Having had a previous Kodak digital camera, this one wasn't too hard to "get to know". One thing I noticed, after playing with it for 2 days, is that it doesn't have a viewfinder. So obviously you can guess that I'm used to using the lcd display to "set up" my shots. But it seems odd not to have a viewfinder. I'll just have to get over it. I am so excited about it being an 8.0mp, and one of kodak's newest releases. I enjoy picture taking immensely, and this camera even allows you crop photos right within the camera. You can even edit video clips. Wow. And the camera also takes panoramic shots, which will require some practice but I'm excited about that feature as well. What practice shots I have taken in this mode, however, do not use flash. So I guess this is a feature left to the great outdoors, probably where most panoramic shots are taken anyway. Already having a charging dock, I failed to research to see that I would need an adapter in order to use it for the new camera. I can appreciate that that makes perfect sense, but had I done the research I probably would just have bought a plug-in charger for about the same price and then had the charger dock available to sell when I sell my other camera. I was also considering the P712, but this C875 is the one for me. The camera has a pretty good feel to it, and the wrist strap is very handy. There are just so many new models out there I wonder if they all come from the same factory!! I tried an olympus 7.1mp all weather camera before purchasing the Kodak, and I just didn't like it. I look forward to several years of usage from this camera. Thanks, Kodak. You've earned my trust and my repeat business.
CONS: Size, very bright flash
Overall: This is the best point and shoot camera I have seen for active families. It has fully auto mode for instant snapshots, manual mode for advanced users and tough situations, and is responsive with burst mode for sports and action shots. All results and pictures are sharp and have great color. The video looks great with relatively small files using MPEG-4 format.
This camera is a perfect fit for my family. All controls are simple to use in either fully automatic (with automatic scene detection) or the fully manual mode. Pictures turn out with great color and impressive detail under many/all shooting scenarios.
On-camera processing is impressive. The camera automatically removes red-eye with great results. You can then apply Kodak Perfect-Touch processing for great lighting results and even crop it to the perfect snapshot. It even shows you if you were still enough when taking the picture to get a good print. (Very nice so you know to take another shot!) With this camera, all of your shots can come off of the camera as masterpieces!
Video capability is great. Picture quality is very good (TV-quality) and the file size is small because of the MPEG-4 encoding so you can get around 30 min per 1GB. You can even zoom while recording, but you will hear the motor and the pictures is momentarily out of focus. Again, you can edit the movie by cutting it into multiple smaller files right on the camera.
Very responsive with minimal lag time between shutter-press and picture capture which I find as essential for taking pictures of kids! Great burst modes allowing 5 shots at 2 fps or the last 4 shots again at 2 fps. A larger buffer would be nice but this was sufficient for taking actions shots of kids sledding down a hill.
The only downsides are the larger size than some cameras and ultra bright flash. It still fits in my pants or coat pocket, but is definitely not as sleek as the sub-compacts like Kodak's V603. I still can't complain because it is pretty small and includes a 5x optical zoom and a 1/1.8" CCD which is larger than most cameras (so it gets more light and has improved low-light performance).
The flash is very bright and will fill most rooms with light (good) but will also bleach out skintones at close range. This can be overcome by taking shots from farther away and using the zoom, or I have made a quick diffuser with tissue and clear tape that gives good close range results. ust be aware of this issue.
Overall I am very satisfied with this camera and highly recommend it!
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I have always felt that Canon cameras took the best pictures after having Fujis, Casios, Panasonics, Sonys, and Kodaks, but I must say that the pictures out of the C875 are virtually itentical to my Canon G6... at one quarter the price. Photos in virtually any light are great. Flash throttles down so it does not overexpose. Images are sharp and clear with excellent color. Movies are fantastic. And to have the zoom feature during movies in a camera this price is amazing. I gave this camera five stars, but considering that the price is not $500, it really deserves six stars. There simply are no issues with this camera... as perfect a camera under $500 can be... and look at the price here on amazon where I bought mine! Simply AMAZING!UPDATE: After taking several hundred pictures in all lighting conditions and several videos of a total 30 minutes time, using manual settings, flash under all conditions, scene settings, I must reconfirm that this camera is simply amazing. Remember, I am a digital nerd and have owned a dozen digitals over the past 12 years. With rechargeable 2500 and 2600 Nimh batteries, the camera goes and goes, eliminating the complaints about battery life. I cannot say how many pictures it takes with these high power rechargeables, but I can tell you it went all day snapping away with reviews of pics and flash many times. I have not had one bad picture yet! I cannot say that about any other camera I have owned. And not having image stabilization does not seem to be a problem at all, even when the symbol on the LCD says that the picture may not be good... it is spectacular. I tried the panorama feature inside and outside and it is amazing... best I have used in a digital. So I still give this camera six stars after a week of heavy use.
