Kodak Z1015 IS Digital Camera Review

Kodak Z1015 IS

Digital Camera Review

Sep 26, 2008 - By Alfredo Padilla
The Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS is an affordable ultra-zoom point-and-shoot retailing for $299.95. A 15x optical zoom for that price is certainly a deal, and we're sure that many will be attracted by that feature alone, even if the resolution is an unremarkable 10 megapixels. The user interface of the Z1015 IS is simple and easy to learn, and more advanced users will appreciate the full complement of manual controls available along with RAW support.
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Manual Control Options
Despite being targeted at amateur photographers, the Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS still offers a full range of manual control options, a welcome feature for advanced amateurs who want to learn more. Use the mode dial on the top of the camera to choose Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or full Manual mode. The key tool for making manual adjustments on the Z1015 IS is the scroll wheel found on the top left of the camera.


All the manual controls are navigated using the scroll wheel and appear at the bottom of the display.

Rotate this wheel left or right to choose the appropriate setting from the bottom of the screen, which include Aperture, Shutter Speed, Exposure Compensation, Flash Compensation and ISO. When the item you want to change is highlighted press down on the scroll wheel and then rotate it to make the adjustment you want. Press down again to lock the setting in. Not quite as handy as the dedicated controls we've seen on higher-end point-and-shoots like the Canon G10 or P6000, it's still relatively easy and quick. Our biggest issue with the system is that the scroll wheel seemed a bit too sensitive, making it occasionally difficult to select the item you want or to make fine adjustments.

Although all five of these settings are displayed in each manual mode so you can see how they change, they are not all adjustable in every manual mode. In Program mode you can adjust Exposure Compensation, Flash Compensation and ISO. Aperture priority mode lets you change everything but shutter speed, and for Shutter Priority mode everything but aperture is selectable. Full manual mode doesn't let you make adjustments to Exposure Compensation.

Focus
You can set the camera to use Manual Focus by hitting the Macro/Focus button at the top of the hand grip. When in Manual Focus mode you have a sixth icon along the bottom of the screen. Using the scroll wheel as described above you can select and adjust the focus. Focus assist, where the center of the screen zooms in so you can better judge focus visually, is available. If not in Manual Focus your options are Auto Focus, Macro and Landscape.

ISO
ISO options can be adjusted in all shooting modes. In Auto mode ISO settings can range from 80-1600. In manual modes you have 3200 and 6400 ISO available as well, but these allow you to capture images at only three megapixels in size.

White Balance
White balance can only be set in manual modes. From the menu you can choose from auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent and open shade. There is no support for manual white balance.


You'll need to go into the menu to change white balance.

Metering
As with white balance you'll need to be in a manual mode to adjust metering, which includes multi-pattern, center-weighted and spot metering.


Metering options are deep in the menu, no quick changes here.

Shutter Speed
Shutter speed can be set manually in Shutter Priority or full Manual modes. Shutter speed ranges from 16-1/1000 seconds, a less than impressive range, but not surprising given the Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS's price.


The shutter speed range isn't mind-blowing, but hey it only costs $300.

Aperture
Aperture ranges from f/3.5 -F/7.0 at the wide angle end and f/5.4 - f/7 at the telephoto end. You can adjust aperture manually when in Aperture Priority mode or full Manual mode.


It's nice to see manual aperture controls on a relatively
inexpensive camera like the Z1015 IS.

Image Stabilization
The Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS incorporates Kodak's optical image stabilization system.

Picture Quality / Size Options
One of the most valuable features of the Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS for advanced photographers is support for RAW format. RAW allows you to take uncompressed data directly from the imaging sensor and edit it directly, avoiding the imperfections that crop up when editing compressed JPEG files. Rather than processing and compressing it into a JPEG format. RAW shooting is only available in manual modes. In manual modes you can also choose from Fine, Standard or Basic JPEG images in addition to RAW. In automatic mode you are limited to Standard quality JPEGs. Image size options range from 3,648 x 2,736 at the high end to 1280 x 960 at the low end, with ane array of resolutions in between, including options to shoot in 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 ratios.

Picture Effects Mode
As you shoot you can apply the following picture effects: high color, natural color, low color, sepia, black and white. These are not available as effects you can apply after the photo is captured.

Modes Page 6 of 8 Conclusion Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS Digital Camera First Impressions Review Navigation

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