Kodak Crazy - the Easyshare C875
Whenever I mention my Kodak digital camera collection, the fairly standard response is something like "Oh Yeah, Kodak went bust because they ignored digital and carried on trying to sell film etc.". The truth is a bit more complicated.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that Steve Sissons, an engineer working in the Kodak development workshop, created the world's first digital camera in 1977. The DCS model of 1991 became the first commercially available digital still camera. By 1997, Kodak had an 80% share of the US market for digital cameras. In 1999, they had a 27% share of the world market. By 2005, they shipped 1.25 million digital cameras in the US alone and ranked third in world sales just behind Sony and Canon.
Kodak, ever since the brand was introduced by George Eastman in 1888, was always aimed at the mass market. Cameras for the common man. "You press the button and we'll do the rest". Perhaps as a result of snobbish superiority, Kodak has tended to be ignored by "enthusiasts". Since the company crash in 2012, second hand models seem to have lost any real value.
Kodak's enormous output of digital cameras contained much that is dross and is deservedly forgotten. The complicated model numbering system soon confuses anyone searching for the more interesting stuff. The result is that the market is awash with decent Kodaks at bargain prices (although the current digicam craze is changing all that).
I would like to offer some occasional hints on what to look out for in flea markets, charity sales and reclamation yards. You might find something which offers a surprising amount of enjoyment. Much of the decent Kodak stuff was produced when the consumer electronics industry was insisting on painting everything silver. It's really hard to see the technical differences in the Easyshare range from photographs.
My suggestion of the day is the Easyshare C875. In Kodak speak, "C" appears to stand for "consumer", i.e. entry level. It looks like any other 2000s budget Kodak. But for some strange reason, the developers built this unassuming little device around the 8.0Mp CCD sensor and processing engine of the range topping Easyshare P880. Among other features, the C875 has full PASM, auto scene selection, exposure bracketing and focus point selection. And it all runs on two AA batteries.
Ebay UK currently has a few on offer for around £20 ($25). I found an unmarked and fully functioning one for £1 at a church community sale. It even had an SD card. If you can one for little money, buy it - you might enjoy it.
I am old. I remember Schneider lenses as popular on darkroom enlargers. Â
Quote from John Mitchell on August 5, 2023, 10:45 amWhenever I mention my Kodak digital camera collection, the fairly standard response is something like "Oh Yeah, Kodak went bust because they ignored digital and carried on trying to sell film etc.". The truth is a bit more complicated.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that Steve Sissons, an engineer working in the Kodak development workshop, created the world's first digital camera in 1977. The DCS model of 1991 became the first commercially available digital still camera. By 1997, Kodak had an 80% share of the US market for digital cameras. In 1999, they had a 27% share of the world market. By 2005, they shipped 1.25 million digital cameras in the US alone and ranked third in world sales just behind Sony and Canon.
Kodak, ever since the brand was introduced by George Eastman in 1888, was always aimed at the mass market. Cameras for the common man. "You press the button and we'll do the rest". Perhaps as a result of snobbish superiority, Kodak has tended to be ignored by "enthusiasts". Since the company crash in 2012, second hand models seem to have lost any real value.
Kodak's enormous output of digital cameras contained much that is dross and is deservedly forgotten. The complicated model numbering system soon confuses anyone searching for the more interesting stuff. The result is that the market is awash with decent Kodaks at bargain prices (although the current digicam craze is changing all that).
I would like to offer some occasional hints on what to look out for in flea markets, charity sales and reclamation yards. You might find something which offers a surprising amount of enjoyment. Much of the decent Kodak stuff was produced when the consumer electronics industry was insisting on painting everything silver. It's really hard to see the technical differences in the Easyshare range from photographs.
My suggestion of the day is the Easyshare C875. In Kodak speak, "C" appears to stand for "consumer", i.e. entry level. It looks like any other 2000s budget Kodak. But for some strange reason, the developers built this unassuming little device around the 8.0Mp CCD sensor and processing engine of the range topping Easyshare P880. Among other features, the C875 has full PASM, auto scene selection, exposure bracketing and focus point selection. And it all runs on two AA batteries.
Ebay UK currently has a few on offer for around £20 ($25). I found an unmarked and fully functioning one for £1 at a church community sale. It even had an SD card. If you can one for little money, buy it - you might enjoy it.
