Kodak Easyshare M580 Review

August 16, 2010 | Gavin Stoker | Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Kodak Easyshare M580 is the new flagship camera of the beginner-friendly M series digital compact camera range. Featuring 14 megapixels of resolution and an 8x optical zoom that spans a focal range of 28-224mm, the M580 also has a 3 inch LCD screen, captures HD video with a built-in HDMI connector, and boasts Face Recognition technology. The Kodak Easyshare M580 is available in silver, light blue, brown, purple and pink for £179.99 / $199.95.

Ease of Use

Kodak digital cameras haven't exactly been feted for their contemporary, cutting edge design. So the sharp, angular detailing - partly disguising what is, in effect, another rectangular box - along with the compact, pocket-friendly proportions, ensure the M580 comes as a refreshing surprise as we heave it out of its equally slender box. What feels like a step in the right direction for Kodak - particularly when considering that this point and shoot model is being loudly pitched at the happy snapper/Facebook/YouTube brigade - is compounded by the news that the EasyShare camera is priced at a reasonable £159.99 in the UK. Therefore it's within reach of the teen/twentysomething market.

Of course, competition in this sector is fierce, so what is the M580's unique selling point? Well, 14 effective megapixels from a 14.5MP 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor and internally stacked 8x optical zoom aside, as is de rigeur for pocket snapshots these days the M580 comes in a choice of colours including the brown sample we had in for review. The shade is not nearly as nasty in reality as it sounds on paper - think luxurious caramel rather than farm slurry. The build, being mostly metal, adds to its premium feel that transcends the budget pricing. Overall pocket-friendly dimensions are 100.8x59.5x25.6mm, so it'll slip easily into a pair of jeans or handbag, and the device weighs a lightweight 150g without rechargeable lithium ion battery and optional SD or SDHC media.

The camera comes with the Kodak standard issue Schneider-Kreuznach optics, its optical zoom offering an equivalent reach to 28-224mm in 35mm film terms when unfurled. The screen on the back is a good sized 3-inches at a resolution of 230k pixels, and Kodak's scene/subjecting recognizing Smart Capture technology plus one-touch Share button - for uploading pictures to Kodak's online Gallery or the major social networking sites - also make a reappearance along with the now expected HD video capture. Here that's a maximum 1280x720 pixels at 30fps, with an option to downgrade this to a standard definition 640x480 pixels at an identical frame rate.

The M580 is not issued with a standalone battery charger, unlike 99% of rivals. Though the lithium ion pack can actually be removed from the camera it is charged in situ, Kodak providing just an adapter plug and a cable that doubles up as USB lead and a means of connecting the camera to the plug. It's a case of keeping things simple, while also reducing the number of peripherals needing to be shoehorned into the box.

Kodak Easyshare M580 Kodak Easyshare M580
Front Rear

It's only when you start to use the M580 for any length of time that its initial good looks start to become overshadowed by the fact that its operational buttons - especially those on the top plate which have been styled within an inch of their lives - prove to be more fiddly than you'd imagine. For example you have to press down quite hard on the power button to get the camera to (slowly) respond, and the other buttons are hard to differentiate between without taking you eyes away from the screen at the rear, as they run adjacent to each other in a concertinaed strip and are afforded near identical prominence. So, a degree of user friendliness has been sacrificed at the altar of style, which begins to quickly undo the goodwill built up by the external good looks and solid-feel construction.

Returning our attention to the front of the camera, the faceplate is obviously dominated by the bigger than average optic, with automatic lens cover to protect it from the elements when not in use. A microphone is hidden below right, and a small AF assist/self timer window is located top left, next to the flash, shaped like a discarded piece of flint. The location of the flash plus the camera's overall compact dimensions mean that it's easy for a fingertip to stray in front of it; a common issue with most pocket cameras.

Set at a sloping angle beneath is a thin strip of rubber that acts as a purchase point for the fingertips when gripping the camera to shoot hand held. Set into the tapering polished chrome strip on the M580's top plate are, from left to right, the on/off button, dedicated flash control button, and shooting mode button, the final button being the shutter release button, itself shaped like the blade of a kitchen knife.

With a press of the power button the camera readies itself for action, 28-224mmm equivalent lens barrel shooting out from the body accompanied by a mechanical buzz and rear screen bursting into life a second or so later, the entire process taking three seconds. Because it is thin, narrow and set into the top plate at an awkward angle, the user has to press down quite hard and precisely on the power button to get it to respond.

