|
| 
 enlarge
| Brand: Kodak
Category: Photography
List Price: $249.95
Buy New: $234.96
You Save: $14.99 (6%)
New (5) Used (3) Refurbished (1) from $145.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  132 reviews
Sales Rank: 7038
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
System Memory: 32
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Monitor Size: 250
Optical Zoom: 12
Display Size: 2.5
Maximum Focal Length: 432
Minimum Focal Length: 36
Maximum Resolution: 8
Has Red Eye Reduction: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 4.3 x 2.9 x 3
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: 1986264
Model: 1986264
UPC: 041771986261
EAN: 0041771986261
ASIN: B000VJWJW2
Release Date: September 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Great Camera with HD Capability November 11, 2007
219 out of 221 found this review helpful
Since 2002 I've had the same digital camera. It was an older Kodak 2-megapixel camera that did it's job - if just barely. It was light on features, and took acceptable pictures - in 2002 when it was introduced. Fast forward to now, 2007, with a new son and grandparents wanting lots of photos, and my wife (who seldom notices anything about technology) complaining about the quality of the photos that it took and it added up to being time to upgrade our digital camera.I wanted to purchase the Canon Digital Revel XTi since I had an existing telephoto lens that would fit it. My wife wanted to a pocket-sized camera she could fit in her purse. Needless to say, we were in a predicament. The solution? A camera with a good optical zoom and a number of different picture-taking modes.Originally we purchased the Kodak Z712 IS - which we were quite happy with. The only thing it lacked was the ability to take high definition video. A few weeks later I discovered that the very week that we purchased the Z712 Kodak shipped the Z812. So, the Z712 went back to the store and the Z812 arrived! Here's my impressions:
What I Really Like:
Great optical zoom. A 36mm-432mm optical zoom means that nothing is out of range with this camera. Combined with the image stabilization feature you can get away with slightly slower shutter speeds at long focal lengths and still get nice pictures.
A multiplicity of modes - As an amateur photographer I like having the ability to set my own shutter and aperture values depending on what I'm doing. At the same time, the availability of a fully automatic mode makes it a camera that is easy to use by anyone. Plus, having sixteen preset modes for special settings (night time shooting, portraits, snow, beach, etc.) is handy if you'd rather not mess with the stop settings yourself. In addition to being able to control the exposure you can also control the flash setting.
Variable Color Settings - This is a relatively simple feature but on the advanced modes you can choose between "Low Color" "Natural Color" "High Color" "Black and White" and "Sepia". This lets you adjust the appearence of your photos as you take them rather than in a photo editing program later. I find that taking a photo in the mode produces better quality that editing it later in a photo editing program.
Multiple Photo Features - Besides the standard self-timer, there are two settings for taking multiple photos. One takes five consecutive photos in rapid succession. The other will take up to 30 consecutive photos in rapid succession and store the last five.
High ISO settings - High ISO settings allows this camera to take photos in low light conditions. While the quality of low light pictures isn't exceptional, they're not awful either.
HD Video - by far my favorite feature is the ability to take 720p video at 30 frames per second. It takes a computer or high definition TV to really appreciate the superior quality of this video. The fact that the sound is stereo is cool, but the quality is about average for a digital camera.
(Update: Since I originally reviewed this I have owned an cheap Aiptek 1080p HD video camera and a Canon Vixia HF10 camcorder. Both blew the video quality of the Z812 out of the water. Just be forewarned, this is in no way a replacement for a video camera).
What I Don't Like: honestly, nothing. There's no major problems with the camera itself. That's being said, there's a few features that would have been nice.
On a camera of this caliber, it would have been nice to add an external flash for low-light conditions
Since this camera is labled has "HD" and takes high definition video, it would have been nice to be able to use a component cable connection to output 720p/1080i video direct from the camera.
Out of the box the camera comes with a disposable battery. The least Kodak could have done was include a rechargeable battery in the box. I ended up purchasing two rechargeable batters and an AC charger for it.
