25 October 2006 13:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Following on from the V570 Kodak has announced the launch of the V705, a model that takes the same form factor as the previous model, but adds 7.0 megapixels rather than 5 into the mix.

Like before, the idea behind the camera is that you have two lenses, one for wide angle shots and the second for regular landscape and portrait shots.

The first lens offers a wide-angle 23mm lens, while the second offers 39-117mm equivalent in a 35mm camera. The ultra-wide angle lens coupled with its 3X optical zoom lens produces a total 5X optical zoom range.

As before, the camera features two Kodak Retina lenses, as well as, two 7.0MP sensors, and incorporates anti-blur technology as well as Perfect Touch technology.

Like the V570, once you get behind the camera you wouldn’t know any difference. There aren't two optical viewfinders and Kodak has created software that seamlessly switches between the two lenses as you zoom in and out using the standard zoom button.

One lens works as the wide angle option while the other features an optical zoom range. Other features include 22 scene and three colour modes, and VGA video recording at 30fps with sound.

Get past the double lens talking point and the camera has been bumped from the 5 megapixel sensor in the V570 to a 7 megapixel sensor here in the V705. It still features the same large 2.5-inch LCD screen on the rear, 22 scene modes for finding the perfect mode for the shot at hand and an even more disappointing 32MB of internal memory and an SD card slot for additional storage.

Unlike the V550, the V705 doesn't come with a docking station in the dock instead opting for a small dongle that allows you to connect a USB cable straight to the camera. While its much better than when travelling, Kodak users that have gotten use to a desktop dock will feel something is missing.

As for image quality the V705 perfoms well, although the extra megapixel count does start to show a touch more noise over its 5 megapixel brethren.

Like the V570 the V705s flash had a tendency to over-bleach the subject, but this can be easily fixed by either not using the flash or reducing the exposure setting to compensate. However images reproduced skin tones and colours well. We especially liked the Macro mode (see images).

Verdict

When Kodak first launched this form factor almost a year ago we must admit we had trouble grasping whether or not it was a gimmick or not. Two models on, including the 10x zoom V610 and it seems that the design and offering is working for Kodak. The inclusion of the wide angle lens is certainly a bonus if you need to take photos within a wide area. A simple refresh of the V570, rather than the ultra zoom V610, the new Kodak EasyShare V705 bumps up the resolution without affecting the image quality by too much.

Score

Review Recap

Made by

Kodak

Price as reviewed

£200

The good

Wide Angle lens, good quality images, large screen

The bad

Larger than most compact digital cameras, flash has tendency to over bleach images

Quick verdict

Like the V570 the V705 offers a solution to the wide angle lens without the baggage of a larger model.

Score

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