Kodak Easyshare M1093 IS Digital Camera Review
The Kodak Easyshare M1093 IS is a 10 megapixel compact camera with a full feature set including two different types of red eye reduction, a Smart Capture mode that does all the heavy lifting for you and high definition still pictures and video. This is really two cameras: A simple point and shoot or a compact that offers complete customization. The choice is yours
Out of the box the camera comes with:
The camera itself
a little plastic dock
(here’s a photo of the camera in the dock)
Wrist Strap
USB Cable
Power Adapter
Battery
Kodak Easyshare Software. (Version 7.0 for Windows/Version 6.1 for Mac)
Owners Manual (I’m in Canada, so both English and French Versions)
An ‘exclusive offer’ that reminds you to install and register with your easyshare software. (Not sure yet what is offered – but I haven’t installed the software yet, so we’ll see) - update -I still have no idea what the offer is when registering.
Out of the box this little compact is ready to run. It comes with enough battery juice to play with and internal memory for 5 photos. enough for you to play with the camera’s features and take a few test snaps before you have to plug it in to charge. I didn’t time it, but a full charge took me less than 2 hours.
Startup time on this camera is quick and fast. You’re ready to shoot almost instantly and the camera defaults to ‘Smart’ mode.
The Smart mode is one of four modes available:
1. Smart Capture Mode: This mode does it all for you adjusts exposure, iso speed, focus. point and shoot.
2. Movie. Self explanatory, really. this little kodak allows you to make High Definition movies. (720p)
3. Program. You’d use this setting if you want to tweak the settings below. Want to always shoot at a high ISO, for example? This would be the settings you would use.
4. Scene. You can select different scenes to use. For example if shooting a close up you could use the close-up scene. or the panarama modes to shoot neat panoramas which ’stitch’ multiple photos to create a panoramic view.
Let’s start with the Smart Capture Mode:
In this mode, the camera does most, if not all of the settings adjustments for you but there are a few modifications you can make:
You can change the picture/file size. The default is 10MP. (You paid for a 10MP camera – might as well use it as such). But, if you want you can change the file sizes to smaller:
- 10 Megapixels
- 8.9 Megapixels
- 7.5 Megapixels
- 5.0 Megapixels
- 4.5 Megapixels
- 3.8 Megapixels
- 3.1 Megapixels
- 2.8 Megapixels
- 2.4 Megapixels
Other setting you can change are:
LCD Brightness
- High Power
- Power Save
LCD Dimmer
- OFF
- 10 Seconds
- 20 Seconds
- 30 Seconds
Image Storage
- Auto
- Internal Memory
Set Tag
This option allows you to tag your photos
- Add Tag
- Delete Tag
- Clear ALL
Date Stamp
- ON
- OFF
Red Eye Reduction
- Pre Flash
- Digital Correction
Image Stabilizer
- ON
- OFF
Orientation Sensor
- Still – On/Off
- Video – On/Off
Camera Sounds
- Sound Themes – Default/Secret Agent/Jazz Lounge/None
- Power On- Default/Secret Agent/Jazz Lounge/None
- Focus Lock – Default/Secret Agent/Jazz Lounge/None
- Shutter – Default/Secret Agent/Jazz Lounge/None
- Self Timer – Default/Secret Agent/Jazz Lounge/None
- Error – Default/Secret Agent/Jazz Lounge/None
Sound Volume
- Low
- Medium
- High
- Off
Date and Time – allows you to set/modify date/time
Digital Zoom
- ON
- OFF
- Auto Power OFF
- 1 minute
- 3 minute
- 5 minute
- 10 minute
Video Out.
- NTSC
- PALLanguage – I won’t list all the available languages. There’s too many
And lastly, two last settings – one to reset the camera to factory defaults and the other to format your memory card. Both should be pretty self explanatory.
Video Mode
Video Size
- 1280×720 HQ (HD720P)
- 1280×720 (HD 720P)
- 640×480 HQ
- 640×480
- 320×240
Focus Mode
- Auto
- Macro
- Infinity
AF Control
- Continuous AF
- Single AF
Video Blur Reduction
- ON
- OFF
Program Mode.
