Kodak stuffs CMOS sensor into EasyShare C513 point-and-shoot

Here's one straight out of left field. While we were all anxiously affixed on Sony and Canon waiting for either to kick out a CMOS-packin' point-and-shoot camera, along comes Kodak to shake things up. Apparently, those five-megapixel CMOS sensors it had been working on are ready to rock, as the firm's EasyShare C513 includes one along with a 3x optical zoom, 2.4-inch LCD monitor, digital image stabilization, video capture, and in-camera editing functions. Best of all, this entry-level device is priced at just $99, and while this pioneering unit is slated to hit shelves next month, we've got a sneaking suspicious the flood gates are about to bust wide open with CMOS-stuffed pocket cams.

[Andrei Vassiliev @ Jul 24th 2007 10:29AM]

Sweet, good job kodak. I hope they come into my store, as people are always looking for a cheap camera with lots of features. And with a price like that, a extended warranty should be easy to sell!

[Zarniwoop @ Jul 24th 2007 10:36AM]

Can you just feel Canon and Sony quaking in fear of this $99 camera having an impact on them? Me either.

To Kodak's credit, good job on the image stabilization at the $99 price point, but there's not much else to say about it. 3x zoom is pitiful.

[Dan @ Jul 24th 2007 10:40AM]

That's digital stabilization Zarniwoop, which means absolutely nothing. Optical stabilization is the ONLY good stabilizer that is even worth having in a camera.

[Dan @ Jul 24th 2007 10:38AM]

Let's not jump to conclusions till this camera has been accurately reviewed. A Kodak $99 camera can have all kinds of fancy bells and whistles, but it is still a Kodak camera, which the majority of the time means crap. If tests prove the picture quality and noise levels are excellent, I'll be the first to jump in line and order one. But, I'm taking a hard stance here till I see Dpreview, or another good review site get their hands on it.

[Jon Kelly @ Jul 24th 2007 10:40AM]

umm... Kodak is offering this for $79 on their site:
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=11189&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=675
(available in August)

[Rynth @ Jul 24th 2007 10:52AM]

What they said.

Also, I'd like to see how the camera performs, just incase its good.

[Jason @ Jul 24th 2007 10:54AM]

The Kodak site lists it for a mere $80. Also noteworthy: the ISO caps out at 200!!! And that's with "digital IS" in effect :O I guess that should tell us how noisy it's going to be.

[skip @ Jul 24th 2007 11:01AM]

It's entry level. At $80.00 what do you want.

[compubasic @ Jul 24th 2007 12:23PM]

Low ISOs mean less noise/grain. If anything, it'll be nice and grain free, but blurry b/c this thing'll be using long shutter speeds.

[Jason @ Jul 24th 2007 5:10PM]

Low ISO only means less sensitivity; the actual amount of noise varies from camera to camera. The fact that this one tops out at 200 likely means pictures at ISO 100 and above will be nasty looking. So at the very least you have poor low-light capabilities, and it's probable that even the lowest ISO setting will have above average noise. But hey, it's $80! (Personally I'd just take photos with my phone.)

[Ed @ Jul 24th 2007 11:16AM]

I don't know what the big kick is about cmos sensors...They are notoriously noisy and have no low light capabilities what so ever! Sure, they're cheap, but for serious photography, the cmos sensor is junk...but I guess that an $80 camera is certainly not for serious use.
Ed
web/gadget guru

[Todd @ Jul 25th 2007 5:05PM]

Ed - I am not sure where your facts are coming from. The Canon DSLR's are all CMOS based and are known for their high ISO, low noise characteristics.

So there maybe other factors to consider but the CMOS chip is not one of them.

[Tim @ Jul 24th 2007 12:26PM]

ed, meet canon dslr's. or even the nikon d2x.

well designed cmos sensors can sometimes have lower noise characteristics than their similar ccd brethren, but with the advantages of lower power consumption.

[Zarniwoop @ Jul 24th 2007 11:37AM]

Anyone who's going to spend

[Zarniwoop @ Jul 24th 2007 11:39AM]

Whoops, sorry for double post -- I guess you can't use the less-than symbol in a post...

Anyone who's going to spend under $100 on a digital camera isn't going to understand any of the reasons we've all given as to why this camera blows chunks...

"Lookit Maw, this one gots a purdy screen and s'only $79"
"Well yee-haw Cleatus, grab it an' lets git!"

[Jarrett Kaufman @ Jul 24th 2007 12:35PM]

*yawn* more crappy-ass budget Kodak cameras.

Wait, didn't Kodak recently announce they were dropping out of the low-end budget camera market altogether? Not that I believed them since, let's face it, that's their ONLY market, but still... way to do an instant about-face...

[Evan @ Jul 24th 2007 1:09PM]

Arg. I fear this will open the floodgates to more manufacturers putting small CMOS sensors into point-and-shoot camera.

[George McLachlan @ Jul 24th 2007 2:05PM]

Ed wrote that cmos sensors "are notoriously noisy and have no low light capabilities what so ever! Sure, they're cheap, but for serious photography, the cmos sensor is junk"

So why do all the high end DSLRs use them?

[Chris Reddy @ Jul 24th 2007 5:36PM]

FYI - on Kodak's site, it is listed at $79.95!
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=11189&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=6112

[Jenn @ Aug 16th 2007 7:37AM]

I think this is a perfect camara for any one who has a young child who would like a digital camara of there own. My daughter is getting ready to turn 11 and she wants a digital camara real bad, well I for one am not handing over a 200- 300 dollar camara to get drop, kicked, left at a friends or whatever else she can come up with. This camara is perfect for that.