Kodak Easyshare M5370 Review

January 26, 2012 | Matt Grayson | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Kodak Easyshare M5370 is a touch-screen digital compact camera with a 16 megapixel CCD sensor, 5x optical zoom lens with a 28mm wide-angle setting, and 720p HD video recording. Using an accelerated share system that now incorporates direct upload to social networking sites such as Facebook and video uploading to YouTube, the Kodak Easyshare 5370 costs around £109.99 / $159.95 and is available in blue and silver, red and black.

Ease of Use

From the front, the Kodak Easyshare M5370 is a good looking little compact. The 5x optical Schneider-Kreuznach lens sits cosily to one side of the body with a longer than usual flash situated in the top left just under the shutter release button. This could cause issues with a finger masking the flash during picture taking but we'll see how that gets on throughout the test.

The curvy edges lead to the top of the M5370 which is simple in its execution. The power button is sat flush with the top plate to avoid embarrassingly turning it off by accident from straying fingers. This trendy approach hasn't been carried along because the shutter release and zoom bulge out and make the camera look poorer quality than it actually is, mainly because the shutter button and zoom trigger look like they've been taken off an older camera as though Kodak are cutting corners in the build and design. A small red video button sits just to the right of the shutter release and makes for a nice splash of colour in an otherwise monotone camera.

There are only two buttons on the back for playback and sharing. Frankly these could've been installed into the touchscreen so there's no reason for them to be there. Still, many users prefer to have at least some tangible buttons to press.

Kodak Easyshare M5370 Kodak Easyshare M5370
Front Rear

Kodak could be held responsible for the sharing mindset we've seen on a lot of cameras recently. The Easyshare system has been around since 2001. Using a (Kodak) universal dock, the camera could be linked to any computer that a dock was connected to. Removable templates meant that anyone with a Kodak camera could use the dock by placing their own template on it. This principle of sharing has evolved into incorporating social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Sharing on the M5370 is done using one of the physical buttons on the back. It's been coloured red for ease of identification and will automatically upload pictures you've tagged for transfer on to the site when an internet connection is available.

Face recognition is available on the Kodak Easyshare M5370. It takes the usual face detection system that one step further by allowing you to register people's faces into a database on the camera. When that face is detected, the camera will prioritise it over all other faces in the frame. Kodak have even linked this in to the Facebook uploader and will automatically tag your friends that are named in the face recognition system. The camera can save up to 20 faces but can only recognise five at a time.

It's possible to edit your pictures in camera and the effects are good fun to use. You can adjust the colour tone of the picture, add blur to the background, paint in colours using a brush or add a border giving a look like it's printed on film. There are also several Kodak film simulations which can be found by pressing the mode button and choosing the middle option. You can choose from iconic film types such as Kodacolor, Ektachrome, Kodachrome, T-Max, Tri-X and Sepia.

Kodak Easyshare M5370 Kodak Easyshare M5370
Front Top

Since Panasonic introduced Intelligent Auto, every man and his dog has a system that will now recognise the scene and adjust the camera settings for you. For example, if the Kodak Easyshare M5370 detects a face in the frame, it switches itself into portrait mode then turns on face detection and automatic flash with red eye reduction. Kodak is no different except they call it Smart Capture. It utilises all different areas of picture-taking such as: face detection, flash control, focusing, motion detection, ISO and expanded dynamic range. The latter will give more balanced exposures with less contrast, more detail from shadows and less burn out on highlights.

We're surprised to see only 720p video quality on the Kodak Easyshare M5370. It's still HD video but not Full HD. The great thing about the M5370 is that the LCD screen is nice and bright. Unfortunately, it's let down by the menu system that keeps popping down from the top of the screen like an annoying sun-visor. Confirming a button on the menu makes it retract only to come back down with a sub-menu. It takes more time than necessary and while it looks good, it needs to be faster.

The overall build quality of the M5370 is to a high standard for the price, such as the metal casing and Schneider Kreuznach lens. There's nothing fitted to it that makes the camera stand out - likewise there's nothing missing that we'd expect to see. The screen is responsive enough for a camera touch-screen and the buttons are firm.

The menu of the Kodak Easyshare M5370 is a bit higgledy piggledy with the resolution in the settings tab and film effects in the mode menu. It makes navigation more difficult to get used to which is a shame. There's also no written explanation of what some modes are, such as the five dots arranged in a domino pattern which is the sharpness setting.

Kodak Easyshare M5370 Kodak Easyshare M5370
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

If you're in a rush to get a picture with the M5370, forget it. Start up time from pressing the power button to focusing and taking a picture is around 6 seconds. The big part of the time is taken up by the menu system booting up. It takes around 2/3rds of the time just to sort the menu out before the camera will focus. Pre-focused, the camera will take a picture in around 0.08 seconds which is typical of a digital compact camera today. We couldn't find a burst mode to test.

The Kodak Easyshare M5370's playback button allows you to see the pictures you've already taken. When the screen opens, the home page will show. It categorises all the pictures into date, face recognised, most recently taken etc.

