Digital Cameras Cheap - Customer reviews - Kodak EasyShare Z1015IS 10MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Manufacturer: Kodak

List Price: $279.95
Our Price: $239.95
You Save: $40 (14%)
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Average Customer Rating: -

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Name: Gumper Van Lier
Location: Athens, GA
Date: 2008-10-05
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Excellent Camera - Great Value
Comment: I recently purchased the Z1015 IS mostly for it's HD video and mega zoom features and I'm pleased with the results. The zoom feature is available while in the video mode which was what I was looking for. The sound is recorded in stereo and is good although it's compressed. Kodak using .MOV (QuickTime codec). The 720p widescreen video is quite impressive and you can film up to 29 minutes, if you have the memory. I find making videos with digital cameras convenient and easier than using a camcorder.
The picture quality is excellent too and the smart capture mode works well. It is true that there is a delay in processing the photos as another reviewer mentioned but this is not a problem for me. There may be a firmware upgrade for this in the near future. You can avoid this by using the program mode according to another reviewer.
The Z1015 IS may be a better value then the lower model Z1012 IS as the Z1015 IS comes with a rechargeable battery and charger. The Z1012 does not. Also the Z1015 has a 3 inch screen compared to 2.5 inch screen for the Z1012. Lastly, the zoom is 15x compared to 12x for the lesser model.
I purchased the Easyshare camera dock which works well with this camera and is very convenient as it's always connected to my computer. It also works as a charger too.
One minor complaint. The screen could be of higher resolution like I've seen on the Panasonic models but that's about it. For the price, this is an excellent camera.
Update (Oct 12, 2008): Kodak has a 1.02 firmware update that addresses the slow processing speed when in Kodac's smart mode. I've updated my camera but don't see any significant difference.
Update (Nov, 2008): Kodak has updated their firmware again with version 1.03. This takes care of the processing delays. A Big improvement.
About the video: This camera does not film with stereo sound although the manual and online user guide shows two microphones. Zoom up on the photo here on Amazon and you will see two holes next to each side of the lense. These are the mic holes. Well, my 1015 comes with only one mic on the right side (if facing the lense). I called Kodak and they confirmed that this model records in mono. They have since updated their manual online but not the user guide. The Z1012 records in stereo but I think the Z1015 has higher quality sound (less compression)than the Z1012. I'm a little disappointed but this camera is excellent and most people should be very pleased with both the photo and video quality.

Name: NoDataMiningAllowed
Location: Ohio
Date: 2008-09-23
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Better Pictures Than Kodak Z1012IS and Fuji S2000HD
Comment: Consumer Reports camera ratings have recently improved as they now match my first hand experience. Several commercial sites are not telling the truth either as the Fuji f50fd received very high ratings but smeared close-up detail of pine trees. Terrible PQ. Now Consumer Reports finally gives the f50fd camera the low rating its always deserved. The same goes for the new Fuji S2000fd - still way too much noise, though I do like the feel of the body.
Actually all these smaller cameras (with their tiny sensors) have visible noise which CR takes pains to list for every point-in-shoot!
The Z1015IS has less than the older Z1012IS. The muted colors of the Z1012 are gone in the Z1015. The blues may be a bit too saturated (update: the camera was probably on High-color). Very naturally sharp with a bit of purple fringing with bright store lights off the central lens axis. No issues otherwise with color fringing. Nice pictures! Menu system is easy to figure out.
A rechargable lithium battery is now included. Kodak Easy Share software is designed for first graders. At least the RAW images can be saved to 8bit TIF format for Noise Ninja cleanup to make the PQ from the best superzoom camera even better. (Well there is no batch processing so a simple task becomes difficult.) The 28mm wide angle is most welcome.
Lastly its nice to see an American company effectively compete with the competition. Good show Kodak.
Update:
Consumer Reports just rated the Z1012IS as the best non-DSLR camera, which is why took the time to test it.
Because of the local 15% restocking fee (you know where) I took a Scandisk 4GB SDHC card into the store and shot there for the Z1015 and the Fuji 2000. Both cameras show a strong superficial resemblance.
I bought the Z1012 and also compared it to the Nikon D300. I set them both to ISO 100 and ISO64 (Kodak). At ISO 64 the 1012 exhibited excellent fidelity with low noise. Nice.
The $1800 D300 had improvements in fidelity and tonality in showing the fine texture and detail of surfaces. Images have more "pop" and life.

Vista's columns and and IEXIF 2 viewer shows the:
Fuji S2000HD noisy pictures shot at 1/60 sec, f/4.8 and ISO 125-400, quality set to Fine
Kodak Z1012IS - f/2.8-f/4.8 ISO 64-400. 1/30-1/100 sec
ISO64 shot on tripod for optimal clarity
Kodak Z1015IS - lost capture info with RAW conversion to TIF. Uninstalled Easy Share hoping for some better RAW software!
Will buy Z1015 when it goes on-sale at Amazon.

Update2: Received the Z1015 and have analyzed three days of pictures.
Recommendations:
Casual users should make exclusive use of the Smart Capture mode as it will properly expose pictures. Pictures are almost always in focus too. Its that simple if you want it to be! This is why my wife says the Creative Memories ladies like the Kodak Easy share. Add in the advanced controls and its a camera for everyone.