Summary: If you're not quite ready for size or cost reason to go with an SLR but want a high performance camera that includes the ability to take HD video, this is a perfect camera.
An exceptional camera for the price! October 22, 2007
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
I upgraded from the Kodak DX7590 to this camera because I was looking at getting a digital camcorder. This is a 2 for 1 since I am able to video tape with it, which I could with my other camera as well, but I was never able to zoom in and out. This camera snaps pictures fast and easy and has an image stabalizer to make picture taking so much easier. I love the 8.2 megapixels and the 12X optical zoom. Perfect camera for the avid scrapbooker who takes tons of pictures! Best of all this camera is less than $300 which makes it quite affordable for what it does, which I don't even know half of what it is capable of yet since I have only owned for a couple of weeks. Very light weight and easy to use. I highly recommend this camera to anyone who loves photography as well as scrapbooking. Love it!!
Kodak Easyshare Z812IS--wonderful! October 20, 2007
48 out of 48 found this review helpful
I have owned this camera just a few weeks and I am very impressed. It is the epitome of high value, innovative and sexy design, and user friendliness. My Canon Powershot S50 died recently, and when I saw the Z812IS, its 12X optically stablized zoom, and HD Video I was intrigued. It was not until I hooked up the camera to the optional HDTV dock that I began to really appreciate what this guy can do.
Color stills are fabulous. HD Video: it works! I wanted HD video for golf swing analysis, and did not wish to part with the $$ for a standalone HD video camera, so when this appeared it was a God-send. You can do frame-by-frame advance on your big screen, at 30 frames per second at 1280 x 720 (720p--good 'nuf for my purposes), and you can extract sequences off of your videos so it absolutely perfect for my needs. There are multiple other features adding value as well. Lag time to shoot is decent.
Be aware the low price goes up as you will definitely want to accessorize this honey. The HDTV Dock, which doubles as a battery charger, is a must if you own an HDTV. I bought a 2GB SD 133x flash memory card which will meet my needs just fine for now. If an 8gb 133x or greater card comes along I will probably pick this up for lengthy video storage. This camera is the perfect hybrid video/still camera for someone on a budget who doesn't want to sacrifice features, output quality and ease of operation. Up n running in seconds! Highly recommended :o)
Kodak Z812 much better than entry-level camcorder for video clips October 15, 2007
89 out of 110 found this review helpful
UPDATE: To those people who voted "unhelpful", I'm not trying to be helpful on the camera features, because other reviewers will cover that nicely, and I haven't used that part much. Why don't you just read the other, CAMERA-FEATURE reviews and ignore this one and let the people looking at this for VIDEO/CAMCORDER FEATURES decide?
UPDATE: Transcend 8GB SDHC Class 6 card works well in this camera.
I got a Z812 IS a couple weeks ago, because with the 720p video, it seemed possible that one purchase might meet my camcorder upgrade needs at the same time as getting a super zoom camera for action photos.
So far, I have video(not taped I guess, maybe "videocarded" or "videoclipped" :-)
four of my daughter's high school soccer games, using the 720p resolution. The conditions were nighttime stadium lights. I shoot from high up in the bleachers to take in the overall action.
After doing 4 games this way, while I am not a professional at this by any stretch of the imagination, I can share some experiences and tips:
1) Overall, the 720p soccer game videos have turned out better than I've done with MiniDV consumer level cameras. For example, better than a Canon ZR30 and Panasonic GV-81 (or was it GS-81, can't recall exact model #)
2) A good tripod with fluid-damped panning is essential to quality videos. If the pans are too fast, it looks awful. (probably true of making video recordings in general).
UPDATE: I finally found my Velbon Videomate tripod, and that's certainly the one I've found to be best for shooting sports video. The cheapie [...] ones from Target or Best Buy are rubbish in comparison.
3) There is more going into and out of focus than I am used to with dedicated cameras. I've gotten better at reducing the amount this happens. Trying to minimize the amount of zooming I do seems to help.
4) Since the manual says that only digital zoom operates during recording, I try to pick a zoom (each time I start/stop recording) that will require the least subsequent zooming.
