Kodak EasyShare Z915 Digital Camera

Kodak EasyShare Z915 
Digital Camera

Let me first start by saying it is absurd and so trivial that some people feel the need to give a perfectly acceptable digital camera a poor rating because they cannot get their pics from it or because it doesn't come with a full page manual. Frankly, people this dumb don't deserve to even think about handling a digital camera, let alone a computer. It is 2010. Today they have SDHC cards in digital cameras (jpeg compatibility), card readers, and printers (to print out manuals even digital cameras costing 4X this price don't have printed manuals included). Furthermore, if you don't like the application included with the product, don't use it. Nobody's holding a gun to your head. There's lots of other photo application programs ready to accept your photos from this camera. I don't care to dwell on stupidity so I'll move on.


I purchased this camera on an impulse buy. I already have a compact Canon A590, and a megazoom Canon SX20, but needed a compact that had better resolution, and a greater zoom capability but wasn't as large as my megazoom. I wasn't expecting much from this Kodak Z915 and was intending to return it after a few days, but on using it for a week now, I am fixed on keeping it.


The Kodak Z915 weighs approximately 280 grams with an added SDHC card and a lovely pair of Ni-mH batteries. It measures 1.5 inches in depth, 4 inches wide, and 3 inches in height, with a 3 inch lens extension outward when in full zoom. There is a mic pickup on the face, and a small speaker output on the top left of the camera. On the top right they have a small power on/off button, a toggle in/out and snap button, a flash on/off button, and macro and timer buttons as well. The camera looks slightly smaller in person than in pics. The body is made of plastic, as well as the toggle switch. All of which feel kind of cheap. There is a program selection wheel on the top, and a color 2.5 inch LCD screen on the back along with six small function buttons jogging vertically along the lcd screen (delete, menu, info, and toggle camera / playback button). On the side they have a port for a 3 volt in ac to dc adapter, and a mini usb out port.


In terms of selectable modes, they have a scene selection, a panorama option, a setting for "sports", a "smart capture" position for simple automatic point-and-shoot, a video mode, a "program" option (let's you set aperture, iso, flash advance or delay), an "aperture priority" setting, a "shutter priority" option, and a "manual" position. The "smart capture" setting is a straight forward selection for those photo-takers who don't need to mess with settings and lets the camera set them, essentially letting you point and shoot. My favorite option though is the "scene" selection. Kodak has built in 17 settings under "scene" that help maximize your picture quality depending on various environments and lighting conditions. I find my pics turn out a small better than on the "smart capture" mode here with the "scene" choices. The "scene" choices include High ISO (for low light situations), portrait, night portrait, landscape, night landscape, flower (for vivid pics of flowers in bright light), sunset, back-light (for photos where light in behind the subject), candle light, manner / museum (where camera sound and flash are not desired), text (taking photos of documents), beach (bright situations), snow (bright white backgrounds), fireworks (displays of vivid bright night colors), children (playing in bright situations), self-portrait, and stage (for people on stage, less blur, more brightness, and no flash). The camera doesn't have a true wide-angle position, but under the "panorama" setting there is the ability to take a 3 stage set of pics from left to right, or right to left, and the camera binds all 3 pics (or "stitches" them together) for a wide-angle effect pic. This is truly fabulous and I have seen anything like it. I have managed to put some fantastic panoramic pics together of some breathtaking landscapes with this option!


In the "menu" selection, they have 2 options for "capture" and "tool" settings. Here they can fine-tune picture size from 10 MP (4:3), 8.9 MP (3:2), 7.5 MP (16:9), 5.0 MP (4:3), 3.1 MP (4:3), 2.2 MP (3:2), and finally 2.1 MP (16:9). An excellent wide selection of picture resolution choices! Under "tools" they can select the color mode (natural, high color, low color, sepia, and bandw). They can turn on or off the face detection option, set automatic focus to single or continuous, and set the LCD brightness. Additional selections include picture grid, red-eye reduction, date and time stamp, picture stabilization, quick-view, camera sounds, video out (NTSC or PAL), picture storage (memory card, internal 32 mb only, or both using internal as backup for the memory card). They also have language, reset, and format selections as well.


In terms of taking pics and video, I find it is always best to know you are working environment and being able to fine tune the options on the camera for best photo and video quality. Don't get me wrong, the simple "smart capture" mode works fine, but you can squeeze out some brilliantly impressive photos from this small digital cam if you know how to get your settings right. It is something that comes with experimentation and experience. The macro mode works well even though there has been some negative feedback about it here on Amazon. Ideally, anywhere you have bad lighting, the macro focus won't focus, and you'll have bad pics. I have managed to take some neat close-ups of flowers and other things at distances of about 3 inches, but anything closer causes the focus to blur. The video is crisp and sounds decent, but keep in mind it is at 640x480, so don't expect HD quality here. Still, a nice small option for those moments you don't need to miss the "live" moments. The use of a pair of regular AA batteries is excellent. I don't understand why some people don't like using AA batteries? A pair of high-powered Ni-mh batteries will keep this camera jogging for hours under video mode, and lets you take hundreds of photos before needing recharging. and if you are out on the road with no recharger, there is very always somewhere you can go to pick up a set of alkaline for those occasions you need to get back to taking photos quickly. The memory card slot accepts the largest card I have (32 GB) and when you are ready to view your photos is simple to remove and place in my laptop card reader or usb card-reader port on my dvd player.


A couple small things that i do not like include the fact that the LCD is hard to view in bright light and it is resolution is basic, but don't let the pics on the LCD fool you, when you blow them up on your monitor plenty of of them look fabulous.


I have decided to keep this camera. Why? It makes my Canon A590 Powershot pocket cam perform like a dinosaur. The Canon's pics look flat, hazy, and dull compared to the Kodak's. I have taken both to the park and put them head to head. The picture quality (resolution) of the Kodak, zoom capability, and video is that much better than the Canon (I never would have thought that about a Kodak versus a Canon) considering both cameras were released at about the same time (2007/2008). So if you are looking for a VERY versatile pocket cam that takes great pics and lovely video at a price that won't break the bank, I highly recommend this Kodak Z915. I have absolutely no regrets in purchasing it!