Kodak EasyShare P880
Digital Camera Review
Nov 18, 2005
- By Emily Raymond
1.9
The Kodak EasyShare P880 is the flagship model of the manufacturer’s new Performance Series. The 8 megapixel digital camera was announced in August 2005 and released just in time for the holiday shopping rush. With its 1/1.8-inch CCD and Kodak Color Science Chip, the P880 has SLR-like qualities while still being marketed as easy to use. While it is SLR shaped, the wide 24-140mm (equivalent) Schneider-Kreuznach 5.8x optical zoom lens cannot be taken off. The Kodak P880 also has a 2.5-inch LCD screen and an electronic viewfinder. This SLR-shaped digital camera sells for a retail price of $599, which is more than most compacts but less than even entry level consumer DSLRs. This is exactly where Kodak wants the P880.
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Picture Quality / Size Options (7.5)
The Kodak EasyShare P880 has several size options accessible in the most basic shooting menu. This 8 megapixel digital camera has five image sizes: 3264 x 2448, 3264 x 2176 (3:2), 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, and 1024 x 768. Images can be shot in Fine, Standard, or Basic JPEG files or as TIFF or RAW files. RAW images can be transformed into TIFF or JPEG files within the camera’s playback menu. While every compact digital camera can shoot in the JPEG format, the TIFF and RAW formats are more standard in DSLRs. Macintosh users should be warned that the RAW files cannot be edited on their computer’s operating system.
Picture Effects Mode (7.0)
There are several in-camera effects that many compacts use to increase the appeal of their direct print ability, the logic being that making emendations in-camera will negate the need for editing software. While I don’t think this is Kodak’s main intent, the P880 still has color modes typical of compact models. Natural colors can be switched to High or Low; this is similar to a saturation control. Contrast and Sharpness selections each have High, Normal, and Low options as well. Sepia and Black & White modes are available too. Unfortunately, there are no live views of all these color modes and options, but it would be better to add these effects later in the included software anyway.