Kodak EasyShare P880

The EasyShare P880 is a high end bridge digital camera from Kodak. It was announced August 2, 2005 within the Performance series. Its siblings are the P850 and the P712. The P880, however, possesses the largest optical sensor of all three models, with a size of 1/1.8 inches. Distinguishing features include a wide angle coverage of 24mm (35 mm equivalent), on screen histogram display, and focus-by-wire. In terms of the Kodak product line and price the Performance series are the most sophisticated EasyShare cameras, just below the considerably more expensive Kodak professional DCS pro SLR digital cameras that were discontinued in May 2005.

pecifications

* f/2.8-f/4.1 24 – 140 mm (35 mm equivalent) wide-angle to telephoto zoom lens
* 1/1.8" (7.18 x 5.32 mm) 8.3MP 4:3 CCD sensor
* 640x480, 320x240 30fps Quicktime Movie video capture.
* Auto, Scene, Programmed Mode, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual exposure - allows (B)ulb, Custom modes (stores 3 profiles)
* Manual zoom ring and optional use of manual focus ring (fly-by-wire). Autofocus uses hybrid phase detection system (sensors above the lens) for quick focus assist followed by contrast detection system (TTL) for fine focus. Phase detection system should be switched off in the menu when accessory lenses are mounted.
* 2.5" 480x240 (115k) pixel LCD Panel
* EVF with 237k pixel
* Dioptre adjustment for EVF
* Built-in manual pop up Electronic Flash (GN 9 @ ISO 100) with external Hot shoe and classic flash connector. Special external Kodak flash P20 unit available works with TTL exposure metering. External flash units should not exceed 500v contact requirement.
* Proprietary RAW file format - In-camera conversion to JPEG is possible or the .KDC can be converted with Kodak Easyshare software.
* Histogram display with highlight and shadow clipping emphasis on Review
* Hybrid focusing system uses TTL-AF and external passive sensor, low light AF: high performance with AF assist light
* 52mm filter screw mount on the lens - use this for screw-on filters that will not vignette the 24mm wide angle view (not higher than 5mm). Also for single element macro close up filters. For mounting heavier add-on lenses like the Kodak Xenar 1.4x tele converter (Kodak #8756488), use the 55mm adapter tube (Kodak #8480485) - this attaches to a thread hidden by a chromed ring around the lens. This adapter cannot be left on permanently because it will cut off the angle of view for most of the zoom range.
* Uses KLIC-5001 Kodak Lithium Ion batteries (4 hour full charge with supplied external charger), also KLIC-5000 lower capacity ones.
* Dedicated buttons for Focus mode, Digital Zoom, ISO, White Balance, Flash, Review mode. One custom button.
* Command Wheel and Set button supplements Joystick pad for menu and settings.
* Firmware Update adds Hot pixel and Dead pixel re-calibration, improves focusing speed.
* Uses SD card for storage (Max 2Gb capacity)
* Drive modes include 10 sec Self Timer, 2 sec Delay (in the absence of remote shutter release), First Burst, Last Burst, 3 shot Exposure Bracketing, 5 shot Exposure Bracketing, Time Lapse. There is no remote shutter release. Exposure Bracketing cannot be used with Self Timer modes.

User Notes

* P20 flash is fully automatic with the P880. You can bounce the flash of ceilings and the camera will automatically compensate; perfect exposure all the time. The P880s flash and P20 use a pre-flash that fires before the main flash, this lets the camera meter for perfect exposure. The pre-flash is faster on the P20 so it's harder to see it. The P20 is much more powerful than the built in flash, and is the number one recommended add on for the P880 to extend its usability.
* It is a matter of popular opinion that at discounted prices, the P880 scores highly in having a very good 24mm (35mm equivalent) wide angle lens. An entry level DSLR with a third party lens capable of the same image quality at 24mm and above would be two or three times the cost of the P880.
* The SD card file system is FAT16. 4Gb capacity is not supported.
* Does not have remote control. However provides an additional 2 second delayed timed shutter release in addition to the 10 second self timer.
* Not really compatible with the Olympus teleconverter model tcon-17 due to some vignetting, best to use Kodak's 1.4x teleconverter. Not compatible with any wide angle converters; really does not need it due to excellent 24mm wide angle lens.
* KDC is directly supported by
** Kodak Easyshare software - comes with the camera
** SilkyPix Developer Studio (Windows only)
** Adobe Lightroom (Windows and Mac)
** Picasa (Windows)
** newer versions of Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements - there is an Adobe Camera Raw 3.6 plugin. (Windows and Mac)
** Adobe DNG Converter (available for Windows and Mac) which implies that once the .DNG file is created, any program that can process .DNG files can be used.
** Vuescan (Windows and Mac)
** dcraw command line tool (Windows, Mac, Linux) The UFRaw plugin for The Gimp relies on dcraw.
** IrfanView 3.98t - the interim-version [http://www.irfanview-online.com/downloads.php?cat=3 3.98t] . (Windows)
** graphic converter 5.9.3 (Mac - shareware)
** XnView 1.90 Beta [http://newsgroup.xnview.com/viewtopic.php?t=10749&highlight=kdc] (Windows)
** Helicon Filter [http://www.heliconfilter.com/pages/] (Windows)
** Raw Therapee [http://www.rawtherapee.com/] (Windows)
** RAW Photo Processor (Andrey Tverdokhleb) [http://www.lexa.ru/andyt/RPP/] (Mac)
* Manual focus feature is hampered by relatively coarse resolution EVF and LCD screen.
* Visual estimation of contrasty outdoor scenes can be unreliable using the LCD screen. The LCD screen tends to show a pale, bright interpretation of the scene or the captured image. Either switch on the info for histogram and shadow/highlight clipping emphasis or use the EVF for better visual estimation.
* Continuous Auto Focus mode is quite noisy. Use the Single AF option.

References

* [http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2709&gpcid=0900688a803806c3 Press release]
* [http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=7373 Model page]
* [http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=9/19/7372/7373/7376&pq-locale=en_US Accessories page]
* [http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/publications/urg00461toc.jhtml?pq-path=7495 Kodak P880 online manual] also available as [http://www.kodak.com/global/plugins/acrobat/en/service/manuals/urg00461/P880_GLB_en.pdf downloadable pdf]
* [http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/kodak-easyshare-p880/4507-6501_7-31470097.html?tag=sub Optical sensor size from cnet]

Reviews
* [http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/kodak/p880-review/ Digital Camera Resource Page] , Jeff Keller
* [http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Kodak-EasyShare-P880-Digital-Camera-Review-.htm Digital Camera Info] , Emily Raymond
* [http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/P880/P880A.HTM The Imaging Resource] , Shawn Barnett, 23 November 2005
* [http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/kodak-p880/p880-gen.php Megapixel.NET] December 2005 Review
* [http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/p880.html Steve's Digicam] , 12 January 2006
* [http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/kodakp880/ Digital Photography] , Simon Joinson, January 2006
* [http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/1949/camera-test-kodak-easyshare-p880.html Popular Photography] , Dan Richards, March 2006Service and Support
* [http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/repair/troubleshooting/troubleshooting.jhtml?pq-path=6198 Kodak Interactive Troubleshooting and Repair] Related Information
* [http://kodakp880.wikispaces.com/ P880 wiki]
* [http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Kodak_P880 Camerapedia P880 entry]