Wow that has immense value! My dad had the Easyshare C635 with the printer dock. I remember him being blown away by it's high 6MP sensor resolution at the time. It took really great photos as well.
This is giving me the motivation to finish a video I've had on the shelf for a while about the Kodak P880, but now I am rewriting it a whole new direction. Seems like a bigger story here to tell that will be interesting. Not just about some of the innovation and leaps Kodak took with digital, but also it would be cool to tie a bow at the end of the video with this sort of understanding of finding hidden gems in the Kodak digital world.Â
I do have the P880, and 2-3 other Kodak point and shoots. I have a point and shoot drawer full of cameras I give out to my kids. They inevitably will break them, and we go get another. I'll have to check which ones those are as I haven't paid much attention.
The numbering system has always made no sense to me. So, C is for consumer? DCS is their DSLRs. Then I've seen D, M, L, V, Z, and I'm just lost haha! Is there a good resource that explains all of those or do you know off the top of your head?
Hello James.
I'm as confused as you are by all those Kodak Easyshare model descriptors .
With Easyshare, I think Z =Zoom, L=Luxury, M=fashionable/trendy and DC is Digital Camera. P could be for Professional, like Nikon did with the Coolpix range. V was used for the wacky twin lens models then re-appeared later on some fairly standard looking consumer cameras. Not to forget the Sport range.....
The current (and much overlooked) Kodak Pixpro range of digital cameras has it's own completely different range of model numbers unrelated to Easyshare. Don't forget that Kodak is still a functioning company in Rochester NY, even though they sold off their interest in actually manufacturing consumer cameras to J K Imaging of Los Angeles in 2013. Kodak continue to list the Pixpro cameras on their US website. (By the way, Kodak Alaris - the photography and film division - is now effectively a British company but that's another story. You couldn't make this stuff up).
If you are looking for some definitive answers or any other Kodak camera information, I suggest asking on the DP Review "Kodak Talk" forum. It seems to continue in existence, despite DP Review announcing their intention to close it down in April 2023.
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/1011
The guys on the Kodak forum seem very passionate about their cameras and often display an amazing depth of knowledge about the brand and it's history.
John
Quote from John Mitchell on August 7, 2023, 3:50 pmHello James.
I'm as confused as you are by all those Kodak Easyshare model descriptors .
With Easyshare, I think Z =Zoom, L=Luxury, M=fashionable/trendy and DC is Digital Camera. P could be for Professional, like Nikon did with the Coolpix range. V was used for the wacky twin lens models then re-appeared later on some fairly standard looking consumer cameras. Not to forget the Sport range.....
The current (and much overlooked) Kodak Pixpro range of digital cameras has it's own completely different range of model numbers unrelated to Easyshare. Don't forget that Kodak is still a functioning company in Rochester NY, even though they sold off their interest in actually manufacturing consumer cameras to J K Imaging of Los Angeles in 2013. Kodak continue to list the Pixpro cameras on their US website. (By the way, Kodak Alaris - the photography and film division - is now effectively a British company but that's another story. You couldn't make this stuff up).
If you are looking for some definitive answers or any other Kodak camera information, I suggest asking on the DP Review "Kodak Talk" forum. It seems to continue in existence, despite DP Review announcing their intention to close it down in April 2023.
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/1011
The guys on the Kodak forum seem very passionate about their cameras and often display an amazing depth of knowledge about the brand and it's history.
John
DP Review is now owned by Gear Patrol, so will carry on, it was former owners Amazon, who were behind the closure announcement, but thankfully Gear Patrol stepped in and the weathy of info found on DP Review will be staying with us.
James
I think you'll find more accurate information on Easyshare model names here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak_EasyShare
John
Quote from John Mitchell on August 8, 2023, 10:53 amJames
I think you'll find more accurate information on Easyshare model names here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak_EasyShare
John
Ah, that's the kind of summary I was looking for.
Hilarious reading it though. Not sure it clears much up:
DX was lineup, then replaced by CX for lower lineup and DX for higher end. Z series then replaced DX for higher end, P series was high end then Z became the highest end, CX replaced with C for the lowest end...
No wonder I can't keep it straight, it depends what year you're looking at! xD
Kodak. The gift that keeps on giving.
Just picked up a working KOdak DX6490 as part of a job-lot, the spec for its age is great, looking forward to giving it a go.
