Kodak EasyShare V610 digital camera

The 6.1-megapixel V610 is Kodak’s second camera to sport two built-in lenses (the V570 was the first). The V610 has a 130mm-to-380mm (35mm equivalent) telephoto zoom lens that sits atop a 38mm-to-114mm standard zoom lens. When you’re closing in on a subject, the V610’s standard zoom handles up to 3X magnification; to go beyond that level, the telephoto lens kicks into action, giving you up to the maximum 10X zoom capability.

During testing, my outdoor shots usually came out sharp enough, but I got mixed results when shooting in indoor, low-light settings. It sometimes took clear, colorful photos at maximum zoom, but it occasionally had trouble focusing. And because it lacks image stabilization, even a slight movement produced a blurry shot. Compared with other point-and-shoot cameras, the V610’s images looked less sharp. The pictures were slightly underexposed, too, and white balance was a little off; I noticed a slight greenish cast in some shots.

On the features side, the V610 is impressive. It offers wireless photo transfers via Bluetooth; in-camera photo stitching for panoramic shots; and a 2.8-inch LCD. The bad news: The V610 fared poorly in my battery test, lasting just 148 shots—the lowest result among point-and-shoot models we’ve recently tested.

Macworld’s buying advice

With a long-range 10X optical zoom, Kodak’s EasyShare V610 can bring the farthest subjects into full, detailed view. Unfortunately, this dual-lens camera also has a propensity for blurred photos at its highest zoom levels, plus disappointingly short battery life. What makes this camera shine—its zoom, Bluetooth capabilities, and large LCD screen—may be enough to compensate for its shortcomings.

[ Grace Aquino is a senior associate editor at PC World.]