Kodak EasyShare Z885 review

On the surface, the Z885 produces some surprisingly low-noise photos, but at higher ISOs that comes at the expense of sharpness and shadow detail. At ISO 80 and ISO 100 we saw almost no ISO-related noise. At ISO 200, it began to creep in but didn't take away significantly from image quality. Noise steps up a tiny bit more at ISO 400, and we saw only a tiny rolloff in overall sharpness, with shadow detail remaining unaffected. At ISO 800, images take on an obviously grainy look but are still very usable, though you do sacrifice a noticeable amount of sharpness and a very minor degree of shadow detail at this point. At ISO 1,600, Kodak engages a heavy blur filter to smooth away the noise, resulting in a large loss of sharpness and an overall decrease in dynamic range. Once you hit ISO 3,200 noise takes over, adding a layer of grain atop the muddled results we saw on the previous level of the sensitivity scale. We recommend staying below ISO 1,600 altogether and below ISO 800 whenever possible.

With plenty of manual controls and a nice, 5x lens, the Kodak EasyShare Z885 offers a lot of bang for its relatively low price. Its high-ISO shots leave a lot of be desired, but the flexibility and feature set make this shooter a pretty appealing camera, comparable to the satisfying Samsung S850.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55

1.4 

1.3 

0.5 

Canon PowerShot A630

1.7 

1.5 

0.5 

Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS

1.9 

0.9 

0.5 

Samsung S850

2.1 

2.1 

0.5 

Kodak EasyShare Z885

2.2 

2.8 

0.5