Kodak Easyshare P880 Digital Camera Review

The EasyShare P880 is clearly the most advanced non dSLR camera from Kodak. The camera gives complete photographic freedom to its users, including a manually controlled zoom covering the 24-140mm range. The 8-megapixel images can be also saved in RAW or TIFF formats aside the standard JPEG compression. The P880 is part of the ‘bridge cameras’ as it fills the gap between the digital SLRs and the compact point & shoot cameras. Although it can be successfully used in the Auto mode, the P880 makes use of so much more features dedicated to the advanced photographer.

The lens used on this camera is produced by Schneider-Kreuznach, providing sharp images across all its range. There may be slight barrel distortion at the wide end of the lens, distortion that comes naturally with such zoom lenses but there are no chromatic aberrations and neither any pin cushioning at the telephoto end.

To prevent quality loss due to JPEG compression the camera features both RAW and TIFF formats that have the ability to keep all color information for later processing.
Users might prefer using specialized software like PhotoShop for image editing as the one that comes with the camera is rather limited when it comes to functionality unless the user upgrades it.

At the minimum ISO sensitivity of 50 the images are practically noiseless. The high image quality can be also seen at ISO settings of 100 and even 200. Only when the ISO value goes beyond 400 some noise can be found in the images.

Auto White Balance provides correct colors and the multi-pattern evaluative metering works great with even lighting conditions. Whenever reflective surfaces are part of the scene, some fine exposure compensation tuning can correct the exposure and assure the right brightness of the photo.

The camera comes with a lens hood but this accessory can cause slight vignetting in the corners especially if the photos are taken at the wide end of the lens.

The integrated flash unit can handle distances up to 4 meters when ISO 100 is used. When the situation calls for more lightning power, the photographer can make use of the optional P20 external flash that can self adapt to the camera zoom in the 24-80mm range. More than that, being an external flash, the light coming from a P20 will bounce off the walls and ceiling, yielding very natural photos.

Unlike the digital SLR cameras, the P880 can also record video scenes. The VGA motion pictures are recorded at 30 frames per second and compressed to Motion JPEG format. The camera also features the unique ability to make full use of its optical zoom while shooting the movies. In-camera functions such as trimming, cutting, splicing and merging are also available. The user can extract individual JPEG frames at a 640 x 480 resolution from the video recordings.

The camera has its disadvantages as well, ranging from the very user-unfriendly ON/OFF switch to the average speed auto focus and some lack of accuracy in the colors displayed by both LCD and EVG. Nevertheless the large amount of great functions and qualities totally eclipse these drawbacks.

Recommendation:

The Kodak P880 is certainly not a perfect camera but it’s a worthy option if you are looking for a compact camera that tends towards a digital SLR. The Schneider-Kreuznach zoom lens provides a wide range of focal distances allowing some photographic freedom to its users. The overall image quality is excellent, with a high level of sharp details. The accessories for this camera are accessible from the price point of view. The users can find external flashes, conversion lenses and even printer docks for the P880. All-in-all, this camera from Kodak is a great, fairly-priced option if you want to improve your photographic abilities.

Features:

• 8MP CCD sensor (images up to 3264 x 2448 pixels in resolution)
• 5.2X optical zoom (24-140mm 35mm equivalent) and 2X digital zoom
• Saves photos in RAW, TIFF, JPEG EXIF 2.2 and QuickTime video format
• Video with sound (640 x 480 at 30 fps or 320 x 240 at 30 fps)
• 32MB SD card included, featuring a MM/SD card slot
• Auto, Program, Aperture and Shutter priority, Manual + 17 pre-defined exposure modes
• Multi-pattern, Center-weighted. Spot and selectable zone metering
• Exposure compensation ±2EV (in 0.3EV steps)
• Shutter speeds form 16 seconds to 1/4000 of a second
• ISO sensitivity 50-1600 (auto), 50-400 and 800-1600 at 0.8MP
• Auto + 7 custom White Balance settings
• Multizone, Center-zone + 25 selectable points Auto-Focus system
• 2.5 inch 230,000 pixels LCD
• 273,000 pixels EVF (electronic view-finder)

Accessories:

• Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery and Charger
• USB and audio/video cables
• Lens Hood
• Lens cap with strap
• Neck strap
• EasyShare Software
• Camera insert for optional Printer Docks and Camera Docks