Next up is the dedicated flash button. The options that are accessible here are dependent on whichever shooting mode has been selected. In Smart Capture shooting mode the options are auto flash, red eye reduction and flash deactivated, such options summoned up as small icons top left of screen with subsequent presses of the same button. Program mode adds forced/fill-in flash, and that's it.

Kodak Easyshare M580 Kodak Easyshare M580
Front Top

The third button along governs the shooting modes, which are presented as a brief toolbar that 'unfolds' down the left hand side of the screen. The options here are the aforementioned Program and Smart Capture modes, joined by movie mode and scene mode. While the alternatives are self-explanatory, highlighting the scenes mode option and pressing the 'OK' button in the centre of the directional control pad on the M580's backplate, brings up an array of options filling the screen as small yet universally recognisable icons. The 18-strong pre-optimised scene settings govern the regulars of portraits and landscapes, adding in fireworks, snow, beach and baby modes, self portrait, sports, panorama, high ISO (maximum ISO1600) and the ilk to appeal to the widest consumer audience.

With a brief pause whilst focus and exposure is determined, AF point highlighted in green accompanied by a beep of confirmation, the camera writes a full resolution JPEG image to memory in around two seconds.

Moving to the M580's back plate, obviously dominated by its three-inch screen in the absence of any optical viewfinder, top right is a thumb-operated rocker switch for adjusting the zoom, which, like the camera upon powering up, seems to 'think' for a moment before actually responding. When it gets going, it glides smoothly through the range accompanied by a low mechanical noise.

Just below the zoom rocker to the left are a trio of vertically stacked, identically sized buttons. But when it comes to telling what they actually do, we're sorry to report Kodak still hasn't sacked its graphic designer. The top button, sporting an icon misleadingly shaped like a hot water bottle rather than familiar trashcan, is in fact a dedicated delete button, though you wouldn't immediately know it. The next one down, showing a text box, is identified by a process of elimination as the menu button, whilst the bottom button of the three is quizzically marked with an 'i' - and therefore a button we can imagine most beginners will be reaching for first to glean a nugget of information. But, this is actually where we find the self-timer and burst mode options, and additionally, when in Program mode, the ability to alternate between auto focus and macro and infinity focus. For a model that is presumably pitched at beginners, Kodak doesn't make things easy.

Kodak Easyshare M580 Kodak Easyshare M580
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

A press of the 'menu' button meanwhile brings up two folders on screen, one for capture, the second a set up menu. It's in the former that the user can govern picture size. Aside from shooting at 14 megapixels in 4:3 ratio, there's the ability to vary the ratio and so the resolution, to include shooting in a widescreen 16:9 ratio with a drop to 10 megapixels as the camera is effectively cropping the image. It's also here that when shooting in Program mode, ISO speed, exposure compensation and the like can be tweaked. We also enjoyed the long(er) exposure settings to be found here, which proved more effective for night time shooting than the night modes within the scene settings. Like the camera itself it's modest though. The shortest duration is 0.5 seconds, and the longest is four seconds.

Just below this control trio and to the right is the aforementioned four-way control pad that is devoid of any markings at all; it appears purely a directional navigation tool pure and simple. As we've also indicated, a press of the middle 'OK' button brings up shooting options on-screen - it is in effect a 'quick menu' button, rather than just a means of implementing any menu or shooting mode changes. Just below this control pad are a playback button bottom left, and the familiar red Kodak 'Share' button bottom right for the selection of favourite shots pre-download and uploading or emailing. All simple enough.

Given the camera's relatively modest nature, it's a surprise to find an HDMI port under a rubber flap on the right hand flank of the M580 - if the camera is viewed from the back, alongside a joint AV out/USB port, to which the provided lead attaches for the downloading of images if you don't own a card reader, plus the re-charging of the internal battery when required. There's no relevant HDMI cable included in the box this time. Beneath this compartment is a lug for attaching the wrist strap provided in the box. On the left hand flank of the camera we find a built-in speaker and that's all.

The base of the M580 meanwhile features the standard screw thread for the attachment of a tripod, plus shared compartment housing battery and slot for optional SD or SDHC expansion, a modest 64MB internal capacity provided to fall back on out of the box.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 3Mb.

Pictures from the Kodak Easyshare M580 leave something to be desired for anyone looking for something better than simply keepsake snaps. Colours can look a little unnatural on occasion and we had frequent cases of burned-out highlights when shooting outdoors under seemingly ideal conditions.

