Quality Pics, Little Fuss

About 120 years ago, photography was a complex blend of art and science practiced by a select few. Then, in 1888, George Eastman began building Kodak into a popular photography powerhouse, employing the slogan, “You press the button, we’ll do the rest.” With the release of the wildly popular, dollar-priced “Brownie” in 1900—a point-and-shoot camera that was simple enough to be used by children and could be loaded in full daylight—Kodak began delivering on that promise, dominating the popular photography market throughout most of the 20th century.

As a Western New York native, I would drive past Rochester’s sprawling Kodak plants in the early 1990s and wonder just how much longer the traditionally film-based company could continue to hold on in the face of the exploding world of digital photography. I wasn’t optimistic. I’m rethinking that now, having just tested the Kodak Z1012 IS. Kodak, with digital revenue now exceeding their film-based earnings, seems to be staying afloat by doing exactly what they’ve always done best: giving casual photographers point-and-shoot results that rival the pros.

Though this 10.1 megapixel camera affords decent manual control to the advanced users who want it, I soon found that its Smart Capture Mode satisfied most of my common people-picture needs, detecting faces, tracking them when they were in motion, and automatically setting the focus and exposure to ensure that they—instead of the foreground or background—were most perfectly captured. I wound up shooting in Smart Capture, by default. Sure, I’m an old-school, fully manual, high-end camera-snob, but, hey, when point-and-shoot convenience actually works, I’m all over it.

And while the Kodak Z1012 IS, like most good digital cameras, packs way too many features to detail here, there’s one I really want to highlight: the panorama feature. It allows you to take three pictures in sequence—left to right or in reverse—giving you little slices of the previous picture’s edge, so that you can line up the next shot. Shoot three of them horizontally, and the camera will stitch them together seamlessly in about 10 seconds. I can’t help but think, for example, how many school library Web pages this feature could help in creating a stunning, ultra-wide-angle banner image.

Tired of out-of-focus, shadowy people pictures? Novice photographers can get consistently expert results in common situations with the Kodak EasyShare Z1012 IS.

For a peek at some of the shots I took on this fool-proof, but high-quality digital camera, visit tinyurl.com/5t22u2. See the video version of this review.

Full specs and details available at www.kodak.com. Suggested retail price: $249.95.

Jeffrey Hastings is a library media specialist at Highlander Way Middle School in Howell, MI. Email him at hastingj@howellschools.com.