(previous video removed and repalced with this one! Take two…)
After I shot the video above I stood up and took two shots, both with the flash on to compensate for the bright light coming in the windows. The Canon appears a little hazy, while the Kodak Z915 is clear and color is true. However, this is a good time to mention I am not a fan of the buttons on the Kodak Z915 camera. They are tiny and difficult to click if say you are a very glamorous photographer and have long nails. Ahem.
From right where I was standing I wanted to test the zoom and noise (noise is the fuzzyness factor) quality. This was surprising to me. Even with the ‘digital’ zoom found on the Canon, the results were totally unusable. Dark and full of noise. And yet the Kodak Z915 shot was great and very useable. If say you needed a shot of a cast iron lizard thingy for any reason.
Next I decided to test one of my favorite settings…the “Flower” setting, which is there to help you take close up photos with detail. Notice how the Kodak Z915 has nice rich color? Including the green magic marker happy face found on my ‘zen’ rocks? I need to have a talk with my kids I think…
Okay so I wanted to see how performance compared outside. So I went to the very exotic local called “side of my house” and found a bunch of grapes growing from an arbor. I don’t find many differences between these shots. Both are satisfactory. With the exception that the Kodak Z915 shot has slightly richer color saturation again.
Okay so lets go put that zoom to the test. Howz about one of Tucker’s tomatoes?
I stood way back from the plant and zoomed in to full zoom with both cameras. While I wasn’t surprised to see the Kodak Z915 could zoom further, I was VERY surprised to see the difference in sharpness and clarity.
Shocked? Surprised?
I AM.
But here is the biggest surprise of all. The Canon 950 IS sells for $587.00 and the Kodak A915 retails for $199!!!
There are some very tangible reasons for the price difference. The Canon has a Titanium body and a lithium battery (rechargeable) and both of those features contribute to the cost of the Canon in a HUGE way. And as I have said to others previously, I am not a fan of cameras that use regular batteries…but it can also be a real blessing when you are out of power and you have either no access to your charger or no access to an outlet (say camping, Disneyland etc).
The Canon is 12.1 Mega Pixel while the Kodak A915 is 10 MegaPixel. Does it matter? It might if you plan to enlarge your photos beyond say MURAL SIZE. But for everyday use there is little advantage to having that 2.1 more MegaPixels.
This is not a totally comprehensive comparison. So don’t get all up in my grill because I didn’t mention this or that feature….Next week I plan to compare these same cameras in speed settings (sports, action) and I will bring you the results.
Remember Christmas is 4 long months away around the corner readers….don’t you deserve a new camera this year?
YES YOU DO!
*
*
Glamorous Disclaimer: Kodak sponsored my expenses for BlogHer, and provided the Z915 for me to capture the event. It became clear to me, I wanted to do a comparison between my much loved Canon A950. As always, The Glamorous Life Association does not promote or showcase any products or services which the author does not ACTUALLY use and LIKE.
I will never subject The Association members to review posts that are not 100% honest, truthful and ethical.
Because being ethical…is dang GLAMOROUS.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Great review marcy. I like to see you do this sort of thing. Any chance you could review the Kodak Z980? I am thinking of buying but would love to see what you think first!
Surprising. The only shot for which I preferred the Canon was the first one; the Kodak shot was pretty high-contrast and it lost detail. But otherwise, what a great camera, especially for the price! I need to look at Kodak . . .
So informative and I like the video delivery :)
Hi Marcy,
I got my Kodak Camera for my birthday in October 2007 and I still absolutely love it! The price, the quality, the size – love it. Kodak had a great product at a great price. Loved the review!
I think Kodak is smart to work with bloggers like you. This was very convincing and makes me want to go buy one…are they sold everywhere?
Just came back to watch the video, which I had forgotten. You’ve got real skills, Miss Marcy.
I’m actually looking for something less bulky than my digital SLR. The Kodak A915 is now in the running. That second picture has almost sold it for me. Funny thing is until I read this I had not given the Kodak a second look. Thanks for this post. Looking forward to the other side by side comparisons!
You’re sponsored by Kodak?