For advanced users the good-lighting strategy is to take Aperture controlled RAW then quickly switch the top Mode dial over to the red color/Smart Capture/Perfect Touch setting. Between the two pictures you will get the best picture 99% of the time. In RAW mode set the sharpness to low and use noise reduction and unsharp mask on the TIF images with computer based processing, as the normal sharpness is a bit grainy. The improvement is worth the effort. Indoors use the Smart Capture mode as the Kodak technology does pick the best compromise. I use IrfanView software with 420 plugin for RAW batch .KDC to .TIF conversion.
Lastly Noise Ninja allows for quantitative noise analysis and direct comparison between different camera sensors. (But watch out for unadvertised manufacture noise reduction which decreases detail). Bigger sensors are better as the Kodak Z1015IS at ISO 80 has as much noise as the Nikon D300 at ISO640!
The situation is complicated by the the TI/Kodak image processing chip skewing of the Z1015 noise readings. The ISO 100 and 200 noise measures lower than ISO 80. You see evidence of this unadvertised image processing at work in the low-gain and high-gain being set in the EXIF data.
Telephoto (420mm) image quality degrades a bit. Best to use a tripod and low ISO settings here.

Background: The KODAK Color Science image processing chip was first introduced in cameras in 2006. This Perfect Touch technology results in fewer dark shadows and increased detail. (Since then many other post processing programs mimic Kodak's leadership. Most of the major name camera manufactures quietly pay Kodak royalties.)
Significantly this technology was not available with the P880, Kodak's last enthusiast camera. This camera was twice the Z1015 price too. So we have a bargain priced, intuitive and fun to use camera.

Name: T. Fonte
Location: Southern California
Date: 2008-10-05
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Wonderful Images
Comment: The camera can produce top notch images in RAW, with exquisite detail. Jpeg images are fine also, although RAW is superior because of uncompressed files. Either way the images are full-colored (no-one does color like Kodak), clear, dynamic and detailed. I haven't tried the video functions.

The RAW capability is the great strength of the camera and also a source of some weakness. DO NOT USE THE AUTO MODE (or SCENE MODE)if you intend to take several shots in rapid succession. In these modes the camera takes an inordinate amount of time to process the shots. The camera takes time to apply Kodak's Perfect Touch editing to the shots. It is not defeatable in Auto and Scene modes. I use the P mode. Perfect Touch is not applied here. In P mode the camera takes a bit longer with RAW than it does with jpeg in writing to the card.

Another drawback to RAW is that few programs read the Kodak RAW files from the Z1015IS. Kodak's own Easyshare software that comes with the camera does. Personally I don't like the software--too basic and clumsy for my taste. Irfanview, a free editing program, does read and edit Kodak Z1015IS RAW files and allows you to save in lossless TIF or BMP, along with jpeg and other types. My hope is that Adobe and others will soon add this camera to their list of readable RAW files.

I already had a 12 times optical zoom camera (the Z1012, a fine camera itself), so the 15 times zoom was not a big attraction for me--the RAW was and it has proved to be a real winner in image quality. Anyway, the 15 times zoom works as intended. There is occasionally a bit of purple fringing, but it is not noticeable on normal-sized prints (up to 8.5x11). Macro focusing distance is moderate.

Ease of use is excellent. The buttons are well located and handy to manipulate. You can change exposure, flash compensation and other functions quickly and easily. The grip is very convenient. It has a viewfinder and the LCD is large and of very good quality. With moderate flash and LCD use I got about 300 shots off the provided rechargeable battery. The battery recharges in the camera via the provided external power connection--reasonably quick and handy.

In summary, the camera does what I want and does it beautifully--produce first-rate photos. I have posted a large number of large-sized photos at http://www.pbase.com/tgaf/kodak_z1015is. Feel free to visit there to see what the camera is capable of. It is easy to use, reasonably-priced and produces first-rate photos. I heartily recommend it.

P.S. November 2, 2008. Automatic application of Kodak's Perfect Touch editing to every picture in the Auto mode is what slows down the write time for the camera in Auto mode (it doesn't happen in the other modes). Kodak has issued a firmware update (1.03) for the camera that now lets the user disable this feature. With the Perfect Touch disabled the camera is very fast in writing in Auto mode. I imagine that new cameras will come with this firmware installed. If not, just visit Kodak's web site to download it for free.

Adobe has updated their RAW plugin to include the Kodak Z1015 IS in the cameras covered.

Name: T. Goddard
Location:
Date: 2008-12-18
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Great For The Money
Comment: I bought the camera at a warehouse store on line and followed previous purchasers advice of updating the firmware before even using the camera. I haven't tried the burst mode. I'm still playing with the Scene Mode settings and find the full automatic setting to be perfectly fine in most cases. In the Scene Mode under Museum without flash or sound it works great indoors for the Christmas Light Photos. And yes, the video is mono. But, I think it sounds fine for regular fidelity videos.
Overall I'm really happy with the camera. I can hold onto it without much trouble and keep it safe and stable without fear of it slipping out of my hands due to its size. I had an old DC-280 1.2 mega pixel camera and this new camera continues to impress me with all of the configurable auto-settings and the manual settings.
Definitely an enthusiasts camera. The Kodak software takes getting used to and it's not the best. But, what a camera for the money.

Name: P. Havlicek
Location: Jackson, MS
Date: 2008-12-23
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Excellent buy for the average person
Comment: Excellent digital camera for the average person. Takes outstanding pictures. My son loves the camera and that is something coming from a 17 year old. I read all I could about inexpensive digital cameras and realized the best buy was the Kodak Z1015IS. Most of the problems listed for this camera are operator headspace and timing. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

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