5) The images look pretty good on my big screen 1080i big screen TV, after I burn the video clips on the SD card to DVD and play the DVD. There is a lot less blob-and-blur factor than with the MiniDV camcorders I've used, and it's much easier to pick out which player is which, during the action. The color and image quality looks pretty good. Maybe a stretch to say it's "true" 720p quality, but it's way better than typical home video quality.
6) Burning to DVD has been a bit of a pain. I'm new to Kodak and their Easyshare stuff, and couldn't find a way that allows one to burn a DVD with > 99 scenes (I stop/start the camera each time there is a delay, e.g., ball goes out of bounds) and each one is recorded on the SD card as a separate .MOV (Quicktime) file.
I finally decided to just use Nero Ultimate 8, using the Nero Vision app, and the "Make Movie" feature. I have to point to all the clips, and then click a button to put them all into the movie. Then all the clips get put in the timeline.
For some reason, only the video is coming through in the finished movie. I haven't figured out why the audio doesn't also get loaded in as part of the .MOV file. Based on some Googling, it looks like this is an issue with my computer missing an audio codec, but I still haven't gotten it to work just yet.
There was another DVD program that came with my computer, "Sonic MyDVD Plus", that has more basic editing features but did get the sound into the finished movie.
UPDATE: The goalkeeper from the high school team and her parents wanted to use my footage to create a "highlights reel" on DVD for her to share with college coaches that are interested in having her play for them. The end project turned out quite good!
7) When shooting video, THIS CAMERA SUCKS--storage space, that is! At least when you shoot video clips, it sucks the Gigabytes up in short order. By the time I do 40+ minutes of video, a 4GB card is full. I'm using Sandisk Ultra II SDHC cards, $[...] or so from Costco, and have been happy with them other than filling them up. I've ordered the Transcend 8GB class 6 SDHC card and I expect the full 45+ minutes of 720p video for a game will fit on that, probably around 80 minutes worth. The word is that these 8GB cards will work in the Z812. I have a cheaper 4GB card that seems to work OK too. So maybe an initial rule of thumb is allow at least 1 Gig of storage space for every 10 minutes of video. If you're shooting lower resolution, I'm sure the storage would go a lot further.
8) The rechargeable battery hassle is really the pits too. I did find shops that carry the KLIC-8000 battery, including Circuit City (better price) and Best Buy, but NOT the charger. I understand the 8500 charger is the one needed. I ordered a KLIC-8000 compatible charger on eBay, and it finally arrived and seems to work OK so far. Since people reported good results using LITHIUM CRV3 rechargeables, I had earlier picked up a kit of charger and battery (plus car adapter), LenMar brand, from BatteriesPlus for $[...] and it works OK, though it doesn't last as long as I think it should for recording video, only about 35-40 minutes. The other options include paying $[...] for a 2-pack of CRV3 at Target. To be fair, a disposable CRV3 did get me through 2+ games, including playback and uploading to computer.
9) I really haven't used the photo capability of the Z812 much yet so don't have anything to contribute here.
So my conclusion is that I'm happy I got the Z812 and, after getting familiar with it, it does a better job than a moderate-price consumer-level camcorder would do. So anything it does on photos (and all the reviews there seem to be great :-) is at this point a bonus for me.
Without the rechargeable battery hassles, review would have been 5 stars.
A Great Camera at A Great Price - Terrific Photos, Rich Feature Set! September 17, 2007
148 out of 150 found this review helpful
Kodak Easyshare Z812IS 8.2MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom I picked up this camera recently as a replacement for a Kodak z710. I was not entirely happy with the z710, but I was familiar with its feature set, and thought the extra megapixel on the 812 might be a slight improvement. Boy was I in for a shock! I took the darned thing out of the box in the parking lot of the store where I bought it, popped in the battery, attached the lens cap and neckstrap, and snapped a few quick ones through the windshield - and I was blown away. This camera is in a whole different catagory from its predecessor. The color quality is vibrant and intense, the feature set is broad and inclusive. The 12x optical zoom is nothing short of miraculous, coupled with Kodak's image stabilizing system to bring you into the action without losing sharp detail.
