By Matthew Henry
SYDNEY: Kodak today released the first digital still camera on the market to incorporate Bluetooth wireless technology for sharing images between devices and for printing wirelessly.
The Kodak Easyshare V610 (RRP $749) is the company’s second generation Retina Dual Lens model, and according to Kodak, the first mass produced camera to ship with built-in Bluetooth.
The V610 features 6.0 megapixel image resolution and Kodak’s dual lens system to enable 38mm wide-angle shooting and up to 10x optical zoom in a compact camera body.
Kodak claims the V610 is also the world’s smallest digital still camera with a 10x optical zoom – a title recently claimed by Panasonic with its Lumix DMC-TZ1.
According to Kodak director of innovation and advanced development – digital capture, Peter Labaziewicz, who invented the world’s first dual lens digital camera two years ago, using two lenses is the most space efficient way to fit a 10x optical zoom lens in a compact camera while maintaining wide-angle capability.
“This is the only pocketable 10x optical zoom camera in the world,” Labaziewicz told current.com.au.
“(Panasonic) launched about a month before us, but this is about half the size. It is not just millimetres smaller, it is half the volume.”
The V610 is slightly larger than its predecessor the V570, but the inclusion of the 10x optical zoom and Bluetooth make the model more versatile. Built-in Bluetooth allows users to transfer images directly to a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone or laptop, or print from a Bluetooth printer from up to 30 feet away.
Last year Kodak revealed the world’s first digital still camera with Wi-fi technology, which enables users to upload images to the internet for sharing with friends and relatives.