I purchased this camera about a week ago as an upgrade to my current digital camera (Easyshare DX7630, 6.1MP). It worked as advertised for the first day I had it but was all downhill from there. I went to turn it on the following day with a fully charged battery and the power cut off with the lens fully extended. I brought the camera back to the store to exchange it which seemed to resolve the problem. It took just two days after that for the same issue to occur. I finally gave up and returned the camera to the store and got a full refund.

I purchased this camera from Kodak directly and had it shipped next day business so I could take it to Walt Disney World with us. I had the camera less than 72 hours and it broke. The battery light came on, so I replaced the batteries, but it would not turn back on. I lost the chance to record a once in a lifetime trip because of this camera. I contacted Kodak about the problem from Disney but they were unable to resolve the issue. I'm returning the camera for a full refund, but I can't ever get those moments at Disney back. Don't trust your pictures to this camera.

I just want to say that if you are willing to buy a great camera at a reasonable price, don't hesitate to go for the kodak z1275, it's one of the newest kodak cameras and it has a lot of functions that you are going to love. it has 12 mega pixels which is like huge quality and huge prints as well, it also has 5x high quality zoom lens, in my oppinion, one of the best features of the camera along with its video recording and its automatic setting which allows you to automatically snap a picture with no worries about light condition etc. You can zoom in and out while recording a video which is a plus and its high quality everybody!!!! I reccomend you to get a 2gb sd card to store a lot of pics in 12mp and a lot of videos. Don't think more, go get this camera, it wont dissapoint you!

When our circa-2002 Pentax 4megapixel camera finally stopped working a couple months ago, I visited ConsumerReports.com and saw that they rank the C875 highly. As I reviewed it on Kodak.com, I wasn't convinced it would let me take extended night/low-light photos. I eventually came across the Z885, and was instantly impressed that this could and would do everything I wanted. I then the Z1275, and knew it would be just what I needed: a would actually be better than the Z885, but I needed to confirm a couple of details first.

I was impressed when I first read the specs on the Kodak.com page:

http://kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=11207&pq-locale=en_US

http://kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=11208&pq-locale=en_US

I bought one a few days later and am glad that the actual camera lives up to the specs.


So, I share the following "short list" of Z1275 features that greatly impress me.

- Size - it fits in my pockets without being so thin you can't hold it (especially when the kids are jumping about), like too many current "thin" cameras; but thin enough to fit in pants pockets

- The finger grip on the front - great for holding when the kids are jumping about

- Hi-res 16x9 wide-angle video with accurate sound

- 5x optical zoom

- Pre-defined Scenes (SCN setting) - all, especially:
- In-Camera panoramic stitching - AMAZING!
- Manner/Museum - no flash, all quiet
- Backlight
- Snow
- Beach

- P/M mode has given me wonderful night images with amazing color, detail, and strong depth of field; up to 8 second exposures are great for night/low light photos

- Image stabilization is great with the kids

- Long battery life, good enough for 200+ photos, many movies, watching many movies, many reviews, etc. (I didn't follow this as closely as I should have, otherwise I would have more accurate results to share)

- Perfect Touch technology is simply amazing, taking good pictures and making them truly great!


I also share a truly short list of the few things I thing could actually Improve the Z1275

- Manual controls in SCN/Panoramic stitch, for better low-ISO control of night/low-light panoramics

- Allow zooming (in and out and both) during exposures, for creativity

- Add a screen off button, for when you have the settings ready, just need to wait for the shot, and want to preserve the batteries


Now that I have seen the strengths of the Z1275, I truly think that Kodak is stuck in a place similar to GM: just because Toyota makes good/great cars doesn't mean that GM's aren't as good - they often rank better than Toyota; I now think the same is also true of Kodak. It seems that enough negative press will cause a company decades of proving itself to overcome the negatives. This Z1275 camera is another step in proving history is history, and that our future with Kodak is bright. I think this camera lives up to the hype of the "Winds of Change" YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz6XjXu-oT8&eurl.

For batteries, I recommend Energizer 2500 mAh NiMH AA rechargeables and their compact charger.

Mike VanVooren
St. Louis, MO

So FAR I LOVE THE CAMERA, but I am not totally thrilled with the software. The software is good, but I like another program that I a have better (cannon photo shoot), and I transfer photos back and forth to that program.

The Kodak Z1275 is a great little camera loaded with tones of user friendly features and has fantastic resolution at 12 megapixels. I have a 7.1 megapixels camera and was looking to upgrade a 10, Then I saw this 12 and at the same price my 7.1 coast a couple of years ago. I suggest 2 gig cards to hod more pictures when you shoot at high res and for video. With 12 MP your shots capture every detail, with outstanding resolution. This is easily as good as most 35 millimeter cameras if not better. You can do prints up to 30 X 40 and you can do quite small crops and get great resolution. I am having some minor problems with my memory cards, I have been getting a non format message on the camera a few times, which is not right, I did format the card. So what I do is shut the camera off, and remove the card and then reinstall it and that fixes the problem. Maybe it works better with Kodak cards, and I will get one and see for sure.

The lens is a SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON high quality lens with F Stop as fast as 2.8 to 5.1 when zooming. The Zoom is equivalent to a 35 to 175 mm on a regular film camera. There is also a 5 X digital zoom and Digital image stabilization (The camera software automatically minimizes camera shake to deliver a clear picture); I still get great resolution zooming all the way out.