Although night shooting modes are included within the scene modes, the camera struggled to pick out anything to focus on in moderately lit scenes that were no problem for the other cameras we were testing at the same time - Panasonic's directly competing FS30 among them. As that camera is the same price as the Kodak, we were less than impressed with the M580's shortcomings.

On a more positive note, the M580 proved more adept at delivering sharp portraits with flash at close range without either causing red eye or bleaching the skin, suggesting that this could be an adequate party camera. However its white balance was completely off, metering off our subject's green/blue top and rendering the cream wall behind a shade of turquoise as a result.

White balance also proved inconsistent when shooting our sample ISO images, wandering from warm to blu-ish as it picked up a daylight colour cast in the space of two frames. As regards low light sensitivity, it's not great news either, noise visibly intruding from ISO 400 upwards, and at ISO 1600 pictures having that fuzzy, washed out look that while not unpleasant to the eye if you're shooting abstracts, again could be better.

In all, while it's not a complete disaster we'd struggle to give the M580 a 3/5 for image quality.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Kodak Easyshare M580. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

ISO 80 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   

Chromatic Aberrations

The Kodak Easyshare M580 handled chromatic aberrations quite well during the review. There's slight purple fringing between areas of high contrast, but it's only noticeable on close inspection, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Kodak Easyshare M580 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 1cm away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot

100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Kodak Easyshare M580 are auto, fill, red-eye reduction, and off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (28mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (224mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (224mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are a couple of portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Auto setting or the Red-eye Reduction option caused any red-eye.

Auto

Auto (100% Crop)
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Kodak Easyshare M580's maximum shutter speed is 8, which is good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 1 second at ISO 80. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot

Night Shot (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Kodak Easyshare M580 camera, which were all taken using the 14 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1280 x 720 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 33 second movie is 31.3Mb in size.

Product Images

Kodak Easyshare M580

Front of the Camera

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Front of the Camera / Turned On

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Isometric View

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Isometric View

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Rear of the Camera

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Top of the Camera

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Bottom of the Camera

 
Kodak Easyshare M580

Side of the Camera

 

Kodak Easyshare M580

Side of the Camera

 
Kodak Easyshare M580
Battery Compartment
 
Kodak Easyshare M580
Memory Card Slot

Conclusion

The Kodak Easyshare M580 may be a good looking pocket snapper but there are plenty more models on the shelves for anyone hoping to reel in a good deal, with just about every other manufacturer fielding nigh identical 12MP or 14MP 'high zoom' models and Panasonic probably being the first name you think of offering just such for the sub-£200 price point.

The other stumbling point here is the Kodak's design; leaving the otherwise impressive 14MP/8x zoom headline spec aside, it's the first thing that attracts the eye (and potential purchase interest) but in use proves to be a case of style over substance, with fiddly top plate controls and sluggish response times quickly grating.

We don't want to be negative as the M580 is a step in the right direction for Kodak. Unfortunately it seems there is still some distance to go before EasyShare is decisively competing with the Lumix, IXUS and Cyber-shot brands of digital compact for the deliverance of style and substance in equal measure.

Ultimately, and given the above points, giving the M580 an average score feels generous. But for those who do actually care more about looks than performance, the Kodak M580 is available in silver and purple alongside our sample's debonair brown.

3 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 3
Features 4
Ease-of-use 3
Image quality 3
Value for money 3

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Kodak Easyshare M580 from around the web.

reviews.cnet.co.uk »

Kodak might not be the force it once was in photography, but it's still plugging away with its own range of digital cameras. The EasyShare M580 is one of its newest models. If you're expecting a cheap, plastic throwback, you might be surprised. This is a compact camera with one of the latest 14-megapixel sensors and an 8x optical zoom, and it sells for around £160.
Read the full review »

steves-digicams.com »

