- the main attraction of course was the 10x optical zoom
lens. I have a rather old DC280 with a 2x optical zoom lens which I
love, and use all the time -- can't imagine what a 10x zoom would be
like.

However, one comment I saw does give me a bit of a concern. It was
mentioned, that too reduce the cost of the Z740, it does not come with
an image stabilizer, which can impact on the sharpness of the picture.

Firstly, I assume that this statement is correct, in as far as the Z740
does not include an image stabilizer, which most longer zoom (5x or
greater) normally do include?

Secondly, on a practical level, how much does this impact on the
quality of the photo? For example, can you *only* get a perfect
picture if you use a tripod, no matter how still you hold the camera?
Is the difficulty directly related the length of the zoom (ie: you
must hold the camera more still at 10x zoom than you would at say 5x
zoom to get the same sharpness)?

As mentioned, the camera is for my daughter, who is not a professional
photographer, or a even a prosumer. However, she would like to take
nice photos that don't look blurry, obviously.

I really like the 10x optical zoom lens, but I am begining to wonder
whether I should drop down to a lower zoom camera that either has an
image stabilizer, or one that doesn't need one?

My price limit is really set at the Z740, so the obvious option of
getting a 10x zoom with an image stabilizer isn't an option at this
time.

Secondly, on Kodak's web-site they recommend using a 512MB SD flash
card. Does this mean that the Z740 will not accept a 1GB SD flash
card, as that is what I was planning on getting. If it does accept a
1GB card, why would I opt to use a 512MB instead of a 1GB?

Also, would the Z740 take advantage of hi-speed SD flash memory or not?
I checked the specs on Kodak's web-site but could not find any mention
of memory speed or access times. If so, what speed memory would I get
to get the best performance from the camera? (ie: 60x, 100x, 133x, 10
MB/s, 15 MB/s, etc....)

For example, I looked on the Kingston memory web-site, and it states
that generally camera's up to and including 5.0 MPs (which the Z740 is)
work fine with the standard SD flash memory.

Camera's higher than 5.0 MPs, SLR cameras, or those that have burst
mode (or continuous) shooting would either benefit, or require the
faster flash memory. The Z740 does have the burst mode option -- would
the burst mode only work if you had faster flash memory or not?

Thanks so much!!

Hugh,