A closer look at Kodak's 8x pocket megazoom, the EasyShare M580.
Joshua Goldman
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Kodak launched four M-series cameras at CES 2010, but the top of the line was the 14-megapixel EasyShare M580. The $200 camera comes in silver, brown, pink, purple, and blue versions and features a wide-angle lens with an 8x zoom.
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On back is a nice-looking 3-inch LCD and Kodak's usual control scheme. However, the Share button's options are expanded beyond printing and e-mail to include tags for immediate upload to YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and Kodak Gallery. Tag your photos, connect to a computer by USB, and a small Kodak application handles the rest. I forgot to ask about what the "IR" spot is for in the middle of where you rest your thumb, but my guess is that it is for an optional remote control--not for transmitting photos.
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On front is a 28mm-equivalent wide-angle lens...
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...and that lens has an 8x zoom range with optical image stabilization. I'm still amazed that companies can create a lens with these specs and still get it into a pocketable body--for less than $200.
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As with a lot of Kodak's cameras, the M580 shoots 720p HD-quality video at 30fps. Thankfully, no special docks are required to view photos and videos on your HDTV, since there's an HDMI port built in as well as a USB port for connecting to a computer.