The 14-Megapixel Kodak EasyShare M580 is a stylish and compact digicam that has made it even easier to share your images. This camera allows you to tag your images inside the camera, allowing you to connect the camera to your computer and automatically upload your images with the tags intact, to Facebook, Youtube, FLICKR and Kodak galleries (with the included USB cable). The camera also features a wide, 8x optical zoom lens, image stabilization, 720p HD video, Smart Capture and Face Recognition.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Standard features
Sensor type 1 / 2.3 in. CCD
CCD total pixels 14.5 MP (4440 × 3274)
Effective pixels 14 MP (4352 × 3240)
Zoom 8X SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON optical zoom lens, 5X advanced digital zoom
Image stabilization yes
Lens 28–224 mm (35 mm equiv.), wide-angle
Lens protection built-in mechanical lens cover
Shutter speed 8–1/1400 sec. (auto)
Viewfinder no
LCD 7.6 cm (3.0 in.) indoor/outdoor color display, 230K
Storage 64 MB internal memory[1] available, SD/SDHC card expansion slot
Auto focus
Focus Type TTL-AF, selectable
Focus range
  • 0.6 m (2.0 ft)–infinity @ wide, normal
  • 2.0 m (6.6 ft)–infinity @ tele, normal
  • 0.1–0.7 m (3.9–27.6 in.) @ wide, macro
  • 1.0–2.1 m (3.3–6.9 ft) @ tele, macro
  • 10 m (32.8 ft)–infinity @ landscape
Focus modes auto, macro, infinity
Focus control continuous, single AF
Auto focus zones face priority, multizone, center zone,
AF (Auto Focus) assist light yes
Exposure control
ISO sensitivity
  • auto (Smart Capture): 80–400
  • manual: 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, 1600
Compensation ±2.0 EV with 1/3 EV steps
AE (Auto Exposure) lock when S1 locked
White balance auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, open shade
Flash
Range
  • 0.6–3.0 m at wide, Smart Capture mode
  • 0.7–1.7 m at tele, Smart Capture mode
Modes auto, fill, red-eye reduction, off
Shooting specifications
Burst modes self-timer (2 sec./10 sec., 2-shots), burst 3 shots, single shot
Face Recognition yes
Face Detection yes
Shooting modes Smart Capture, program (P), scene, video
Scene modes portrait, landscape, close-up, night portrait, night landscape, snow, beach, text, fireworks, flower, museum/ manner, self-portrait, high-ISO, children, backlight, panning shots, candlelight, sunset, sport, panorama
Still capture
Still format JPEG/EXIF v2.21
Picture size All modes:
  • 14 MP (4288 × 3216)—4:3
  • 12 MP (4288 × 2848)—3:2
  • 11 MP (4288 × 2416)—16:9
  • 6 MP (2880 × 2160)—4:3
  • 3 MP (2048 × 1536)—4:3
  • 2 MP (1920 × 1088)—16:9
  • 1 MP (1280 × 960)—4:3
Color modes high, natural, low, sepia, black and white
Sharpness sharp, normal (default), soft
Long time exposure 0.5–8 sec.
Review options select all, tag people, keyword tag, print, favorite, protect, multimedia slideshow, properties, view thumbnails
Smart Capture yes (integration of face detection, scene detection, optimized auto ISO, broader dynamic range, auto KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology, optimized output)
Framing grid no
Orientation sensor yes
Internal Memory yes
Date/time stamp yes
Editing KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology, crop, copy, add date stamp
Video capture
Format QUICKTIME MOV h.264 (video) & AAC LC (audio)
Quality HD (1280 × 720) @ 30 fps, VGA (640 × 480) at 30 fps
Auto focus single AF during video capture
Zoom during video digital zoom during video capture
Length continuous based on memory capacity, up to 4 GB
Review options select all, tag people, keyword tag, protect, multimedia slideshow, properties, view thumbnails, print
Editing make picture, trim, action print, copy
Share
Share menu YouTube, FACEBOOK, FLICKR and KODAK Gallery sites, e-mail, picture frame
Customization
Custom settings Share button settings, LCD brightness, image storage, set tag, red-eye reduction, orientation sensor, camera sound, sound volume, date & time, video out, language, reset camera, format, KODAK Camera Software, about
Physical specifications
I/O interface A/V output (NTSC or PAL selectable), digital USB 2.0 high speed
Power KODAK Rechargeable Li-ion Battery KLIC-7006, 5V AC adapter inlet on camera, USB/AC adapter for in-camera battery charging
Dedicated buttons
  • top: power, flash, mode, shutter
  • back: zoom, delete, menu, info/help, 5-way controller, review, Share
Microphone yes
Speaker yes
Tripod mount ¼ in. standard
Dimensions W × H × D: 100.8 × 59.5 × 25.7 mm (4.0 × 2.3 × 1.0 in.)
Weight 150 g without battery and memory card
Compatibility
Direct printing PictBridge-enabled
Software works with KODAK EASYSHARE Software

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