The camera has 64 MB of internal memory, and has SDHC/SD/MMC card expansion slot that lets you keep shooting longer, I would suggest you get 2 or more 2 to 4 gig cards for vacations etc., When you insert a card it becomes the defult memory.

The color display is a good size at 2.5 in. (6.4 cm) for such a small camera this camera is elph size (4 inches by 2 1/2 by 1 1/2 basically) and will fit in a shirt pocket. The Viewer is easy to see outside.

If you shoot your pictures vertically or horizontally, you can view them right side up with an orientation sensor, which is automatic.

You can do some editing right on the camera like cropping, histogram, digital red-eye reduction, and undo delete (also you can edit video as well).

The Z1275 has a High ISO mode from 100 up to 3200, and with 3200 you can capture the details in low light situations without using the flash, such as concerts. I can't wait to test it out at a GFR show, I will report back after I do so.

The Z 1275 automatically adjusts for all lighting situations such as tungsten nd florescent lighting and has 9 shooting modes it can automatically select (or you can manually select the mode you wish). Modes include; Portrait, landscape, Bright scene, Close-up, Action, Text/Documents, Manner/Museum (for places you cannot use flash) and Party mode ( for shooting people in low light situations) etc.,. the Macro is good but you can not get within 5 inches you need to stay back a bit. It also has 5 color modes, high Color, Low Color, B&W, Natural Color and Sepia. these are all under one button on the dial they come up on the screen nd you scroll to the one you want, it's very easy to sue and even being a small camera, with my BIG HANDS, I find it no problem to operate.

The Z 1275 has a Panorama stitch mode where you can combine up to three shots together into one large picture with panorama stitch mode. I am not great at this LOL. But it is a fun feature. This gives you a more realistic panoramic.

For Video you can Record HD video (1280 × 720) at 30 fps with sound, with MPEG 4 compression which uses less memory. I don't use a lot of video with my digital camera but its nice to have just incase, this looks very very good and you can Zoom in and out which you can't on most digital cameras.

The Z1275 is a wonderful camera that is easy and fun to use, it is perfect for someone who just wants to set it on automatic and go; and is at a very low price, hear at amazon, it is a must have as a second camera for photo buff and as the only camera for someone whos wants a point and shoot only.

Got this for two weeks. Take casual photos under various conditions, indoor under low light conditions with high ISO and under fully auto, outdoor under full light condition, landscape and portrait etc. Overall, all pictures came out to my satisfaction. With high ISO, it is somewhat noisy and grainy but the image is still clear. Reducing it to half size makes it quite acceptable. The HD video is very sharp, but you may have to overlook the somewhat non-steady image screen. Various comments I read offer different reasons, e.g. firmware design, but I think it is simply difficult to hold a small camera steady to shoot. To review the pictures with 12MP resolution on the computer screen, some software seemed to give some jagged lines instead of smooth lines when the picture was shrunk to fit the screen. Lines became straight when I zoomed it in. That may explain some commenters were initially not happy with the quality before they use another software to review the pictures. In summary, this camera offers some extra features and the quality of the pictures and videos is as good as can be expected for this price range.

I had been camera searching for a while when my mom told me about this little Kodak. The first digital camera I ever used was a Kodak and that camera was a champ. It went to London with me, took great pictures for a 4MP, and lived for about 4 years. My mom replaced it with another Kodak (C703) which was an AWESOME camera especially since it came with the dock included (a must have for all Kodak cameras in my opinion) for about $150 at Wal-Mart. I was looking for something with a little better zoom and more features, which I thought I'd found in the Z1275. I knew I was taking a risk since it was a brand new model and I couldn't read any consumer reviews or reports, but I'd always had good experiences with Kodak so I figured I was in good hands.

My first move was to invest in the dock since it was not included. This was another $50 purchase on top of the $250 I paid for the camera itself. Basically the only reason I need the dock is to charge the camera (it comes with 2 regular AA batteries in the box) since I have a memory card reader in my laptop, but if you have a desktop the dock is by far the easiest way to put pics on your computer. I'm not sure if you need to use the Kodak software with it or not (I've heard too many bad things about the easyshare software to actually put it on my PC), but once the dock is all hooked up, all you have to do to put your pics on your computer is push one button! Each Kodak camera comes with its own dock adapter so don't throw it away thinking it's nothing!

Unfortunately there are several reasons why I'm only giving this camera 3 stars and they are:

1. Inconsistent Picture Quality: Every once in a while this camera will come out with a truly great pic, one I would EXPECT to come out of a 12 MP camera, but the rest of the time the pictures are grainy, blurry (sometimes worse than others), and just poor quality. I've found that a lot of this depends on the flash and more importantly your subject. If I'm taking a picture of an object within 20 feet of me, chances are the pic will turn out really good, even all the way zoomed in. Taking pictures of people is a completely different story. Sometimes they are good, lots of times they are not. After going on vacation to visit friends, I was seriously dissappointed after putting pictures on my computer because so many of them were of such poor quality. This leads me to my next point...

2. Poor Display Screen Quality: Although the screen is nice and big to see your pictures, Kodak didn't seem to find it important to make the resolution very good. After looking at other screens from different brands of digital cameras I was embarrassed by Kodak's lack of attention to this area. For the most part, unless the picture is obviously horrible, it's impossible to tell how it truly came out until you put it on your computer.

