Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

We kick off CES 2011 camera coverage with a bunch of cheap cameras from Kodak. Once again, does anyone still buy Kodak cameras? Anyway, the first of these is the Kodak Easyshare Touch, which is yet another touchscreen-based camera. The notable feature has to be price: US$150 gets you a camera with a 5x zoom lens that starts at 28mm equivalent, a 14 megapixel sensor, 3" capacitive touchscreen, 720p video recording and HDMI output. The Easyshare Mini features a 3x zoom lens that starts at an odd 29mm equivalent with a 10 megapixel sensor, a front mirror for self portraits, all in a credit card-sized camera for US$100. Then there is the Easytouch Sport, which sounds a bargain at US$80 for a waterproof, dustproof camera, but note the 12 megapixel shooter has a fixed lens with no zoom.

The two camcorders featured are the Easyshare Playfull and Easyshare Playsport. The former is a sleek device that offers 1080p recording and 5 megapixel stills for US$150. The latter is similar but is waterproof and dustproof and is at US$180. No word on availability for any of the cameras. More photos of the cameras at the link.

"The EasyShare M580 was launched last year at the same time as the 10x zoom Z950, and is the current flagship of Kodak's consumer M series. Considering its bargain price it's a well made and surprisingly well specified camera, with a 14 megapixel 1/2.3 inch CCD sensor, an 8x zoom Schneider-Kreuznach lens, a 7.5cm (3.0 inch) 230k LCD monitor and built-in optical image stabilisation, all wrapped up in a strong all-aluminium body."

Kodak's still around, churning out a variety of compact cameras (and struggling with a declining film business), and this one seems alright, despite Kodak having a lot of flops in the last few years. Despite that, it is rather generic, and like what I've mentioned before, does anyone still buy Kodak cameras? They must if Kodak is somehow keeping afloat, even though I don't see any advantages from a Kodak camera nowadays.

"It's now more than a year since we published our last superzoom group test and despite the hype surrounding mirrorless system cameras such as Micro Four Thirds or the Sony NEX, and the fact that entry level DSLRs are becoming more and more affordable, superzoom cameras are as popular with consumers as ever. It is easy to see why. The combination of a large zoom range from wideangle to super telephoto, DSLR-like ergonomics and an attractive price point guarantee that these cameras appeal to a very broad audience."

Following up on their travel zoom roundup, Digital Photography Review has released one on the travel zoom's big brothers; the super zoom cameras. As mentioned, despite mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras being the new must-have for manufacturers, the appeal of such "bridge" cameras still lies in their versatility at a low cost. This time round, the winners are not so surprising. Still, I can't imagine going back to using thumbnail-sized sensors in my cameras!

"For many years now, the trend on this website has been to review the more expensive, cutting-edge cameras. Not only do those cameras capture my interest -- they are what the majority of DCRP readers are curious about, as well. Recently, I was reminded by a reader that I wasn't giving enough attention to entry-level cameras. These cameras may be boring to tech enthusiasts, but let's face it, millions of them are sold every year to regular folks who want something easy-to-use that takes decent photos."

Jeff Keller of the Digital Camera Resource Page has done a nice roundup of eight budget digital cameras. As digital cameras becomes more commoditised, reviews tend to become fewer and fewer, especially in the budget section, where unfortunately it is an area where it's likely to be a big segment of consumers who will likely need some help in making their choices. So if you know of anyone who's just looking for a cheap, no-frills camera that won't let them down, send them over to this roundup.

Here's a trio of reviews of superzoom cameras, including one of the winner's of dpreview's travel zoom round up, the Samsung WB650. PhotographyBLOG reviews it, and like dpreview, came away pretty impressed by it. Between this and the Samsung EX1/TL500, it seems that Samsung's slowly creeping in as a viable brand for digital cameras. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going in this very tight market.

More cameras after the read link.

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