There are some editing options which are actually quite catchy. They're accessed via the edit icon which has an icon of a pair of scissors. The three additional options are crop, effects and magic touch. The latter will automatically do what it can to enhance pictures which works well enough on well exposed pictures but if they're too dark or have a strong colour cast, it does struggle.

In the effects there are 2 more options in a sub menu and each of those options has even more options. Photo effects has 3 available called Spot colour which will remove the colour of something such as a background, Tint which adds a strong colour cast and background blur which is similar to what some other companies provide such as Fujifilm and Panasonic. The Decorative tab allows you to add a border or text to your pictures.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 16 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 3Mb.

Noise

On the surface noise looks to be handled very well. Certainly at low ISO the pictures are sharp and smooth. However, looking closer, even at ISO 64 there are problems in the dark areas, with noticeable traces of green colour.

But let's put this in perspective: we only noticed this while viewing at 100% magnification and for people looking to buy the Kodak Easyshare M5370, it's unlikely that the pictures will be looked at in such detail. At normal viewing size this issue isn't a problem. So with this troubling start, we nervously move through the settings. ISO 100 sees a minor increase in the colour at full size but again this isn't remotely seen at normal viewing distance.

Noise takes a significant leap at ISO 400 and starts to show through at lighter areas although edge definition takes a nose-dive. At ISO 800 colour noise disappears and is replaced with salt and peppper noise. Or at least that's what it looks like. More likely, the noise reduction software has removed the colour from the noise because coloured areas of the picture that aren't noise look muted. ISO 1600 is simply an exacerbated example of ISO 800 with more speckled noise and less edge definition.

ISO 64 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

We sharpened the Kodak Easyshare M5370's images using Adobe Photoshop and were pleased to see that the camera doesn't benefit that much from it. The pictures are sharp enough without the need for the boost.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   

Chromatic Aberrations

We thought that having a Schneider lens on the front of the Kodak Easyshare M5370 would go some way to avoiding lens aberrations such as chroma. Unfortunately, we found it quite easily, more frequently on light subjects with a dark background, but not so much on black subjects with a light background.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Macro

While the Kodak Easyshare M5370 doesn't have a dedicated macro button, the close-up mode works exceptionally well. We got lovely sharp pictures from the close-up tests with the subject getting to around 5cm away from the front element.

What we're also happy with is the edge to edge definition. There's very little fall off from the centre of the frame with detail remaining pretty sharp towards the edges.

Macro

100% Crop

Flash

With the flash turned off, the Kodak Easyshare M5370 has a little vignetting at wide-angle but it's very faint and is eradicated at telephoto. Using flash, the vignetting is made more prominent and there's also a very mild amount at full telephoto.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (28mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (140mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (140mm)

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

Night pictures from the Kodak Easyshare M5370 look good although if you want to retain a decent ISO you have to compromise with a slightly darker picture. This is because in Program mode the shutter speeds don't go slow enough.

Night Shot

Night Shot (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Kodak Easyshare M5370 camera, which were all taken using the 16 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 25 second movie is 25.8Mb in size.

Product Images

Kodak Easyshare M5370

Front of the Camera

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Front of the Camera / Turned On

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Isometric View

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Isometric View

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Rear of the Camera / Capture Mode

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Rear of the Camera / Image Playback

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370

Rear of the Camera / Image Playback

 

Kodak Easyshare M5370

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

 
Kodak Easyshare M5370
Top of the Camera
 
Kodak Easyshare M5370
Side of the Camera
 
Kodak Easyshare M5370
Side of the Camera
 
Kodak Easyshare M5370
Front of the Camera

Conclusion

The Kodak Easyshare M5370 is by far one of the best small cameras we've seen from the company. It's small, stylish, feature-rich, built to a good standard and - most importantly - produces good pictures considering its entry-level price-tag.

Photographs from the M5370 are sharp and have good colour rendition. Noise is a problem from early stages but the noise reduction does what it can and we think that the customer looking for a camera at this level won't be interested in noise enough to notice it.

We love the sharing possibilities of the M5370 because it takes the Kodak “easy sharing” approach one step further. Hooking up to social network sites is nothing new but Kodak makes it very easy with their sharing system.

We're surprised at the use of MicroSD as the preferred memory card format. Obviously it means that the camera can be made smaller but it's a relatively unknown format in photography circles (much more widely used in mobile phones). An adapter has to be used to convert it to full SD size unless you have a card reader that accepts MicroSD.

The Kodak Easyshare M5370 is a camera designed to look good on a night out. It's small enough to fit into a pocket or clutch bag and the touch-screen makes it an interesting talking point because even though phones have had touch-screens for years now, seeing it on a camera is still quite advanced for some reason.

With picture quality as good as it is (despite the noise at low ISO speeds), we think the M5370 is a great little camera from Kodak and they need to make sure that all their future cameras have this image quality as a benchmark. Kodak have received criticism in the past for sub-standard cameras, but hopefully the M5370 is the start of a new breed that sees the company rising from the proverbial ashes.