3. Memory Card Capacity: Considering that this is a BRAND NEW camera, and with the recent popularization of 4GB and even 8GB SD cards, I was disappointed to find out that the Z1275 will only hold up to a 2GB card. I have not actually tried using a larger card, but my information came from a Kodak representative so I'd be really cautious before trying to use one.

4. The periodic error screen: I'm not sure what this is all about, but other reviews have mentioned it. I've only had it happen once or twice and thought it was something i did that was weird. Hearing that other people are having the same problem does concern me. This problem has deleted one or two of my pictures; never the entire memory card, just the 1 or 2 most recent pics.

Overall the most disappointing thing about the Z1275 is the picture quality. To get a good picture I have to go through several different "Scene" modes and flash options, which is a pain if I'm trying to snap a picture quickly. Also, a lot of it depends on your subject and the lighting. I've tried going through all the scenes and megapixel options to find a good setting that takes good general pictures but I haven't found one yet. Other people have tried to mess around with it and have had similar results to mine so I know it's not just me. I've called Kodak with my concerns and they were very little help since they didn't even have the camera manual on file and the representative I talked to had never even heard of it. I would have returned it except it had already passed the 30 day trial period. In the end I'll probably end up keeping it and trying to work out some of the kinks.

I would not recommend buying this camera since I know you can get a comparable, even better camera for $50-75 cheaper than the current asking price. If you are looking for a reliable digital camera the Kodak C703 is a great option. I would gladly trade my Z1275 for one.

Let's start by saying mega-pixels don't mean everything! I bought this camera as a second to my fuji 6MP. From the first pictures through the 100th picture I noticed the same problems - high grain even with bright light, dull washed out photos with a flash, out of focus photos. I am quite knowledgeable with photography, so I do know how to take a picture, but just to make sure that it wasn't my imagination, I did an A-B comparison with my Fuji. I set both for the highest quality, and took the same photos with and without flash for each. The difference was like night and day as expected. The Kodak was not even close in quality. What was surprising was that when I blew up each picture to 8X10 size and printed, the Fuji was much clearer even though, due to the lower megapixel count, it was blown up more than the Kodak. Incidentally, I only used the optical zoom, I never use digital zoom.
Also, this uses up batteries faster than any digital camera I have ever owned (this is my 6th). I have taken about 100 pictures with this camera, and have used 6 AA batteries already.

To sum it up - the flash is too small, the lens is too small, the lens is not good enough quality, and the camera is a battery hog. It's going to be returned today...

This is an overall great camera! I really like all the positives ofthis camera but this review will only be about the bad because if your like me I want to know about the bad before I know about the good. If you are looking for an rewiew about all the good there are other reviews here that explain them better than I could. So on the the bad, The number one thing that i hated about this camera was the battery life. This camera really sucks up batteries like a mother! I put fresh batteries in and about 5-10 pictures later the batteries are dead. I had to carry packets of batteries just to take the pics that i wanted. Granted all the batteries I used were the ordinary energizer or duracel batteries and not the other more high tech battereies or rechargeable batteries but still i was disappionted with that fact. the second thing that i didn't like about this camera was that flash bulb is positioned were you have to be careful when holding the camera that you don't cover it up by mistake. And lastly it is kinda bulky I know that isn't so important but to me it was. So that was my negatives about this camera hope it help out.

It's certainly a good little camera. The quality of both still pictures and video are good and the camera is certainly versatile, with presets and modes for shooting in different environments (the long exposure Night Mode gave particularly good results).

However, the absence of a Viewfinder can make it difficult to shoot accurately, particularly in bright sunlight when the LCD screen often cannot be seen. Also, the video codec used is Standard MPEG-4 rather than the newer AVC codec and the audio quality on video recordings leaves a little to be desired (it's Mono, 16KHz 2-1 Mu-Law) so don't expect this to be a Camcorder replacement, even in the 720P mode.

A cheep and cheerful little snapper. No more, no less.

I thought that I couldn't go wrong with 12 megapixles at such a low price.
I was wrong,like other people,I can't get this thing to focus after 20 ft or so feet. the image stableization does not work!and the video is not smooth.The flash is too weak.The c875 takes better pictures.I'm going to return it and spend a little more and get the canon g9.

Takes great pictures. Will take a lot of practice and messing around to understand and make the most of all the options available (Fireworks/Night Portrait/Sports/etc). The Panoramic option is awesome! It is small, light, and easy to use. Pretty good luck being able to see the view screen in most conditions -- but if the sun is behind you, it gets pretty tough. So far, the software has been fine and easy to use ... but my other/previous camera was also an EasyShare, so I was already somewhat familiar with it.

This seemed like the perfect compact point and shoot and I love the Easy Share camera I have had for two years, but
I tried it once and with sun to my back I could not see anything
on the screen.
All the pictures were just a matter of luck.
I want camera with viewfinder so I can
control and evaluate my photos better prior to taking them.
I ended up returning the camera

This is my 4th Kodak - I loved my previous ones, but hate this one. Indoor pictures with plenty of lighting are grainy, blurry, colors are off - VERY disappointing. I have a toddler, and I wanted to capture the best quality possible, but this is not working for me. I will be getting a Canon now.

Immediately after receiving and setting up my Kodak Z1275 camera, I took pictures of my dogs and some leather work I had just completed. The camera takes excellent pictures and I am very pleased with the controls and features offered. I researched nearly every camera on the market before making my purchase. I chose the Kodak based upon the 12 megapixel capability and the automatic operating features. The ability to switch to manual operation will come in handy in the near future. The price I got through Amazon was unexpected and the 30 dollar credit for using Amazon's credit card made the purchase even more attractive.

