Kodak EasyShare CX7525 Digital Camera: An easy to use camera for the masses.
Written: Nov 19 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Easy to use, good pictures.
Cons: Not very easy to control the settings.
The Bottom Line: A camera for the masses that is very easy to use.
|
|
|
| yakkowarner's Full Review: Kodak EasyShare CX7525 Digital Camera |
The Kodak Easy Share CX7525 mimic’s its name, it is really easy to use. You don’t have to be an electronics genius to use it and you can still get great results. But for those of us that like to have lots of control this can be a draw back because those settings are hard to use.
What it comes with
-The camera.
-Custom dock station.
-rechargeable battery (looks like 2 AA stuck together.)
-USB cable
-A/V cable
Media format.
The camera does have 16 MB of memory as well as the option to insert a SD card or MMC card. You slide the memory card in an internal side compartment. Same compartment as he AV port and the USB cable port.
Ports
In a side compartment (on the right) you have the ports for the A/V cable, the SD card, and the USB sync cable.
On the bottom you have a compartment for the battery(s)
On the left side you have a 3V power input.
On the bottom you have the docking port to connect to a portable printer.
Also on the bottom is a port to secure the camera to a tripod, which is good for low light situations.
Buttons
On the top you have a wheel for the different automatic modes. This is also where the snapshot button is.
On the back is the zoom buttons, flash mode button, timer/multi shot button, menu button, review button, delete button, share button, and the 5-way cursor button.
Dial modes: Turning it on.
This camera turns on and off by rotating the dial. In addition you have several different automatic settings you can use depending on your environment.
-OFF- The off button.
-Auto- It automatically sets the settings for you.
-Portrait- For shooting people.
-Sport- When there is a lot of action it will increase the shutter speed.
-Night- Appears to open the shutter longer. I would recommend a tripod if you intend to use this feature at night, even with the flash. My shots came out blurry in the background.
-Landscape- For distant scenic shots of mountains, fields, etc.
-Close-up- When you take shots close up (but this is not a macro lens.)
-Favorites- Look at your favorites.
-Video- Take video in 640x480 or smaller.
The lens
34mm-102mm, 3x optical zoom, Kodak Retinar aspheric all glass lens.
Ergonomics and ease of use
It feels like a rectangular box to me. There is no real grips or curves that make it easy to hold onto. It is about as easy to hold as a disposable camera.
Everything is easy to use as long as you keep it in auto mode. If you start to mess with manual settings then it can be a little difficult to use.
The software
Kodak has connectivity software called Kodak EasyShare Software that you can get online or with the disk that came with the box. I told my co-worker I could just download the software online but I realized that was a mistake. It gave me errors and some other problems plus having to reboot, but after 45 minutes of messing around I finally got it to load. What I really liked is when I plugged in the camera the computer automatically went into the load screen and downloading was a snap. For this feature to work though you need to have the software load when the computer first loads up.
Cool data
What I really liked about this camera is that it saved all of the settings in the picture file itself. After I downloaded the pictures on my computer, I hit properties to look at the picture and I got several key pieces of information. I can see the ISO, light source, focal length, aperture, flash setting, distance, exposure, and shutter settings of each picture. I would die to have the information on my F100.
The picture quality
I was really please with the quality. Much more than I thought (but I also have very low expectations for digital cameras.) The color reproduction was not perfect but pretty close. The detail was good but many times distant objects were fuzzy because I didn’t use a tripod and the shutter speed wasn’t fast enough. Part of that is due to the smaller lens (typical for digital cameras.) The camera was able to adjust automatically to the different lighting conditions well. While it is not perfect, the pictures will be fine for the average user’s photo album but not for framing.
Zoom capabilities.
The camera is a 3x optical zoom.
And it has a 5x digital zoom.
Auto focus features
This moves the auto focus mark so you can focus on a specific object anywhere in the screen.
Center focus, Center wide focus, Side focus, Center and side focus, and Left & right focus.
Image capacity
This is a 5 mega pixel camera.
The highest quality picture is 2560x1920 in jpg format.
The lowest quality picture is 1496x1122.
The average file size for me was 1000 KB (I only shoot in the highest setting.)
Movie format
The highest quality image you will get is 640/480 in movie mode but you have the option of displaying in 320/240.
The 11-second video was 2,784 KB.
Still image format.
JPG
Shooting speed and burst mode.
You have to set the burst mode by pressing a button on the top back of the camera. Once you do you just press and hold the shooting button down and the camera will take a series of shots. It seemed to be about 2.5 frames a second. I was shooting at the highest setting also (2560x1920) so I think that’s pretty good for a digital camera.
Without this feature it will take a little more than 1 second to shoot consecutive shots and if you do it that fast the flash will not have time to recharge.
Flash and flash modes
Auto flash- Flashes when it thinks you need it.