The Z812 has a few bells and whistles that I wasn't expecting - for example , in panoramic mode it allows you to, in camera, produce seamless panoramic shots stiched together from three separate shots. Get this - you shoot the far left area of the scene. In your next shot on the viewfinder you will see a small section of the previous shot superimposed over the next area - so you can line up your shots perfectly! The z812 does the same for the third shot - and shazaam! Stiches the three together perfectly, matching exposure and color saturation!
The z812 picks up incredible detail, has multiple and complex focussing cababilities, and the eight pixels let me print quite competently up to the full 13x19 that my printer allows without visible artifacting. In a pinch it also allows for some serious cropping!
In sillhoette/backlighting situations I have not noticed any purple fringing at all - that had been a problem with previous cameras. Detail is good, even in subjects like distant foliage (which had not been the case with the 710!)
And there are loads of useful other settings as well. The candlelight setting does a nice job of capturing warm and well exposed images with a minimum amount of light, and almost no digital noise!
The manual settings are great too - easy to find in the menu, and with a decent spectrum of settings.
The burst setting is very much improved too - the camera almost instantly generates your images - they show up on the viewfinder as they are being shot! Nice touch.
The 2.5 inch HD LCD display is huge and crystal clear, and the viewfinder offers a near HD image as well. You can (finally) really see what you are shooting in any light! (although it picks up some digital noise at higher ASA settings.)
The buttons are all conveniently positioned for easy access.
And if all that is not enough - get ready to be blown away by the video capabilities of this camera. I shot 20 minutes of footage at a Gunfight in Tombstone AZ. It looked good on the camera screen, but I was ready to be disappointed when I got it on to my computer screen.
Well, folks, I have to tell you I was not disappointed. The video was crisp, clear and colorful, without alot of posterizing (which had been a problem with the video on earlier models) In dim light there was a bit of digital noise in the videos. It may not be on par with some of the high end HD recorders out there, but its better than alot of the low end ones I've tried, and with a little practice and study, I suspect I can produce some really nice movies with this.
The camera interfaced easily with iPhoto and with the Adobe CS3Bridge to upload my photos and movies in record time!
And that is just denting the surface. As I've said, I've only had the camera for a few days, and only shot 200 or so images.
Addenda
Five months after purchase I am still extremely happy with this camera. Much as I appreciated the automatic functions in the first few weeks, I'm reaching the point where I nearly always have the camera in Manual setting mode - its easy to shift between aperture, shutter speed, and ASA settings (there is a little wheel on the upper right side of the camera at the back, easily accessible by thumb! Turn it to select the function, press it to set your level.) I don't hesitate any more to take multiple bracketed exposures at different settings.
I have been impressed with how well this camera operates under most natural light conditions. My one minor annoyance is that occasionally it decides on its own that it wants a flash - and I have to push the flash shut, and hit the "no flash" option to override it. A minor annoyance and an avoidable one (a bit more thought in the moment!) I've used it in nearly every imaginable lighting condition - from very bright noonday sun, to night shots, and have been able to capture just what I wanted.
If I have any disappointment with the camera to date it is that it does such a good job of capturing the shot I want that there's no need to play with the images in Photoshop! My 2 GB SD memory card will take around 730 shots - although the battery, fully charged will only handle around 250. With spare battery in my bag, I can shoot for a week without plugging in or having to download anything.
So, in a nutshell, here's my assessment - a great camera, at a great price, with an Intuitive interface and an easy learning curve! If you are on the verge of stepping up to an SLR, but not ready to fork over the $700 this is a very reasonable alternative!
Great job, Kodak!
|
|
|
Disclaimer: This is an Amazon storefront - the products referenced on this site are manufactured and sold by other parties and sold through Amazon.com We make no representations regarding either the products or any information vendors offer about their products. Any questions, complaints, or claims regarding the products must be directed to the appropriate manufacturer or vendor, or to Amazon.com. |
| |