Whoever has problem viewing the picture at major cropping, please use Microsoft's Picture Manager instead of Kodak software came with the camera.
Only complain I have is the resolution of the LCD display. Other than that everything is great. Some seem to have problem with batteries life, took 140 pictures with one charge. The battery icon showed up after 100 picture. It seems to be OK.
If the size and budget are the concerns, this is the camera for you.

I'd been looking for a small, affordable camera that would take HD video for a long time. There were a few others on the market that I looked at, but they all fell short for one reason or another. I finally saw this one and though I'm not much of a Kodak fan I couldn't see any reason not to try it. I've been very impressed with it. The auto focus is quite accurate, color rendition is good, and the video is sharp. One downside is that it loses focus while zooming in video mode. This isn't a real big deal for me since I use it primarily for taking video while paragliding, and so it's mounted to my helmet and used hands off. Also low light photos are a little grainy. Another good choice if you need more zoom and don't mind the extra size is the Kodak Z812IS. It has a 12x zoom and offers optical image stabilization, very nice.

I am so happy that I gought this camera. It's an awesome technology. I liked it

I've had the camera in use about 1 week. I'm sending it back. I emailed customer support to ask how to set a "no flash" default for all the settings, but all they do is refer me to the FAQs and tutorial - which I read, but of no help. The pictures are blurry compared to taking the same pictures with my Panasonic digital. The lag time between photos is completely unacceptable. I take a picture and get the message "Processing" with an hour glass. Since I'm taking pictures of animals, I need to snap pictures quickly. I bought it for the 12MP and fast shutter speed, as well as the setting for flourescent light for indoors. There's a few good features that work, but I can't accept the processing speed and the blurry pictures. The camera might be too lightweight to hold steady. But the Digital Stabilization doesn't seem to work when I set it to that, either. Overall, can't keep this camera.

Bought this camera to take on a 2 week Europeon trip from Budapest to Prague. Already owned a 12X optical zoom Kodak digital camera, but wanted something I could slip into my pocket. The Kodak EasyShare Z1275 fulfilled my wish. It not only fit into a pocket, but it also performed beautifully. The 5X optical zoom was more than enough zoom power. And the panoramic mode was great to have on those few occasions when it was the only way to capture a scene. The "stitching" capability within the camera does wonders; and all my panoramics were taken hand held. The camera performed well in all situations; including shooting indoors or at night with just available light. My pictures came out great.

This is an awesome camera. I chose this over the Canon Sure Shot A720 IS. I liked the ease of use better than the Canon. There is an Information button that can be pushed from any screen to get information about how anything works. The pictures are beautiful, very crisp and colorful. The videos are great too. The 5X zoom is perfect. I took a picture from a third floor balconey and it was as clear as any close up shot. With a 2G card you can take pictures and video without fear of running out of space on the card. I would recommend this camera to anyone. It is so easy to review the pictures from the camera and using the Kodak Easy Share software. If you are looking for a simple easy to use digital camera that takes great pictures this is it. I have not had problems with the batteries running out but I have purchased four replacement batteries to be safe.

Having previously owned all Kodak's (CX6330, CX7430, CX7530, & C875) I thought this camera would be an easy choice since I am familiar with how to use their cameras and from the specifications this appeared to be an improved version of the C875. I also picked up a Panasonic TZ3K 7MP camera to see which of the two that I liked better since that was another camera I was interested in. So, during this review I will compare the Z1275 with the Panasonic and the previous Kodak's that I have owned. As a note about myself, the majority of pictures I take are of natural landscapes, lakes, reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife. Rarely do I take pictures of people and I've never used the video function on any digital camera that I've owned (that's what camcorders are for) so I will not be reviewing the video function because I never used it. I also do no editing of images on the computer and expect a camera to take photos that look good without enhancements. That being said, I will review some problems I had with this camera that I believe need to be addressed by Kodak in order to make better products.

Shot to shot processing time
This was the biggest problem with the Z1275 and the main reason that I ended up returning it and keeping the Panasonic. Whenever you take more than 3 or 4 pictures in a row with this camera you get a message on screen that says "processing" with a little timer diagram which will go for about 5 seconds during which you can not take another picture. When it finally stops and you take another shot you get the same message again. If you want to wait till it actually stops processing you will have to wait 10+ seconds but will get the message after the next three shots once more anyways. I have never experienced this with any of the previous Kodak's that I have owned except after using the burst mode feature. While taking pictures with the Panasonic in my other hand at the same time using identical Sandisk Ultra II 2GB cards in each I could take about 12 pictures while the Kodak was barely getting 4 or 5. If you plan to take pictures of wildlife or sports this will be a very frustrating problem since time does not stand still while you wait for the camera to process an image.