Wow! I would have never guessed great review and comparisons and thanks for the great information. I will have to look into the camera, what a great price!
your living room looks pretty.
I noticed you didn’t shoot any of the laundry room….. just sayin..
from; MOM
Thanks for the review. I definitely need a new camera and I was thinking about the Canon Powershot, but I will now definitely look into the kodak. For the price, how can you not?!
I don’t care if you are sponsored by Kodak or not. You basically lay it out there an let our eyes decide. And the choice is obvious. The Kodak is awesome expecially for the price. Thet are pretty smart people to sponsor someone like you. They should hire you to be full time spokeperson..you have great skills at this!!!
You are brillant on camera. I want to see you in a KODAK commercial. I would buy anything you told me too. :)
p.s. I am not kidding. You are gold
So interesting!! We are saving for a Canon right now… we would be able to get the Kodak way faster. Keep it coming and I can’t wait to show Brad your post tonight.
I’m a bit late to the party, but I’d like to say – I LOVE my Kodak Easy Share camera, which has a rechargeable battery but can use standard batteries as well. I carry it everywhere with me. I only wish it had a bigger viewscreen…
Cool comparison, Mizz Marcy!
Shade and Sweetwater,
K
hi my name is dan i just got my kodak z915 and would like to konw if my speaker is bad I think the speaker on the camera may be defective When I replay video on the camera sound is very low to the point where i have to put the camera to my ear to hear thanks dan
I have Kodak Z915. This camera is more than I expected. Much smaller than my older X4 optical digital Kodak camera. I love that I can zoom in and out while in video mode (maybe this is more common now but wasn’t an option on my 6 year old kodak).
I’m not surprized at all, I have a Kodak Z 1285 and it takes sharp color rich pictures. I also have a Nikon L 110 and the only advantage the more expensive Nikon has, it has a more powerful zoom and it takes exellent macro shots and it doesn’t stand up to the picture quality of the Kodak. An expensive camera can have all the bells and whistles in the world but what good is if the photo quality isn’t there? How can all the Einstine’s at Canon justify selling this $580 camera when it gets beat out by a $200 Kodak for something as basic as photo quality? Just goes to show you, more expensive isn’t always better. Even though She was sponsored by Kodak, my hats off to Her for making this comparison….Seeing is believing.
By the way, Marcy….If you get a package deliverd to you from Canon, DON’T OPEN IT !
I just stumbled on your blog while looking up the users guide for my Kodak Z915. The camera was given to me as a Christmas present and I love it. I still keep testing the DSLR’s cameras in the store though and one day decided to test out my camera against a more expensive point and shoot camera. I was really surprised by the results too! I didn’t think the Kodak would beat out a Canon, or the DSLR camera I tried out but it did. I love the colors and the sharpness to the photos. The zoom is excellent and I now take my camera every where. I even took it to a Jimmy Buffett concert in March and even though we were sitting a long way away from the band I was able to take some pretty good pictures. I had to use the digital zoom but they still came out well enough for 4×6 prints.
Hi, I just ordered a Kodak Z915, and after reading your review and looking at the photos, I can’t wait to get it. Thanks for a great review.
Forgot to ask, what type of settings were you using on the Kodak? Were you using the Smart Capture setting, or manual settings?
I also just ordered one of these. Found a great deal that I couldn’t refuse. Now I’m really happy I ordered it.
Hey Marcy , I have reviewed the photos taken by the Kodak Z915 you have posted and you have convinced Me to get one . As a matter of fact, I JUST ordered one from Amazon.com . It was $ 110.00 total with shipping included and will arrive on Saturday. I am so excited, because I am upgrading from a basic Kodak C613 6MP with 3x Optical Zoom .
Sincerely,
Pookie
I love both..I had the Kodak zd10 or whatever.My husband still has it and it takes great pics.My two other cams brokie(not Kodak) and i’m debating on canon or kodak.Trying to stay under 200$ cause it will live in my pocketbook:)
Is the kodak very big?
Hi Marcy: I was looking to buy the Kodak or the Fuji S1600. Have you ever looked at this camera?
{ 2 trackbacks }