Product Description

Great moments deserve great pictures. The Kodak EasyShare Z1285 zoom digital camera lets you relive your favorite memories in brilliant HD quality. Take crisp pictures and videos and share them with your friends and family. And best of all, it is affordable, making picture-taking easier than ever on you, and your wallet.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9747 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Kodak
• Model: 8060006
• Released on: 2008-02-12
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 2.87" h x 6.50" w x 7.50" l, 1.30 pounds
• Memory: 64MB
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• 12-megapixel resolution for stunning prints up to 30 x 40 inches
• 5x Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon optical image-stabilized zoom lens; HD still capture and HD video
• 2.5-inch indoor/outdoor color LCD; advanced settings include program and full manual mode (P/M)
• Digital image stabilization reduces blur; High ISO (up to 3200) capture details in low-light conditions and fast-action situations
• Compatible with SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

Manufacturer Description

Great moments deserve great pictures. The Kodak EasyShare Z1285 5x zoom digital camera lets you relive your favorite memories in brilliant HD quality. Take crisp pictures and videos and share them with your friends and family. And best of all, it’s affordable, making picture-taking easier than ever on you, and your wallet.

EasyShare Z1285 Highlights

12 megapixels captures the details The 12.0-megapixel image sensor delivers excellent resolution and prints up to 30 x 40 inches -- more pixels mean you can crop and enlarge, and still enjoy great image quality.

Enhance your results with a professional-quality lens The professional-quality, 35-175mm Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon wide-angle lens captures crisp details, and 5x optical zoom (and 5x digital zoom) allows you to get great shots from a distance.

2.5-inch, high-resolution color display View pictures with brilliance and clarity on the wide-angle, high resolution 2.5-inch color display. Whether you shoot your pictures vertically or horizontally, view them right-side-up with the orientation sensor, and in review mode, quickly magnify up to 8x, fast scroll through pictures, or view multi-up.

Picture enhancing and editing features Capture and create consistently great pictures by utilizing on-camera features such as cropping, high ISO, smart scene mode, and Kodak Perfect Touch Technology.

High ISO mode -- capture the details

• Faster shutter speeds mean you can capture the details in low light conditions and fast action situations
• The camera automatically selects from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 based on lighting conditions
• ISO 3200 available at 3.1 MP, 2.2 MP, 2.1 MP, and 1.2 MP setting in P/M mode

Digital image stabilization Reduce blur caused by camera shake or subject movement. The camera software automatically minimizes camera shake to deliver a clear picture.

Kodak Perfect Touch Technology Make your pictures as vivid as the moment you took them, right on camera.

• Print better, brighter pictures
• Relive your memories in richer detail
• Clear up dark shadows to reveal more smiles

Smart scene mode Capture stunning shots with ease -- smart scene mode automatically selects from 9 available scene modes, and if a scene mode cannot be detected, the camera will default to Auto mode.

Panorama stitch mode Create panoramic shots by combining up to three shots together into one large picture with panorama stitch mode.

Multiple scene modes

• Portrait modes: portrait, self portrait, night portrait,backlight
• Landscape modes: landscape, night landscape, fireworks, sunset
• Bright scene modes: sport, beach, and snow
• Action modes: sport, panning, and children
• Party mode: use for photos of people in indoor setting in lower light
• Close-up modes: flower, close-up

Program/Manual modes at your fingertips In Program mode (P), the camera sets optimal shutter speed and aperture combination. In Manual mode (M), you choose both the aperture and shutter speed.

Manual controls

• Exposure compensation +/- 2.0 EV in +/- 0.3 EV step increments
• Aperture: f/2.8 (wide), f/5.1 (tele)
• Shutter speed: 8-1/1000 sec. in 1/3 step increments
• ISO equivalents : (automatic) 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
• Auto focus: TTL imager AF system
• Exposure metering: multi-pattern, center-weighted, spot
• Flash modes: auto, red-eye reduction, fill, off

Exclusive Kodak Color Science Image Processing Chip The exclusive Kodak Color Science Chip provides vibrant, true-to-life colors in every picture. A new high-speed digital processor chip, advanced algorithms, and hardware acceleration features let the Z1285 make simultaneous, split-second decisions to produce rich, vibrant, true-to-life colors in almost any lighting situation. Every time you click the shutter, the Kodak Color Science Chip performs an instantaneous and advanced analysis of collected scene data to identify and adjust multiple factors that influence picture quality: scene light source is detected and adjustments are made to capture bright whites and true, vivid colors under difficult lighting conditions -- fluorescent, tungsten, or daylight. Scene content is analyzed for luminance, focal distance, subject matter orientation, and color to determine the correct exposure and capture the natural details, accurate flesh tones, and rich colors you see in your composition.

On-camera Share button

• Sharing starts right on the back of the camera.
• Have a picture you want to share? Tag it using the exclusive on-camera Share button and it will be ready to print or e-mail later.
• Use the Favorites feature to keep special pictures close without filling up your internal memory.

Kodak EasyShare Software (included) The simplest way to find, create, and share.

