Great images combined with a few thoughtful accessories make the Epson PhotoPC 750Z a valued packed camera
– review by James Koponen
[view images]
The Research…
After spending several weeks researching many different cameras, I was still as undecided as the day I began. I continued to miss out on great photo opportunities and forked out the dough for disposable cameras to haul up to the snowboarding trips at California ski resorts. But after mediocre pictures for the nth time, I had to make a decision. Plus, my girlfriend was hounding me about why I couldn’t put as much time into researching getting engaged as into buying a digital camera. I finally gave in — and bought a camera. I ordered the Epson PhotoPC 750Z. It wasn’t a camera I was able to read a review on for it was brand new. But the PhotoPC 700 had great pictures and great reviews. I figured as long as they didn’t regress, I would be okay.
In the Package…
Unpacking the camera revealed some nice surprises. Now this may or may not surprise you depending on whether you have or haven’t read the camera promotion details. In case you haven’t: the camera comes with rechargeable batteries and a charger. If you’re new to the world of digital cameras, take heed, they devour batteries. Make sure you have rechargeable batteries from the get-go. By supplying them with the camera, that’s one less thing for me to have to buy. I was quite pleased. The next thing I saw even before I got to the camera was a nice little camera bag. That was something I hadn’t even thought about. All I can say is, it comes in handy — a lot! I keep the transfer cable in there, the video out cable in there, the lens cleaning tissue in there, and oh yes, even the camera. Speaking of which…
And Now, the Camera…
The 750Z is a good size. It’s a little large for a shirt pocket, but I have no trouble fitting it into my suit coat or leather jacket pocket. The lens cover conveniently attaches to the carrying strap. The buttons and dial are easy to access and the main dial even locks in the ‘off’ position.
Epson’s digital viewfinder works well. I wasn’t aware how well until I played around with the Kodak 210 for a spell. A good viewfinder is a must. Occasionally, I’ve seen pictures look better in the viewfinder than the full size photo. Also, beware of the optical viewfinder. It’s not ‘through the lens’. Which basically means that the little bit of distance from the lens to the viewfinder can make a huge difference when taking pictures. Bottom line is either learn how to compensate for it, or use the digital viewfinder when taking important pictures.
The Functions…
The 750Z has a button called ‘Function’ and ironically enough, it’s rarely used. But the ESC and the SEL buttons are used frequently. The camera offers numerous controls but alas, they can be tedious to use. I’m surprised they don’t offer programmable functions that the user can switch between, but unless I missed something in the instruction manual, that feature is nonexistent. Fortunately, the AUTO mode works quite well.
More Buttons…
Aside from the ‘shoot’ button, there are three buttons on top of the camera that operate the FLASH, SELF TIMER, and the IMAGE QUALITY. The 750Z offers a ‘hypict’ mode to give 1600×1200 resolution, but the CCD only outputs 1280×960. So, you’re not truly getting that high of image quality . In fact, I’d recommend leaving it off. The ‘image saving’ time increases greatly and the image quality takes a big hit. I would say to leave the image interpolating to the software programs. Adobe Photoshop would be my first choice, but other cheaper programs should be able to handle the chore. Even the QuickFix command in Image Expert has about the same effect as the Auto Levels command in Adobe Photoshop.
Included Software…
Transferring pictures does move at a decent speed considering it uses a serial port on the computer. However, keep in mind, you can print straight to one of several of Epson’s printers. The Image Expert program installed quickly and I’ve not had any trouble with it, well, except once. A picture must have gotten corrupted whilst shooting because it froze all transfer activity each time I tried to upload my images. I was reluctant to reformat the memory card because I didn’t want to lose my other images. So, after fiddling with it for a while, I was able to delete the image from the camera and transfer the rest of the batch, but I can’t help wonder what went wrong. Overall, I will say that I have grown quite fond of the Image Expert program. It does its job well.
Little Extras…
Epson thoughtfully includes a handy solar assistance lever which allows sunlight to give the batteries a rest during outdoor shooting. I wasn’t aware how often I’d be using it, but I’m no fan of waiting for batteries to charge. There are a few other little features worth mentioning. The MODE button switches the camera into several shooting modes. One is PANORAMIC. This crops the top and bottom of the image. It doesn’t stretch out the range at all but does allow you to get a better idea of how the panoramic view will look and saves memory card space. No good reason not to use it if you’re sure you’re going to only want the picture as a panorama. Another mode is DIGITAL ZOOM. But again, I feel it’s about useless. Leave the interpolating to the professional software packages. There is also a MACRO mode, and it does help the camera out when shooting closeup images.
Image Quality…
Well, after all, image quality is the bottom line. Overall, I was quite pleased with the results. But I do have a few complaints. At any rate, judge for yourself.
Epson PhotoPC 750Z Images
Final Thoughts…
I will be honest. I may still upgrade to another digital camera in the near future. Not that the 750Z isn’t great. But I would like to do more macro photography and unless things change, the Nikon 950 looks to be the winner there. This camera may be difficult to give up though. But alas, I can’t have two digital camera…or can I?
-James L. Koponen (jamisan@hotmail.com)