Missing firmware/hardware problems
Over time I have found that Kodak has constantly removed things that I like from the camera's firmware for no apparent reason. First off, on my old CX6330 there was an option to turn off the digital zoom but they have removed this option from all subsequent models from what I can tell. As someone who has never and will never use the digital zoom since it results in very poor quality pictures I would like the option to turn it off. Second, this camera does not have the AF assist lamp that my C875 had and I found to help out a lot in nighttime shots with a moving animal as it allowed me to take a picture while not actually looking at the screen and just paying attention to where the assist light was pointing. Third is the problem that Kodak's images are definitely over compressed, the average file size I had for pictures was about 1.5MB in regular mode and less than 1MB in close up mode, which is equivalent to just about any other camera manufacturers 3 or 4 megapixel cameras. I believe that this is what causes the shot to shot processing time to take so long since it must compress the image so much. There is no reason for this given today's cheap memory card prices and the low cost of large hard drives to store images on. Fourth, the main reason I was looking for a new camera is that my C875 would occasionally shut off while taking a picture and the photo you took would be corrupt and gone forever, unfortunately this also occurred once while using the Z1275 and I have read it in other reviews. Lastly, another problem with my C875 was that every once in a while for no apparent reason it would give an error message that the memory card needs formatting and I would have to remove the card and put it back in and then it would work, this happened to me with the Z1275 also. I have lost many shots of turtles and other things due to them submerging in the water while I fumbled around removing the memory card and replacing it and this is definitely a problem. Before anyone says it, I have 6 different memory cards from different manufacturers and that is not the problem nor is it a problem with dead or the type of batteries I can say from trial and error.

The flash
The flash on this camera is very weak and not placed in a good position. You will have a hard time properly illuminating anything more than 5 or so feet away. Also, I had the problem that sometimes it will not fire a full flash, it seems to throttle it down and will let out this half flash that you cannot make any brighter in the firmware. In close up mode when using the flash I noticed that due to the design of the camera and the flash being over the lens you will have a shadow from the lens in every picture less than 3 feet away. I never had this problem with the older CX models where the flash was off to the side of the lens and everything would be illuminated well even from just a few feet away.

Image quality
I found that when comparing the image quality of the Z1275 to the Panasonic that in close up mode you can magnify the Kodak's images more on the computer without resulting in quality loss, but other than that the Panasonic was the clear winner even though it has 5 less megapixels. When taking outdoor shots of a tree surrounded lake I found that the Z1275 would have very poor detail in trees seen in the distance where you could not tell one from the other and they would look extremely washed out. Green trees in the distance would appear white and dead when they actually were not. While taking pictures of a Bald Cypress tree with foliage in it's reddish/orange color phase the Kodak transferred that color to the entire picture including the trunk of the tree which was brown. Also, I found that the camera would misrepresent colors and close up mode pictures seemed to have a bluish green tint to them. In close up mode I took some excellent shots of a green treefrog but could not get the camera to focus on smaller things such as caterpillars no matter how hard I tried. When taking pictures at full 5X zoom every single picture was blurry even when steadying myself against a tree or seated, essentially making the optical zoom selling point useless. I never had this problem with the C875 and only rarely got a blurred image with that camera, so I don't know what Kodak changed with this one.

No viewfinder/LCD screen
I don't know why Kodak has decided to make cameras without a viewfinder and it is one of the main problems that I had with my C875 and the Panasonic also. When given the choice I prefer using a viewfinder rather than and LCD screen especially when taking photos outdoors in bright lights or while wearing sunglasses when LCD screens are essentially useless.

Conclusion
I ended up returning this camera and keeping the Panasonic. Kodak seems to be taking steps backward with each camera model and concentrating only on increasing megapixels for bragging rights while making poorer quality products. I would not recommend this camera unless Kodak releases a firmware upgrade that speeds up the shot to shot processing time and fixes the unknown shutdown and memory card needs formatting error message issue. I lost over 30 pictures while vacationing on an island this summer with my C875 due to the shutdowns and will never risk having a camera with that problem again.

I just returned this camera to the store where I purchased it. The LCD was grainy, and had lines running across it. The processing time was slow and not helpful in taking pictures of my active 8 year old. I got a great Christmas shot with the camera, but only after I put it on a tripod. My plan is to purchase the Kodak Z812 which got much better reviews.

I just received this camera and was disappointed. I cannot see what the point of Image stabilization is if you cannot select it for ALL of the functions on the camera. There is a selection on the dial for IS but you can't do anything else with it in any other mode and YOU CANNOT use it when you need it the most and that is during VIDEO capture.. Again what is the point of having it ??? Spend some additional $$ and get the next level camera V1253 that HAS IM on video selection otherwise you will be disappointed in any video capture that isn't set up on a Tripod.

I purchased the z1275 about a month ago to use as a pocket camera. I carry it for those moments/times when a full size SLR or Video camera are very inconvenient or impossible. It fills that need very well.

Pros: Compact, High(er) res, Easy to Use. Supports 16:9 HD video.

Cons: Video has no image stabilization, Short battery life with standard batteries, lower quality lens and hence lower quality pictures. (compared with an SLR)

Other comments and recommendations: Batteries: Get rechargeable NMh batteries. The Energizer AA NMh rechargeable batteries run for a full day of activities, pictures, video, etc. (about 2gb recording). The Kodak equivalent also seem to perform well. I carry two spares at all times and never run into a problem having enough battery power for a full day.

For those that complain about picture quality.. This is NOT an SLR. It is a compact camera and has a small lens. lens size usually has a direct impact on the amount of light hitting the sensor. Less light means poorer picture quality. Given the very small nature of this camera, I think it does a very good job. Outdoor, daylight pictures are fine. Flash pictures are fine. no-flash, dark environment pictures are grainier than I would like.

Didn't have very much experience with it, but took a few pictures in our living room during the day and was not at all impressed with the pictures. We returned it. Sorry I don't have more constructive criticism but we were just unimpressed.