Off- Never turns on.
Fill- Always goes on. Good for backlit sources.
Red-Eye- Fires flash twice to reduce/eliminate red-eye.
LCD screen
I like the screen. It is large enough (2.5 inch diameter) and easy to look at. But like most LCD screens I have seen, some colors are lost and the brightness is turned up. I really have no complaints since it is only designed to be a viewfinder not a television.
You can also turn off the LCD display if you want to conserve juice, but it forces you to use the simple viewfinder.
Optional light sources
Not available.
Brightness settings
Auto- Automatically picks the best setting (but not from my tests.)
Daylight- For outdoor/sunlight shooting.
Tungsten- For normal indoor light sources.
Fluorescent- For indoor rooms that have fluorescent light sources.
From my tests I find that using the specific settings will give you a better picture. But they sure are a pain to set up any time you change settings. I ended giving up on that perfect picture due to frustration with setting it up. It seems to take 10 times longer than my SLR.
ISO settings
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400.
Exposure compensation
-2, -1.5, -1, -0.5, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, & 2.0
Color
You can set your camera to 3 color settings. Sepia is the old-fashioned film look.
Color- color, Black & White, Sepia.
Long time exposure option
You can set the exposure time from .7 second, 1.0 second, 1.5 seconds, 2.0 seconds, 3.0 seconds, & 4.0 seconds.
Exposure metering
These settings are pretty typical of most cameras. When I shoot I usually leave mine in “Center weight” mode.
Multi-Pattern- Sets the exposure time based on the entire picture.
Center weight- Sets the exposure time based on the objects(s) in the middle area of the screen.
Center-Spot- Sets the exposure time based on the object in the very center point of the screen.
Video out option
NTSC or PAL.
Orientation sensor
Neat little option. It tilts the image so it is easier to see. The problem is the image may be small at one angle.
Focus Zone
Multi-Zone & Center-Zone.
Controlling the sound
You can shutoff the sounds, just have it make a sound when you take a picture, or have all sounds on (ex. the startup sound.)
Date stamp
Date stamp your pictures.
Battery life
The estimation is 200 for non-rechargeable batteries to 400 pictures for a lithium battery. The rechargeable batteries that came with it will last for about 250 pictures. That should be enough juice for a day outing if you are careful.
Other Features
-10 second delay timer-
-Date/Time
-Album name feature- You can have the pictures placed in specific albums for easier sorting.
-Zoom in your picture- You can zoom in a picture in the camera’s LCD screen.
-Slide show- This is a really nice feature combined with the A/V cable if you want to show your photos to your family on their television without the hassle of downloading them on their computer. We have done this several times with our video gear.
-Power saving feature- 1 minute screen turns off, 8 minutes it turns off.
-Tagging- You can tag pictures for e-mail or printing.
Optional accessories
Kodak EasyShare camera Dock
Koda EasyShare printer dock
3-volt AC adapter
Languages
English
Dutch
French
Spanish
Italian
Portuguese
3 Southeast Asian languages (I assume Japanese, Cantonese, and Mandarin but I’m not sure)
Who is this for?
My co-worker put it perfectly; it is a very easy camera to use. She is not technically savvy but she feels very comfortable with this camera. So it is an ideal camera for anyone intimidated by technology. She first bought one for herself and loved it so much that she also bought the same model for the work that she does. And with her budget she could have bought any digital camera that she wanted.
What I like.
-Easy to use. Anyone can operate this camera.
-Decent battery life.
-Easy to sync to your computer.
-Descent picture quality.
-Video feature
-16MB internal memory
-Can use a rechargeable or disposable.
-Relatively small (easily slips in a purse or cargo pocket.)
What I do not like.
-Not easy to use manually.
-Not very ergonomically designed.
-Not a lot of cool bells and whistles.
-No interchangeable lens.
-No external light source option.
-Lens is average.
Weight and dimensions
Weight: 8.43 ounces (with card and rechargeable battery.)
Length: 11/16 inch
Width: 4.1 inches
Height: 2.55 inches
Length of sync cable: 58 inches
Length of wrist strap: 8.25 inches
Summary
This is a 5 MegaPixel camera that is designed for the masses. It is incredibly easy to use right out of the box. There are even enough customizable shooting settings to please the perfectionists out there that like to tinker with camera settings. My biggest complaint with the camera is the difficulty to customize the settings. The settings for light source and other pre-sets seems to be well designed and I liked the pictures better. The problem I found was it took too long to set it up and therefore I gave up and stuck to the completely automatic features due to my frustration. But for someone that just wants family photos and does not want to worry about setting up a camera, then a Kodak EasyShare is a perfect option.
Other reviews you might be interested in.
Sony Wega HDTV
Canon SD300
Sony Handycam DCR-HC40
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): wc
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.