Kodak DX6490 Review

Record Mode Screens & Menus

When you half-press the shutter to achieve the focus and exposure lock, the AF target marks will turn red and show what area it is focusing on and the aperture, shutter speed and the zoom setting will be displayed across the top. If the focus is locked there will be a "green dot" displayed, if not it will be red and will indicate either focus or exposure failure.

Rotate the Mode Dial to select one of the recording modes: Automatic, Sports, Portrait, Night, Video or PASM (Program AE, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual).

Using one of the PASM modes (Manual shown here) gives you access to a wide range of exposure and menu (see below) options for those that want more manual control over the image capturing process.

This screen shows the various aperture settings available in the PASM mode. You change aperture values with the Jog Dial. You can also override the metering +/-2.0EV, select an ISO speed, white balance preset, metering mode, focus mode or color mode.

This screen shows some of the shutter speed settings available in the PASM mode. You change the values with the Jog Dial.

MENU options in PASM mode:

Image Storage

Picture Quality - Best***, Best(3:2)***, Better**, Good*

White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Tungsten or Fluorescent

ISO Speed - Auto (80-200), 80, 100, 200, 400 or 800 (only in Good quality)

Color - Saturated Color, Natural Color, B&W or Sepia

Exposure Metering - Multi-Pattern, Center-weighted, Center Spot

Focus Zone - Multi-zone, Center-zone

Sharpness - Standard, Sharp, Soft

Reset - Reset to default

Set Album - Select an image folder

Date Stamp - Off, YYYY MM DD, MM DD YYYY, DD MM YYYY (overlay date stamp in lower right hand corner of picture)

Orientation Sensor - Auto rotation of portrait mode images

Setup Menu - Enter SETUP menu

You can record 320 x 240 motion video at 15fps with audio. The length of the movies is dependant on available space on your memory card. You can select a maximum clip length of 5, 15 or 30 seconds if desired. The optical zoom can be preset before recording but not during.