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 4
Ease-of-use 3.5
Image quality 4
Value for money 4.5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Kodak Easyshare M5370 from around the web.

pcmag.com »

The Kodak Easyshare Touch M5370 is able to capture good images in decent light, but its touch-screen interface is poorly conceived and implemented, which makes using the camera a bit of a chore in any mode other than Auto.
Read the full review »

ephotozine.com »

Kodak's latest introduction to their Easyshare Touch range is the M5370 which has a touch screen and makes it easy to share your images on sites such as Facebook. It is available in silver, blue, pink and red with an RRP of £129.99.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Standard features
Sensor type 1 / 2.3-type CCD
CCD total pixels 16.4 MP (4700 × 3498)
Effective pixels 16 MP (4624 × 3472)
Zoom 5X SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON Optical Zoom Lens, 5X digital
Focal length 28-140 mm (35 mm equiv.), wide-angle
Lens protection built-in auto lens cover
Shutter speed
  • Smart Capture mode: 1/8-1/1600 sec.
  • long-time exposure mode: 0.5-8 sec.
Display 3.0 in. 230K high-resolution capacitive LCD touchscreen with auto brightness control
Storage 18 MB internal memory, MICROSD/MICROSDHC card slot
Auto focus
Focus system TTL-AF, multi-zone, center-zone, face priority
Focus range
  • Smart Capture mode: (wide) 0.5 m (1.6 ft)-infinity, (tele) 1.5 m (4.9 ft)—infinity
  • close-up mode: (wide) 0.05-0.8 m (1.9 in.-2.6 ft), (tele) 1.0-1.8 m (3.3-5.9 ft)
Focus control single, continuous
Exposure control
ISO sensitivity
  • auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Compensation ±2.0 EV with 1/3 EV steps
AE (Auto Exposure) lock when shutter button is depressed 1/2-way to S1
White balance
  • Smart Capture: scene modes, auto
  • P mode: selectable auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, open shade
Flash
Flash range
  • (wide) 0.5-3.2 m (1.6-10.5 ft)
  • (tele) 1.0-2.2 m (3.3-7.2 ft) at ISO 400 in auto
Flash mode auto, fill, red-eye reduction, off
Shooting specifications
Smart Capture yes
Film effects KODAKCOLOR, KODAKCHROME, EKTACHROME, T-MAX, TRI-X, sepia
Photobooth yes
Scene modes program AE (P), portrait, sport, landscape, close-up, sunset, backlight, candlelight, children, bright, long-time exposure, fireworks, self-portrait, night portrait, night landscape, blur reduction, high ISO, panorama, text
Self-timer self-timer (2 sec., 10 sec., 2-shot), burst (maximum 3 shots)
Face Recognition yes
Face Detection yes
Still capture/review
Still format JPEG/EXIF v2.3
Picture size
  • 16 MP (4608 × 3456)—4:3
  • 14 MP (4608 × 3072)—3:2
  • 12 MP (4608 × 2592)—16:9
  • 6 MP (2880 × 2160)—4:3
  • 3 MP (2048 × 1536)—4:3
Color modes vivid, full, and basic color; black and white; sepia
Sharpness sharp, normal, soft
Orientation sensor yes
Internal Memory yes
Date stamp yes
Review options viewing: Face Recognition (date, face), single-up, multi-up/ thumbnails, magnify, fast scroll, multi-select, delete, undo delete, slide show; tagging: Share, print, e-mail, favorite, keyword, keyboard input; photo effects
Editing crop, KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology (if not applied during capture), auto move, film effects
Video capture/review
Format H.264, AAC, MP4 with audio recording during capture
Quality 720p (16:9) 1280 × 720 @ 30 fps; VGA (4:3), 640 × 480 @ 30 fps
AF (Auto Focus) during video continuous AE
Zoom during video digital zoom
Microphone yes, monaural
Speaker yes, monaural
Length VGA: < 4 GB; HD: < 4 GB or < 29 min.
Review options FF, rewind, pause, by frame, volume control
Editing make picture, trim, 9-up action print, auto move
Share
Share menu FACEBOOK, e-mail, KODAK Gallery, FLICKR, YouTube, TWITTER, ORKUT, YANDEX, KAIXIN001, and KODAK PULSE Digital Frames[1][2]
Features pictures, videos, multiple selections, multiple destinations
Customization
Custom settings Share button settings, LCD brightness, sound volume, people tag, slide show, reset all camera settings, computer connection, safe mode, date & time, video out, language, format, about, KODAK Camera Software
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, in-camera charging
Dedicated buttons power, shutter, zoom, review, video, Share
Tripod mount ¼ in. standard
Dimensions W × H × D: 3.9 × 2.3 × 0.8 in.
Weight 4.8 oz with in-box battery and memory card
Compatibility
Direct printing PictBridge-enabled
Software works with KODAK EASYSHARE Software, includes one-time download of Kodak’s Share button app

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