Digital Home Thoughts: DesignTechnica Reviews the Kodak EasyShare P880

"Kodak is known for selling shiploads of inexpensive digicams and printer docks. Occasionally it dips its toes in the higher end of game with models like the EasyShare One and the Performance Series that includes the 8-megapixel P880. The company used to sell a D-SLR but pulled the plug on it earlier this year after competitors Canon and Nikon blew it out of the water. The just-introduced EasyShare P880 is a fairly sophisticated digicam that rivals and in some other ways tops its competitors. The P880 has an oddly-sized lens rated 5.8x with a very nice range of 24-140mm. Yet at $599 it’s competing against some real heavy hitters especially when you think the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 has a 10.7x optical zoom and a 9MP imager for $50 more (street prices). And there’s Canon’s Pro 1 (8MP, 7x zoom) for $625 or the Nikon 8700 (8MP, 8x, $550), even the 8MP Olympus SP-350 with a 4x zoom for $399. It’s a cruel world out there as manufacturers cram more technology into their cameras and lower prices in a struggle for market share. It’s Darwinian capitalism at its best and you’re the winner. Now can the EasyShare P880 claw its way to the top. Let’s check it out…"



Looks like a capable pseudo-DSLR. My first digital camera was a Kodak - a DC265 (if memory serves) - and man did I shoot a lot of pictures with that thing! I remember buying it because it was the first digital camera I saw where the resulting photos didn't scream "digital" to me. How things have changed - when I hear the "whir-whir-click" of 35mm film loading in an analog camera I stare at it like an alien artifact. What was your first digital camera, and when/why did you buy it?