I recieved the Z1275 as a Christmas gift. The more I use the camera the more I enjoy it. True I would love to have the image stabilization on more than just certain shots, but I have taken some amazing photos of my children and my pets. I was amazed at the clarity. The HD video is pretty kewl feature also. I am not a professional photographer so it exeeds what I am using it for.

For the Price Camera is Good. picture quality is nice, easy to use. But it did not take pictures continuously as it suppose to. It should be able to take picture in every 3 sec. gap. Sometime, I had to wait for 15 sec. to take another shot. I contacted the technical support team and they tried to diagnose over the phone, but did not solve the problem. Finally they told me, to send it for repair but I had the choice to return to seller so I did.

I bought the Kodak z1275 thinking the 12 mp would make for better photos - not the case, my old 4 mp produces much sharper images. Other problems include red eye, even using the red eye reduce function, very blurry zoom images, slow, poor LED display... I could go on but I won't. I would not suggest buying this camera, and certainly not through Amazon, which only has a 30 day refund policy. Between their policy and Kodak's, I am now stuck with this piece of junk.

Trying to get my pictures out of this camera is a major pain. It doesn't mount to windows like the good cameras such as Pentax do. You HAVE to use the Kodak software which has no export to the file system that I can find. I've been clipboard copying my photos out of the frequently crashing Kodak software. It crashes every time you click any button unless you register for an online Kodak account and give it access to the internet. It does take good pictures, but I'm shopping for a new camera. I'll give this one to someone I don't like.

This camera is convenient to carry and use, and it also features notably high resolution along with an adequate zoom range. If offers very low light sensitivity, great for nature shots on a tripod, and high sensitivity for handheld photos without flash in low light. Fine value.

Using a tripod, and every different combination on this camera. Shots come out, too dark, too blurry, not enough detail even with 12mp. I would not recommend this camera for purchase.

This Product is the best digital camera I've ever used. I love it. The picture quality is top rate. I can blow a picture poster size and it still has fine detail. The zoom is perfect for those up close and personal shots. I've used the digital image stabilization and face detection is better than Sony or any other camera for that fact. It's an amazing camera and the night mode is perfect. I take alot of photos and it's great for multiple shots in a row. It's perfect. All the features are perfect. The video quality is great. I'd say that it takes better video than most of the digital video cameras that people Use. I hope this was helpful. I would definately recommend this item. Great camera for a consumer friendly price.

I got this camera to replace my son's two year old Kodak that he essentially wore out. He loves the small size and the optical zoom (the old camera just had digital zoom). The reviews for this camera were mainly positive (you'll always see a few very negative reviews on any product), so I went with it. Also, at the time it had the higest optical zoom for its size (others were only 3x; not 5x). Overall I would said it was a very good choice and good value for the money.

I bought this camera for the high picture quality, the video options, and 5x zoom. Although the camera performed OK for general picture-taking, I had 2 major issues:
1. The video quality was not good. Of course, I did not expect the same quality as a dedicated video camera, but I have seen several examples from friends with similar cameras. The video on this camera was very choppy, not matter what mode I used. I used a high-speed SDHC 4MB card, with the same results.
2. We often use this camera to take pictures of our 3-year old grandson. He rarely holds a pose for more than an instant, so I need the camera to take the picture when I press the shutter release. This camera takes well over 1 second between shutter release and actually snapping the picture. Most of the pictures of our grandson only show the back of his head!
Some other issues with this camera:
a. You cannot plug the camera into the USB port and access the pictures unless you download Kodak's clunky software. Other cameras I have used are recognized by my computer as a new removable drive, making picture transfer a drag and drop operation.
b. The automatic lens cover stuck open on several occasions. I had to use my fingernail to push it shut.
We had to return the camera for these reasons. I am

I was sucked in by the low price,12mp and what I thought was image stabilization. The write up claims that with 12 mp you can print enlargements up to 30x 40".... well, yeah... but who would want to? There is so much noise in every photo that I took that wasn't taken in full sun. Most photos were blurry. After using this camera for 2 months, I gave up and ordered the Canon G9 (which is FABULOUS). On the plus side, colors were accurate and it fit well into a pocket in my purse!

I haven't seen a point-and-shot so complete in a long time. I just love it. Its almost pro feature, The details,even in a low light conditions, is fast recording the pics and the batteries last longer than my preview C743, and the HD videos, I'm really impressed with all of this and I think this Kodak is a excellent digital camera.

This is a beautiful and elegant digital camera. It provides great quality pictures. The menu is very easy to handle. The price is very reasonable. Was a great choice!!!

I ordered this for my mother in law....She decided that she wanted to have a digital camera and she did some research and this was one of the 2 cameras she looked at. It arrived just in time for her to take it on vacation to Florida. Now that she has it and has never used a digital camera before, she is loving it! Its VERY easy to use and takes nice pictures! Great first digital camera choice!

I think this camera is a good buy, worth every penny. It is very versatile as well.

Kodak Easyshare Z1275 is better than others more expensive, has a good performance, y takes hagh quality pictures

This camera is great. I can't even begin to say how much I love it. It has so many features and the picture and video quality are phenomenal. This is the best camera that I have ever owned. With this camera, you don't have to be a professional to take professional quality pictures. It has been well worth every penny that I paid for it. I recommend this to anyone who is tired of poor quality pictures. Kodak has done a great job designing this camera.

