Customer Reviews

Kodak EasyShare M580 14 MP Digital Camera with 8x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Pink)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have used a myriad of pocket cameras in the past, including other Kodaks. Sometimes it seems as if Kodak will hit a home run and then take two steps back, but it seems as if they've broken through with consistent improvements (V550, V1253, M341, etc.). If it's one thing Kodak has understood well since they invented digital photography, it's make a camera easy to use, and produce pleasing photos.

Generally, on the point and shoot side, Kodak's attributes have been ease of use, beautiful display, great video (especially since they started doing HD a few models back), and beautiful, vivid pictures. They also make it pretty easy to update the camera's firmware when they correct a bug or improve a feature. Typically, Kodak pocket cameras have been weak in low light, sharpness has tended to suffer greatly under borderline lighting conditions, and speed to set up can be slow.

Recently they've really improved things with features like face recognition, the camera's ability to analyze scenes and 'figure out" your composition, and other attributes that make life easy for point and shooters, but unless the light was with you, you had to work at it more than you should.

It's been in a lot of Kodak's traditionally weak areas where I found this camera to have so many improvements. It's substantially faster than earlier models. There's no time to play a little "boot up jingle" because when you hit the power button, this camera is ready for action before you are.

Taking pictures in questionable light, with or without flash, is noticeably much better than in my past experience. Before I would have to fiddle with a "scene mode" and/or the flash, and/or the aperture setting to get something I could reasonably use when conditions were nominal. That's great when you have the time to fiddle with it, but not so hot when you're at a poorly lit reception or some other indoor event and you have to act fast.

What originally attracted me to the camera was the 8x zoom and previous success with features like smart capture (intelligent scene detection and analysis), and panorama mode. I know my wife will love face recognition - the ability to quickly find pictures of the kids among the hundreds of photos she accumulates on a memory card. Of course the ease of use is big...

I just got back from a "cruisin' weekend" at the beach with some buddies - thousands of classic cars. Nivana. My buddy had his Canon pocket camera and was reading the manual so he could figure out how to delete pictures. I looked at it and couldn't see the markings on some of the controls, much less figure out how to delete something. Kodaks always have had dedicated delete and review buttons. Also a menu button and joystick with 4 other controls for quick access to common features, a flash toggle button, scene mode button, etc.

You really waste no time getting up and ready to shoot. The main thing is we're instantly taking pictures and shooting HD video of hot rods that suddenly appear on the boulevard without staring at the back of the camera. Something I would take for granted - quickly deleting things we don't want were a luxury for him. That model he had might have been easy, but my attitude is, if you can't figure it out on the fly, then it's more complicated than it needs to be. If anything, that's a Kodak attribute, but I think some people overlook the deeper features because they assume the camera must not be very sophisticated because it's so easy to use.

The bonus this time was the near instantaneous readiness, clearer night shots, better color in low light, and less fiddling to try to make a useful shot in questionable conditions. It's obvious to me Kodak took a lot of the criticisms to heart, kept the good things, added a quality 8x optical zoom, and made the other things better.

After much research I purchased this camera for one reason - low shutter lag for its class. We have a two year old who moves quickly and it was pretty much impossible to get a good shot with my Olympus Camedia D-595, which seemed to take about two seconds from the time the button was pushed until the actual shot was taken. Mostly I was capturing the back of her head, if she even ended up in the frame at all. This camera snaps very quickly so it has achieved its purpose.

Unfortunately, after a couple days of use I experienced the freeze-up problem so many other reviewers have complained about. Every time I would use the review function to look at the pictures I had taken it would lock up and require battery removal to restart. I decided to return it but read about the firmware update Kodak put out to fix the issue, which some other reviewers have mentioned. It is available on their support page ([...]). It was very easy to install and completely fixed the problem. I definitely recommend people otherwise satisfied with this camera try this before sending it back.

Picture quality is fine for a point and shoot camera. I only took a couple videos and was not very impressed with the quality (grainy) but they were taken indoors in low light so I will withhold judgment on that.

My one complaint so far is that you have to turn the camera on and have the lens pop out in order to use the review feature and look over photos that were already taken. My Olympus allowed me to review the pictures on the camera without actually turning the camera function on and unnecessarily exposing the lens and working the gears. I guess that is a minor issue though.

The bottom line is it does what I wanted and I now am able to capture some good candid shots of my speedy daughter.

This camera is so easy to use you don't even need to read the directions! Picture quality is superb! Options abound!

What I liked about this camera before I bought it was that it was 14 mp, HD video, and 8x zoom. What I don't like about this camera after I bought it is... Most of it. The video was especially disappointing, it's very grainy, jumps horribly when you move the camera and doesn't like normal indoor lighting very well. I can't tell you how grainy it really is. I even ran it through filters and conversions and it still stunk.
The pics that I took although 14mp still looked grainy to me, not horrible, just not as clear as I expected from such a high MP camera and a supposedly great lens.
I will be taking this camera back in the morning. Very disappointed and won't be purchasing a Kodak again. First and last!

AWESOME CAMERA! RECEIVED SUPER FAST AND LOVE THE PINK! CAN'T GO WRONG! LOVE THE LARGER LCD SCREEN AND VERY EASY TO USE WITHOUT THE MANUAL! NEVER HAVE SEEN A 8 OPTICAL ZOOM IN SUCH A COMPACT CAMERA, BUT IT'S NICE! WRIST STRAP IS EASY TO ATTACH AS WELL. PICTURES TURNED OUT GREAT AND LOVE THE NIGHT TIME SCENERY!

I got this camera just before a long road trip and took 522 photos with no difficulty during the next 9 weeks. I highly recommend it!

I was looking for a camera with an optical zoom greater than 5x without having a semiprofessional look/size. I didn't find many, and the Kodak M580 was by far the cheapest one, so I gave it a try.

The device is extremely easy to use. It does not have too many buttons and their functions become clear even before reading the user manual. It does save pictures and video in HD, but you may want to get an SD card, since the internal memory won't get you very far. The proprietary rechargeable battery makes it easy to recharge and lasts quite longer than AA batteries (rechargeable or otherwise) I have used in other cameras. Of course, it will be a chore to find a replacement battery when this one's lifetime has expired, but I expect it to last a long time -- after all, it's a camera, not a laptop.

Why pink? Because it's a gift for Mother's Day.

Only camera in price range with 8x zoom! Rechargeable batteries. Only issue is buttons are on tiny side.
Bob

Just amazing! This little camera is fabulous! Amazon you did it again. Arrived on time in perfect condition, just perfect. Easy Share is easy to use....
Quality of pictures is outstanding for such a small price, the variety of scenes available is excellent and easy & fun to use. Did a portrait using the candlelight setting it's as good as a pro. It's great for an old lady like me it removes wrinkles lol... This little camera is a powerhouse. I am quite a bit older and don't use the features to put your pictures on face book, you tube etc ..I'm sure when my Great Grandchildren check this camera out they will want me to buy them one for Christmas...I will say the buttons are small, but you have to expect that on a pocket size camera. I have memorized their placement and now have no problem at all. I just love this fun little camera. The tripod is amazingly sturdy and very good quality, of course I had to try it out,no problem or worry about the camera falling or tipping over. The video is excellent too, but I most likely won't use this feature as I have a Video Camera. Thanks Amazon Great little camera from Kodak I would highly recommend this M580.....Kodak EasyShare M580 14MP Digital Camera with 8x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 3.0 Inch LCD (Pink)

We returned the camera because it kept freezing up and had to be turned off and turned on again in order to work.