Kodak EASYSHARE Z1275 12.0 MP Digital Camera - Dark grey

Liked : price; size/compactness; 4x optical zoom; reasonably happy with results - it has taken some getting used to!

Disliked : Item was stickered 'refurbished' - not stated by seller, although appeared new in box. lcd screen - difficult to see any detail in strong light and no conventional 'viewfinder'; battery life - very variable - tended to be much shorter than expected - needed to carry 4 sets of spare batteries; Manual enclosed-very disappointing. Much better info from website, although 50 plus pages needed printing..

Purchased because - needed compact camera with optical zoom. have two digital SLRs already but these need carrying space!

See all reviews by john_wase

The first one of these I bought from the local camera store. It cost £129.95. Excellent camera, with a good, sharp-focus Schneider-Kreuznach X5 optical Zoom lens, and excellent quality 12MPixel very sensitive CMOS sensor, (good for fading daylight); enough pixels to crop and enlarge without picture quality compromise, pretty good for moving stuff, like athletes or heritage trains and a huge range of specialist settings from completely automatic right through to completely manual. I am using an 8 GB card so plenty of room for pictures, even with as many pixels as these, (there seems no limit on card capacity, but 8 suits me). No case supplied, but fits (just) a Tesco "value" range at £1.93! Rarely fails to get the picture I want, even on automatic, so "failed attempts" now almost a thng of the past, though do remember the processor lag before it takes the picture - my first few fast-moving steam trains were without smokebox until I got used to this! Disposable lithium AA batteries last for ages. Video capture pretty good (sound adequate). Won't fit comfortably in my trousers pocket, however (it's a bit big), and automatic apart, flash not variable. Auto very occasionally locks focus onto wrong item, and there's no way of altering this. (Ebay adverts erroneously tell me there is a Manual focus ring on the new Z1285 which has superseded the Z1275: this should fix this. Unfortunately, this is a myth; the specification is just the same as the Z1275, but Kodak tell me the component quaity is improved (and the price is increased), so I take it they've fixed some dodgy bits of plastic and are making us pay!). Good all-rounder, however - we have and use three of them in our immediate family, (and have many very attractive photos using them) so we must like them. Ours have in reality proved reasonably robust - my 4 year old's is still intact! Mine (the first) is well beyond its 12 month guarantee with no problems. All in all - one of my favourite cameras - recommended, particularly at around the fifty quid they can go for on ebay.
DR D A JOHN WASE

I was looking for a simple to use camers that was compatible with my pc ie a digital camera. My Girlfriend is a dedicated technophobe so simplicity was an absolute must yet I'm very much a gadget guy so I didn't want simplicity at the cost of poor performance.

As soon as I saw the Z1275 I was impressed by its looks. Small and neat without shedloads of gadgets that would never have a use but nicely placed goodies that were an absolute must.

Once you realize that three quarters of the instructions are in a foreign language you can quickly read through the English ones in a few minutes and have a good working knowledge of the camera.

For its size the camera feels heavy and robust which is a good feeling and aids stability when using the camera on Zoomed shots.

Very much a point and shoot camera and the optical and digital zooms are easy to use and their differences aparent. Under full zoom not only the subject matter is magnified but also the smallest movement of the camera so there is an option of Digital Image Stabilization which will minimise camera shake and subject movement in the viewer.

Another excellent feature is the ability to half depress the shutter button so the camera focuses on the subject, a warning bleep will tell you when the camera is focused.

As yet I've not delved into the handbook to experiment with the cameras other features.

The only down side is the battery usage, they dont last long so a charger and a couple of sets of batteries are more or less a must.

All in all an excellent buy and I'd advise anyone looking for a good low cost cam with good performance (12 megapixel is more than good) to consider the Z1275

This product is incredibly easy to use, every screen is simple to understand and executes quality in every dimension. The different functions of the camera are very easy to find and to use, the 'High ISO' function is amazing in the dark or very poor light, so much i infact believe it to be better then the smartscreen in terms of focus and picture quality. The software which comes with the device (Kodak Easyshare) is again simple and easy to use, everything pretty much sorts itself out but in a manner where the user has complete control.

my only dislike towards the product is the battery life of Normal AA's within the device but i suspect by using Kodak cells such as the rechargable type which are compatable it may increase the time of use. if not, least with rechargables i can carry a few arround with me and swap them over without causing any waste in terms of refuse.

Its a great camera picture quality is amazing even with poster size pictures the hd video quality looks sharp, crisp and even the sound is really clear. The only disadvantages with this camera is that it drains batteries extremely quick i was quite shocked actually, i recommend you get high capacity rechargables for cameras like these its essential and also the little lcd screen thing on the camera dont look so clear but dont be put of because when you bring it up on your computer screen you will be impressed. I highly recommend this camera for anyone looking to save money but still get impressive results im glad i upgraded from my 4 megapixel camera.