The 12 mega pixel photos look great under optimal lighting (outdoors or day light). The color reproductions is rich and realistic. The 5x zoom is a nice feature and very useful especially with good lighting.

When lighting is poor the quality is still good but not great. The ISO mode for low light and sports gives a stable picture, but with colors and resolution that are significantly less impressive.

The Hi-Res HD movie mode is excellent and very decent even in most lighting. Being able to operate the zoom while filming is an excellent feature. All cameras should be able to do that. The biggest problem is that when you are at maximum zoom the video gets very shaky. A camera this nice should have optical image stabilization.

This is our favorite digital camera yet! The pictures are wonderful and the camera is easy to use with wonderful features. I loved that you got the extra memorie chip for free. I would highly recomend this camera to anyone!!

The camera appeared to be the best buy available in that price range and did not disappoint. It is easy to use and the picture quality is great. A nice surprise for sure.

I bought this product as a graduation gift for my daughter. I've seen some of the pictures taken with it and they are fantastically clear. She loves it.

I purchased my FIRST one before Christmas. I love, love, love it! Unfortunately, on vacation I dropped it! What a disappointment! I immediately ordered another so I wouldn't miss out on those wonderful photos. I sent my broken one in for repair so I could give it to my son. This is THE BEST camera I have ever owned...bar none!

I bought this camera around Christmas... I wish I would have researched it first. The camera lasted for about 6 months of light use. I dropped it once (notice no camera strap included) and not a very hard drop at that... It was demolished. The "telephoto" lens was completely loose. The man at the camera repair store told me that it would cost as much as a new one to fix. He also said never to buy a Kodak- his customers have had a lot of problems with them: they break easily and are constructed poorly. Please learn from my mistake!

I found this product to be worth its value completely. For what I am looking to do, this camera is very easy to use and works well with the HD charging dock. I would highly recommend it.

The first time i used this camera my fiancee and i visited the mansfield reformatory and the picture quality is just outstanding!!! in low iso conditions the camera excelled beyond expectations. I highly reccommend this camera to anyone wanting a quality shot and extra "ummph" to their pictures. The kodak definitely exceeded her fujifilm as well. i would upload pictur4es but dont have the time but their gorgeous. plus in regular light conditions the camera is amazing picking up every little detail and consistency seen by the human eye.

I decided to get a digital camera to upgrade picture quality from the pictures I take on my disc camcorder for my website. I decided that if I was going to get one that I would get one with high mega pixels to get the best quality pictures that I can get for my money. After taking the camera out for a couple trial runs at some functions I had I found this camera to be a GREAT buy for the money spent. I even like the computer progam that came with the camera. It's very user friendly and shows up very well on my PC when it comes to picture clarity. One of the pictures I took was out on ther ocean on a frinds boat and I could actually see every ripple in the waves in the water. When you click on your photo albums your pictures come out at full screen and the picture clarity was stupendous for them to be so big. They even have a nice slide show to review your photos. Taking photos is very easy too. There is a pre screen that helps you center your pictures before you take the perminant shot. The only flaw that I found is that the camera doesn't have an anti-shake feature to help you stabalize blurs when taking pictures. You may have to retake some pictures if you don't have a steady hand at times. There is a lot more great things that the camera can do and so far I like what I purchased. If you want a good digital camera without spending an arm and a leg this is the camera for you.

I priced this camera for $200 at a large retail. For $100, it is an excellent buy. It has all the option needed and more.

Not a bad camera overall, but God help you if anything goes wrong with it. Ours stopped turning on after about 5 months. We sent it back and they claimed that it was "corrosion damage" and not covered under warranty. This is ludicrous. The camera was practically new and had never been near water. So for $90 bucks they offered a "refurbished" camera, which the customer service person claimed was simply an open box return and had been completely checked over by their service people. From the moment we took it out of the box it has had problems turning on and off. We called them again and they said ship it back (at our cost) and within 30 days they would determine whether they would replace it or not. Something tells me that they would find that somehow we had damaged it even though it didn't work properly from the moment we received it. We are going to cut our losses and buy something else.

I have now owned this camera for 2 days and can't let go of it. Everything about this camera is about as perfect as you can get. It takes great photos, has tons of awesome features, great in-camera editing, 720p HD video recording, digital image stabilization, 12 mega pixels, 5x optical zoom..... the list goes on and on. And all for the incredibly low price of $100!!! Well, thats at least how much I paid for mine and it was and it was well worth every penny! I also bought a 4GB SDHC memory card for under $10 shipped and now I can record an hour of HD video or take about 1000 12MP pictures! The only gripe I have about this camera is the battery life. It only lasts a couple hours before I have to change the batteries. But since I have rechargeable batteries and a nice camera case that easily holds several batteries, this is no big deal. Great job, Kodak!

I have only had this camera for a few weeks and it seems to to great pictures with excellent color and flesh tone, even on the6 megapix setting. The video quality is very good as far as color and definition, however, the videos are jumpy. The anti shake id in my opinion useless, because itis digital and not optical. The 5x zoom is great and the camera is relatively small

There seems to be a huge variation in the quality of these units. I bought mine refurbished and have seen the low quality exposures others are seeing. I also own a Rebel XT. I expected there to be some variance between a $100 point and shoot and a $1000 digital SLR but some people claim to be getting great shots out of this. Either they're blind, paid by Kodak or they really did get a great camera. I'd be inclined to think the latter but that certainly wasn't my experience. For the record, my reason for buying this was to have a work camera to photograph network installations. Something I can toss in the toolbox and not get excited if it earns a scratch or two. It does that task just fine for me.