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I am a professional photographer and went along on a shopping trip with a non-photographer friend of mine on Christmas Eve to buy a camera. He had a $200 limit and wanted something easy to use as he knows nothing about cameras. After many side by side comparisons he bought the C875. After we got back to to town we went our own ways then got back together later that evening. I was surprised he already had some very nice photos.What I like about this camera in comparison to others in its price range:
Good shutter response, better than others we tried that day as well as my wife's small Canon digital
Easy to get into manual controls and exposure compensation if desired
Good sized clear screen
Small but useable with big hands
The green light was a small distraction when he took a picture of my wife and I (as others mentioned) but ALL cameras have a focus assist light so the camera can focus in low light! Even my pro cameras have this as an on/off option. Just tell your subject to smile when they see the light not a problem!
No viewfinder a viewfinder means less room for a lcd display and viewfinders on cameras in this price range are so inaccurate they are useless. My wife's little Canon has a viewfinder and she soon found it was junk.
No red eyes in any of the pictures we took of each other. However if there is a problem the flash button is easy to use.
5X zoom
Note cameras in this price range are not going to work great in low light situations such as the typical kids school program. The lens is "slow", the sensor is small resulting in a "grainy" look, the small flash does not have great range etc. Also the lens gets "slower" as you zoom out, meaning it requires more light. If you need that kind of capability regularly buy a SLR, big flash, and fast lens.
ALL cameras in this price range have some shutter lag again you get what you pay for, if you need fast shutter response buy a SLR.
Cons so far:
Instruction manual designed to be non-confusing but needs more info such as the manual controls
I may have missed something but the exposure compensation seemed to only work on non-flash pictures. I could not find a way to make it work with flash. However using scene modes did work to change exposure with flash. He had a white wall in his house, which causes any light meter to darken the picture, going to snow mode took care of the problem.
This is a very good camera for the money.
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I've only had this a couple days, but have already taken quite a few pics and videos with it so I think I can give a reasonably accurate review. Although the camera isn't perfect (at this price level, what do you expect, pay $1000 for a digital SLR if you want to try for absolute perfection), for what you pay it is awesome. First and most important, in my opinion the picture quality is really really great. I like my pictures to be very sharp and good color and for most pictures this camera delivers --my benchmark of quality is my old HP 945 whose pictures I loved but it broke, and this camera's pics are as good as the ones I got from that one (read my review of the HP 945 if you're curious). Other cameras I've had or tried include the Casio EX-Z120 and Kodak C743. This camera blows away the C743 in all areas, and for such a small price difference (maybe $30-$50) I would just get this one. The picture quality of this one is definitely better than the Casio EX-Z120, but the Casio is a bit better low-light performer (it can go up to ISO 1600, whereas this one only goes to 800; the Casio also seems to focus a bit better in low light, but the focusing performance of this one in low light is definitely acceptable). So by the most important measure, picture quality, I love this camera and definitely recommend it. The 5X optical zoom is great too (and you can even use it while filming video!), a nice addition above the usual 3X zoom, although you'll need a steady hand or tripod at large zooms (no image stabilization in this camera). Some others have complained about the flash performance of this camera, e.g. that it isn't good, the pictures are dark or washed out, etc. I have found this to be somewhat true, but the key is to use the in-camera "Perfect Touch Technology" which corrects this very well I have found. Finally, the video quality is really good too: as I said, you can use optical zoom during video (although it gets out of focus for a brief instant while zooming before focusing well again), but also it stores videos in MPEG4 which is very space efficient (other cameras, e.g. the Casio EX-Z120, use Motion JPEG which is a real space hog), it is 30 frames per sec VGA (i.e. real-time motion, TV quality), and finally the low-light performance is pretty good (e.g. cheaper cameras such as the Kodak C743 are HORRIBLE in low light, almost completely dark and barely discernible, while this one is much better and nice); it is not as good as a dedicated camcorder, but if you are on a budget (i.e. don't want to purchase 2 separate products) and/or you value the convenience and space savings of just carrying one camera then this can probably work well as your video camera too. In sum, a great camera and especially so at its price. It would have been nice to have optical image stabilization, but that probably would have jacked the price up quite a bit and I can personally live without it. Highly recommended.
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