Kodak EasyShare C813: Review

Posted to Digital Cameras 2009-09-04

Kodak EasyShare C813 Review:

The Kodak EasyShare C813 digital camera has 8.2 megapixel resolution, a 3X (36-108mm) zoom lens, and a 2.4-inch indoor/outdoor color LCD display. There's also a 5X digital zoom, digital image stabilization and high ISO (up to 1250) operation for taking pictures in low-light situations. The camera also features an HD output for viewing your pictures on an HDTV or other HD device, and a VGA video mode.

The C813 features 16 scene modes, 3 color modes (color, black and white, sepia), and Kodak Perfect Touch technology, which brings out details in shadows while maintaining proper highlights in images. The unit comes with 16MB of internal memory and uses an SD card slot for expansion. The camera is capable of automatically switching to internal memory if your memory card becomes full.

Rating:

3.0 out of 5

Value

The EasyShare C813 provides an excellent value in a point-and-shoot camera for the street price. It's a no-frills model to be sure, but delivers excellent performance given the price. Picture quality is excellent for small to medium-sized prints - anything larger and a lot of graininess begins to show. But we've come to expect this with high megapixel, small sensor cameras such as this. One nice feature is the true wide angle offered at the low end of the zoom range.

Performance

The C813 has the standard features for a low-priced point and shoot camera in this megapixel range. The high ISO setting is a plus, but you'll have to stick to the smaller print sizes if you use this setting - there's lots of noise in the images. The LCD doesn't perform well outdoors in bright sunlight - a big minus since there's no optical viewfinder. If you do a lot of outdoor shooting you might want to look elsewhere. Indoors, the camera performs as well as most of the competition, and takes excellent flash pictures with little problems with red-eye.

Summary

If you need a basic point-and-shoot digital camera for snapshots, the EasyShare C813 represents a good value for the money. Kodak has a reputation for making good cameras at a reasonable price, and the C813 lives up to this reputation. You won't get a lot of creative control or fancy features, but you do get a good, basic point-and-shoot digital camera.

Pros

8.2 megapixel resolution
3X (36-108mm) zoom lens
2.4 inch color LCD

Cons

LCD doesn't perform well outdoors
High ISO (1250) operation but lots of noise