Kodak reveals EasyShare Z1485 IS point-and-shoot

Kodak's hitting us up with one of the less momentous Photokina moments today by getting official with its EasyShare Z1485 IS. Traces of the cam were spotted a few weeks back, but the outfit chose today to formally introduce it to the world. The point-and-shoot boasts an absurd 14-megapixel sensor, face detection technology, 5x optical zoom with optical image stabilization, ISO up to 6,400 and a 720p movie mode at 30fps. Truthfully, the specs don't look so bad on paper, but are you seriously considering spending three bills on a camera that reeks of 2001 in the design department? Nah, we thought not.

[Via LetsGoDigital]

[andy @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:31PM]

Kodak, no thanks.

[phanbouy @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:31PM]

poor poor Kodak, not Dow Jones listed anymore. you guys still peddling the bottom of the barrel P&Ss?

[Ryan Trevisol @ Sep 23rd 2008 4:31PM]

Indeed. I picked up one of their 8MP mid-level shooters on clearance, it was pure crap. Terrible white balance, slow AF, buried and crippled macro function, little to no manual control, and the worst pictures I've ever seen. My EasyShare DX4900 was better than this.

I returned it and bought a Panasonic LS80 for $50. The sharpness and white balance are the best of any P&S I've used lately.

[whitey @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:43PM]

yeah, boring stuff for sure, I suppose this is what you get when you buy chinon and then tell flextronics to build you some cheap shit.

[JayMonster @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:43PM]

"but are you seriously considering spending three bills on a camera that reeks of 2001 in the design department?"

Even in 2001 most cameras, had more style than this (even Kodak's own). It seems like Kodak isn't even trying anymore.

[Karl Hackswell @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:57PM]

While their P&S's on the upper spectrum are aesthetically pleasing, they disappoint in performance. I owned an 812IS and the pictures came out soft. It just wasnt a good camera.

Returned it to walmart, and bought a Nikon SLR.

[Drew @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:35PM]

It looks nice enough to me... my first thought was this would be a great camera for my grandma, who has been in the market for a new camera for a while... she prefers to hold something a little bigger and the interface on these things is really easy to use. My mom's had an EasyShare for years and she loves it.

[Boynamedsue @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:41PM]

i'm definitely no expert, but isn't there a point where having more megapixels amounts to little because of the smaller and non interchangeable lens?

[JayMonster @ Sep 23rd 2008 9:28PM]

Yes, but in Kodak's case (most of the time) the problem isn't the Carl Zeiss lenses, but lousy (in camera) software and a sensor that is just to plain noisy (again because of too many pixels on a substandard sensor)

[Gunar @ Sep 28th 2008 9:11PM]

I'd just like to say. Go to hell Kodak. I bought an M873. Never again. I, from now on, will only purchase Canon and Sony.

[Ron @ Oct 11th 2008 5:00AM]

Having read some of the comments here on the Kodak Z1485 IS, I'd like to add a few of my own.

I have two Sony DSC-F828 cameras. I have been very happy with them. They have 7 to 1 zoom and capture images at 8 mega pixels.

The through the lens view comes very close to what the camera captures, so you can adjust your settings, get pretty close to what you want and shoot. There is very little noise and the color is great.

One of the pluses with these two cameras, is that with the Sony rechargeable batteries and a 2 gigabyte CFII card, I can capture a huge amount of pictures only changing the batteries once. I've shot over 450 shots using just two batteries in a couple of hours.

Okay enough on these two cameras. I mention what they can do, because they serve me well. The thing is, I don't like lugging them around. If you're going to an amusement park, you don't want to carry around camera with a barrel on it for 14 hours. While these cameras are great, I needed a carry along camera that would fill the bill, most of the way.

I purchased the Z1285 (12 mega byte) IS Kodak camera. I purchased a 16 gigabyte SDHC chip. I purchased rechargeable double AAs. I get very nice photos using this camera. The panorama mode is the best I've seen. I haven't played with that many cameras that have that mode, but the 1650 x 6500 apx (from memory) stitched three picture photos are often so good, I can't spot where photo 1 becomes 2 or photo 2 becomes three. This is one of the nicer features for this camera. When I return home, I can look at a photo that truly does make it seem like I'm still where I took the photo, taking in the full scene.

Another nice feature with this camera is the video mode. Here I can opt to use the 720p mode. This mode provides a 1280 by 720 video that is simply excellent for a small camera. With the 16 gig SCHC chip, I can capture up to eight hours of video. Anotherwords, this camera is fully capable of capturing the whole trip on one chip. The one drawback on the video, is that it is not image stablized. That only works on the still shots. Okay, bummer. I take along a tripod, and I get stunning video with this camera.

I happened to see the Z1285 IS camera on HSN (home shopping network). It was going for $199, and five easy payments. I purchased two. I always get to cameras so I can shoot from two different perspectives at the same time. When the Z1485 IS camera shows up on HSN, I'll be scooping one up.

Folks, I'm not going to make the claim the 12 mega byte shot doesn't have "some" noise in it. The fact is, it does have a little. When you print the photo out, you don't see it. All I can say, is this is one fantastic carry along camera. It's got it's idiosyncrasies like every other camera, but I think it's a great little camera for the bucks, and as a backup camera it's wonderful. As for the panorama or the video, simply amazing.

My brother saw my shots and purchased one the same day.

[Michael @ Oct 12th 2008 11:03PM]

Thanks for the great review Ron. And by the way, the Z1485 IS is being sold at OVC right now for $199. I am currently trying to decide between the Z1458 IS and an Olympus Stylus 1010. I would love to hear from anyone who has ACTUALLY used them both to help me decide.
Blessings,
michael

[gonefishn @ Oct 15th 2008 12:33AM]

I recieved my Z1485 today from QVC and I have an Olympus Stylus 1200. 12 megs to 14megs?, I'm not sure if I even need 14megs I went for the price. I couldn't pass it up at $186. So far the Kodak has nice auto mode functions and I didn't find it noisey so far. It's chunky and nice to hold with one hand, not crazy about not coming with re chargeable batteries. I like the 12meg Olympus and It take great photo's also, weather proof, green back lights but, it's slim and holds better with two hands.
It's a toss up if I'll keep the Z.