• The award-winning, elegant design makes your pictures the star of the show for a more enjoyable viewing experience
• English, French, and German photo card templates turn pictures into 4 x 6-inch (10 x 15 cm) announcements, invitations, holiday cards, and more, right at home
• Download new photo borders and photo cards for more creative choices
• Get more out of Kodak EasyShare Software with a variety of useful tips
• Use Kodak EasyShare Software to access your pictures at the Kodak EasyShare Gallery -- then view, edit, and save them to My Collection
• Automatically print better, brighter pictures, time after time, with Kodak Perfect Touch Technology and our award winning Kodak Printers and Printer Docks

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Customer Reviews

Awesome HD Movie but Worst Macro mode shooting!
This camera replaced my old F10 Fuji Finepix. I had several cameras (Fuji/Canon/Olympus) but this is the first time I'm trying out Kodak (cheapest HD camera I've found that allow zoom during movie recording mode)

I took two stars away from it for two reasons:

1. Macro shooting mode is horrible. It won't shoot at close range at all comparing to other cameras I have had. I was able to shoot a nice close up at 1 inch range with Fuji and Olympus but this Kodak Easyshare will not focus and get blurry as soon as the lense is in the 6 inch range from object. I returned and exchange my Easyshare once because I thought the first one was broken. I was surprised to learn that this camera will not do a close up shot.

2. Movie recording length is limit to 29 minutes when shooting in HD. I read on Kodak website and it says "80 minutes" and I misunderstood. 80 minutes max ... at lowest resolution - that is :(

There are many good things about this camera. It uses SD card. It records very nice HD quality video (picture/sound). It can zoom in recording mode (Fuji does not). It takes good pictures (12MP). Battery life is pretty good. Forget Sony Handycam, get this Z1285 instead and have a blast with HD video recording!

Decent quality photos and videos
I do a lot of photography with my dSLR but I like to have a flexible point and shoot with me when I don't have the dSLR. I also have been interested in shooting videos lately and have tried a Aiptek Go-HD and a Sanyo HD700.

I like the form factor of the Z1285. It handles better than my Kodak V550 and it really isn't much bigger. Yes it is a little thicker. The z1285 has a lot of pre-set modes and a full manual mode that works quite well. It is easy to change shutter speed, f-stop, ISO and focus mode. You can do it all from one screen using the controller button on the back. No need to read the manual.

Image quality is great for a point and shoot. There is a lot of noise at 1600 ISO however it cleans up quite well by using a noise reduction program like Noiseware. The image quality is better than my V550 and significantly better than the HD700.

The videos are surprisingly good. Video quality is much better than the Aiptek Go-HD and sharper than my Sanyo HD700. Indoor videos taken with the Z1285 have less noise than the HD700. I did my comparisons in full auto mode and I think I could fine tune the HD700 a little, but I don't think the video would be as sharp as with the Z1285. Video stabilization is better on the HD700. The audio quality on the HD700 is significantly better than Z1285. But the audio quality on the Z1285 is significantly better than the Aiptek Go-HD.

Overall it is a very good package at a decent price. I think it is a better value than the HD700. If the audio quality were up to the HD700 standards, it would be a slam dunk and I would sell the HD700.

4 stars only because of audio performance. Other than that it is great!

EasyShare= Easy Decision
The Kodak EasyShare Z1285 is more than just a camera. It's a camcorder, sound recorder, slideshow creator, image cropper, and of course a camera with myriad functions.

Pros:
-12.1 Megapixels means maximum 3000 by 4000 pixel images
-Adjustable image resolution settings
-Amazing video quality with adjustable resolution settings
-Extremely easy to use
-Really low price for product
-Many, many adjustable settings and shoot modes
-Large, vibrant screen
-Expandable SD & SDHC card slot
-USB connection (with cable included)
-and perhaps my favorite part--the fact that it uses 2 AA batteries

Cons:
-When adjusting zoom, the picture becomes temporarily unfocused
-Poor image stabilization for free hand 1280 by 720 video shooting
-When filming videos to my Transcend 8GB SDHC card, you can hear the camera writing to the card faintly. It sounds similar to a helicopter in the distance. The sound is only noticeable when no noises are present in the video. I think it may have something to do with the High Capacity SD cards because I didn't notice the noise with my Sandisk 1GB SD card.

I paired my camera up with a Transcend 8GB SDHC and some Energizer NH15BP-4 ACCU 2500mAh Rechargeable AA Batteries to make it literally the best camera around. I can have over 2100 pictures at the highest resolution on it or hours of High Definition videos. The 1280 by 720 pixel videos have a maximum of 29 minutes for one continuous video. However, the 8GB card will hold hours of collective feeds. My high-drain batteries allow me to take many pictures and lots of videos without having to change or charge the batteries. Plus, when I do have to change them, I just switch the dead batteries with freshly charged ones and I'm good to go--unlike most others, I don't have to wait for the camera to charge.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my purchase of the Kodak Z1285 EasyShare Camera and would recommend it to anyone. (We have already purchased another for my mother and my sister wants one now too.) The price is well worth the value--I paid $185 for mine and would be willing to pay $300 plus. Don't let the three cons discourage you, the benefits of purchasing this camera far transcend the drawbacks.