It’s been a long time since Kodak released a camera, and even longer since they released a camera that last caught my attention. It appears they’re making a comeback this year by launching five new digital cameras today. The first camera is pretty interesting - it’s a digital camera with a big touchscreen so the camera can also serve as a pocket photo album. The Kodak Slice is the camera maker’s second touchscreen camera since their EasyShare One made its debut several years ago. The other four models announced are, well, not so exciting - they’re just ordinary entry-level compact cameras with rather different angular exterior designs.
Kodak Slice
(Compact touchscreen camera)
- 14 effective megapixels
- 28 – 140 mm (f4.8 – f5.2) 5X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization
- 3.5 inch wide touchscreen display
- Camera doubles as a portable photo album
- No manual controls (just point-and-shoot operation with scene modes)
- Share button tags photos so you can upload them to photo/social networking places
- Face detection and Smart Capture (Scene mode selection)
- 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
- Internal memory stores 5000 photos (most likely low-res versions) for ‘album mode’
- Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in April for $350
- Comes in your choice of black, silver or maroon
Kodak EasyShare M530 and M550
(Entry-level cameras)
- 12 effective megapixels
- EasyShare M530 has 3X optical zoom; EasyShare M550 has 5X optical zoom
- NO image stabilization
- 2.7 inch LCD
- No manual controls (just point-and-shoot operation with scene modes)
- Face detection and Smart Capture (Scene mode selection)
- VGA movie mode with sound
- Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in February for $130 (M530) and in March for $150 (M550)
- Both come in a variety of colors
Kodak EasyShare M575 and M580
(Entry-level cameras)
- 14 effective megapixels
- EasyShare M575 has 5X optical zoom; EasyShare M580 has 8X optical zoom
- 3 inch LCD
- No manual controls (just point-and-shoot operation with scene modes)
- Face detection and Smart Capture (Scene mode selection)
- HD movie mode with sound
- Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in April for $180 (M575) and $200 (M580)
- Both come in a variety of colors