Kodak Z885

Reviewed July 2007

Ergonomics

The Z885 is the newest addition to Kodak's EasyShare Z line, cameras that offer more powerful optical zooms. The Z885, an 8.1 megapixel model, is equipped with a 5X optical zoom and a 2.5-inch monitor.

The top of the Z885 supports five controls. Starting on the left, three controls are grouped together, and the first elongated button on the left controls the Self-timer and Burst modes:

Self-timer allows selecting a delay for the shutter release: 10 seconds, 2 seconds, or a double Self-timer that captures one photo after a 10-second delay and then another 8 seconds later.

	First Burst: the camera takes up to five photos while the shutter button is pressed.
	Last Burst: the camera captures up to 30 photos, but only records the last four photos.

The similarly shaped button on the right controls the Flash modes:

Four modes are available: Auto, Fill-in flash, Red-eye, which uses pre-flashes to cause the subjects pupils to contract and minimize the likelihood of the red-eye effect, and Off.

The small round button further to the right is the Power Switch. When the camera is powered on, a small blue LED lights up next to it and also serves as a position indicator for the Mode Dial that surrounds the two-stage Shutter Release.

The Mode Dial has seven positions:

Digital Image Stabilization: this modes serves to minimize the impact of movement — be it the subject's or the photographer's — on the image so as to obtain as sharp an image as possible. The mode automatically increases CCD sensitivity, up to a maximum of 3200 ISO, so as to use the faster shutter speed as possible.

	Video allows capturing movies in MOV (QuickTime) format with mono sound at either one of two image sizes: 640 x 480 pixels at 28 frames per second 320 x 240 pixels at 29 frames per second. During the recording the optical zoom remains useable, and the white balance and exposure are adjusted automatically as needed. If the auto focus is set to Continuous, focus is adjusted automatically as well.
	The final position on the Mode Dial is dedicated to playback of Favorite images, a mode that allows reviewing only those images that have been tagged as "Favorite" causing a small size copy of the original image to be made and stored in a special folder in the camera's internal memory.

The remaining external controls of the Z885 are on the back and to the right of the 2.5 inch (6.3 cm) 115,000 pixel monitor. Above the screen, a small LED lights up green when the camera has achieved focus, or blinks orange while the flash is charging, becoming solid when the flash is ready.

At the top right of the camera's back is the Zoom Control. In addition, the control also serves to zoom into an image under review, up to 8X, when pressed on the T side, or see captured images as an index sheet on the monitor with 9 thumbnails on each screen.

Directly below the Zoom control are two elongated buttons. The one at the top serves to Delete the image under review, or all the still images in memory, or all the videos in memory, depending on the option selected from the options overlaid on the image when the button is pressed.

The button below, , controls the information superimposed on the image. In the capture modes, the button allows adding a real-time histogram, displaying detailed information on camera settings, or even removing all superimposed information from the image with the exception of the AF brackets.

In the Playback mode, the button operates the same way, alternating the level of information superimposed on the display, of clearing all information about the image off the screen altogether.

Next is the the 4-direction control serves to modify some camera settings — depending on the shooting mode — that are shown in yellow on the monitor. Using the right and left arrows, each setting can be selected in turn, and modified using the up and down arrows directly on the monitor, which avoids having to enter the menu. Control is provided over:

• The capture mode: Program or Manual when the mode dial is set to the P/M position.
• The aperture and the shutter speed when the Manual mode is used.
• Exposure Compensation when the camera is set to the Program mode.
• ISO Sensitivity when the Program or Manual modes are used, providing a sensitivity range of: 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 or 3200 ISO. Moreover, when the image size is set to 2.2 MP or less, it is possible to access sensitivities of 6400 and 8000 ISO.
• Focus Mode:
  • AF: the camera automatically focuses from 60 cm (2 ft) to infinity when set to the wide angle end, and from 90 cm (3 ft) to infinity at the telephoto end.
  • Macro: allows the camera to focus from 20 to 70 cm (7.9 to 27.3 in.) at the wide angle end, and 50 cm to 1 m (1.6 to 3.3 ft) at the telephoto end.
  • Landscape: locks the focus to infinity, which offers an in-focus zone that covers from 10 m (32.8 ft) to infinity.
  • Manual: allows setting the focus manually using the up and down arrows of the 4-direction control.

In addition, the 4-direction control serves to navigate the menus and review images while the OK button at its centre serves to confirm selections.

Three additional buttons are positioned below the 4-direction control.

The menu button displays the menu related to the camera's current mode (see the Characteristics section of the review for more detail).

Beneath, the review button starts the Playback mode and, unlike the Favorites mode dial position, allows reviewing all the images stored in memory or on a memory card.

And on the right, the Share button puts the camera in the Playback mode and displays the last captured image along with a menu superimposed on it that allows selecting how the image will be used (see the Characteristics section of the review for more detail).

The Kodak EasyShare Z885 offers a good in-hand feel and its controls, of which there are few, are easily mastered. The camera reacts quickly to its controls, but requires approximately two seconds to power up and be ready to shoot.

Although it is a camera that is priced economically, it is regrettable that its monitor offers only an average resolution, producing a rather coarse image which often precludes ascertaining the sharpness of a just-captured image.