This an amazing camera for someone who takes photos as a hobby. I find the quality to be awesome at 12 megs. The HD video is also amazing. I haven't really used the manual option, but it looks like a nice feature to have. Huge LCD screen. There is no view finder, but I don't find it to be a prob as I rarely use the view finder on my other cam.

A few cons: I don't think there's a way to adjust the intensity of the flash. Some photos look blowout but I used a semitransparent cloth to dim it a bit. Works like a charm.

It eats batteries quickly but this is remedied with rechargeables. Problem solved.

Wish it had a decent macro setting (I don't like the preset settings at all.) But I solve this but shooting at the largest setting and cropping in.

I've had mine for awhile now. I had seen the low quality exposures as others have reported. The source turned out to be the batteries I was using. I started using CRV3 batteries and the camera has performed very well since. If I could change my rating for this unit I'd bring it to 4 stars.

After having this camera for a year now, we've determined the following:

1. It eats regular AA batteries in an hour. Lithiums will last about a month.
2. Having no viewfinder is annoying, since you'll have to set the LCD screen at its brightest level in order to see it outside. Therefore, less battery life.
3. VERY OFTEN, the flash will completely white out a picture. For a while I thought it was because I was trying to take pictures when the last one I took was still processing but now it happens the first time I take a picture, right after turning it on.
4. You can't set the camera to take pictures in black and white. I liked that feature on my old Kodak.
5. It takes beautiful outdoor pictures. Being able to set it for "snow scene" and outdoor action shots for kids is really nice and they come out great.
6. I've tried lowering the picture quality to 6 or 8 MP in order to eliminate the annoying blue screen that comes up sometimes that says "processing" -- but then I can forget about taking pictures indoors. They always come out blurry or dark.
7. The large LCD screen is great!
8. Indoor shots are often either grainy and dark or overexposed, even if I set the camera to take photos in low light conditions.

I'm no camera geek and many of these issues may just be the nature of the point and shoot beast. I'm generally happy with the camera since we are outside taking pictures of the kids most of the time, but I do wish I could get better shots indoors.

This is my 2nd Kodak Digital Camera. I liked the 1st, used it for 3 years, and was induced to move to the new camera for its superior MP rating (12MP vs. my old 6 MP camera), its better low light capabilities without using flash, and its higher magnification without resorting to computerized magnification.

Besides that, its sturdy, had good lens protection, and I expect will stand up well over several years of high usage.

I take several thousand photos a year and edit and crop photos a lot. You can make large prints of even a small portion of a picture, and be confident of its fidelity and resolution.

In researching the camera I was concerned about some negative comments by users, especially about battery life, but bought it anyway because of my excellent prior experience witht Kodak, and Consumer Reports Magazine's reviews of various Kodak models with similar battery usage characteristics. (They didn't review this model, but did do a similar lower MP model).

I just can't believe their experiences. The camera comes with excellent non-rechargeable AA batteries. They lasted well over 100 shots, most of which were energy hogging flash photos.

I'm now using rechargeable Kodak batteries, and their life seems at least as long, and they cost under $15 at Wal-mart for 4 Rechargeable batteries + a recharger.

ps. The model I bought was a real bargain - I bought a remanufactured one, that came from Kodak with the same support a new one would get. Furthermore, I found out from Kodak that this camera, no longer in production, is identical to the newer Kodak 1285 camera, except for the model number.

Good camera at a good price!

I've owned and reviewed numerous digital cameras, but this one has become my absolute favorite. I tend to get long-winded in my reviews, but I want to keep this one short and simple. Here are the benefits, as I see them:

- This camera has the shortest time between shots of any camera I've used in the sub-$500 range. That means you'll snap more pictures, and miss less opportunities. [Note: while the camera is letting you review your photo, you can go back into picture-taking mode by partially depressing the shutter button (the one used to snap a photo)--that'll get you shooting again quickly.

- The Smart Scene feature really does autodetect the best setting in most circumstances. I no longer need to stop and change over to micro to shoot flowers, and then back to portrait to shoot people. It simply works as advertised and MAKES THIS ONE OF THE EASIEST CAMERAS TO USE ON THE GO>

- Even at 12 Megapixel resolution, a 1 Gb SD card [Note: Purchase one right away.] will store hundreds and hundreds of photos in JPG format.

- Definately get a set of four NiHh rechargeable batteries (at least 2100 MAh rated). You'll be able to shoot most of the day on one pair (assuming you're not using flash for all shots), and the second pair can always be charged and ready.

- The LCD is a great size, and it surprisingly easy to read in sunlight. [Note: consider buying some plastic screen protectors to keep it safe from scratches.]

- The menu system is easy to navigate and use.

Overall, it's the best all-purpose digital camera I've owned. I'm planning on getting another one for my wife, since she likes to use this one so much that I often need to "steal" it back from her.

One last note: on cases. Generally, I recommend purchasing the camera case *after* you have the camera in-hand. If you purchase the case online, you risk that you might not like the way the camera fits in the case, or that the case is simply too large or too small. Don't wait too long, however, because that case is the best protection your camera will have when you are on the go!

The USB cable for this camera is non standard, it is a pain if you misplace it. Battery life is bad. Quality is average.