Program mode allows you full customization of the camera allowing you to change the following settings:
Exposure Compensation
This setting allows you to change the exposure to over or under expose your photo depending on your needs. 2 f stops in each direction. One neat feature is the LCD display gives you a live preview of the changes made. A nice touch.
Picture Size – I’ve already listed the available picture sizes above,so I won’t repeat myself here again.
Focus Mode
- Macro
- Infinity
Long Time Exposure
- .5 Seconds
- 1 Second
- 2 Second
- 4 Second
- 8 Second
Color Mode
- High Color
- Low Color
- Natural Color
- Black and White
- Sepia
AF Control
- Still
- Continuous AF
White Balance
- Daylight
- Tungsten
- Fluorescant
- Open Shade
Face Detection Capture
- ON
- OFF
Exposure Metering
- Multi Pattern
- Center Weight
- Center Spot
ISO SPEED
- Auto
- ISO 64
- ISO 100
- ISO 200
- ISO 400
- ISO 800
- ISO 1600
- ISO 3200
- ISO 6400
Sharpness
- Normal
- High
- Low
And, lastly the setup options such as Date Stamp, red eye reduction which are exactly the same options as above which can be modified in Smart Capture mode, so I won’t repeat myself here again.
Scene Options.
Lastly,here’s all 22 different scene options.
- Portrait – use for full frame photos of people and other subjects
- Panorama Left-Right – use to capture Panorama Pictures left to right
- Panorama Right – Left – use to capture Panorama Pictures right to left
- Blur Reduction – use to reduce blur due to subject motion
- Sport – use to reduce the effect of fast action
- Landscape – use for distant scenery
- Close Up – use for subjects that are closer than 28 inches (70cm)
- Night Portrait – use to capture subject and background. Steady camera for best results
- Night Lanscape – use to capture distant scenery at night.
- Snow – use for bright snow scene
- Beach – use for bright beach scene
- Text – use for photos of documents. Steady camera for best results
- Fireworks – use for photos of fireworks
- Flower – use for closeup photos of flowers in bright light
- Manner/Museum – use when sound and flash are not desired. steady camera for best results
- Self portrait – use for close up of self
- High ISO – use to capture pictures in very low light conditions
- Children – use for action photos of children in bright light
- Backlight – use for photos where light is behind the subject
- Panning Shot – use for expressing speed of subject in motion
- Candle Light – use when capturing in candle light
- Sunset – use in sunset light.
Actual Use.
So, now that I’ve listed every possible setting and option of this little compact camera the question you want to know is – what’s it like?
This is an easy to use digital camera with a sea of options allowing you to customize to your heart’s content as you have seen with all the options listed above. I found it to be easy to use and the buttons are pretty intuitive:
The top of the camera has only 4 buttons:
1. The shutter release. hold it halfway down to compose – press fully to make a capture or photo/video
2. The flash options button. Choose from Auto Flash/No Flash/Red Eye Reduction
3. the mode button. Allows you to choose from the four shooting modes: Smart Capture/Video/Program/Scenes
A full description of these modes are listed above already.
4. Power On/Off button. I found the startup to be instant, but the shutdown to take some time (only about 2 seconds), but I found myself waiting for the camera to shut off before I could put it back in my pocket.
On the bottom of the camera:
is a tripod socket, and what I can only guess is a docking station for the easyshare dock. My review unit didn’t come with an easyshare dock (unless you count the cheesy plastic job above) so I can’t comment on the functionality of the dock connector.
The back of the camera is where all the action is, and as you can see above the 3 inch LCD display pretty much dominates the back of this little compact camera. All buttons on the back are pretty self explanatory and work as provided. One good thing about this camera I found was all the buttons were accessible with gloves on. No problems.
Switching from Capture to play mode is fast (I’d guess about a second) and all buttons felt sturdy. In short, it feels well built. Buttons ‘click’ when pressed and don’t feel mushy.
Playback options
In playback, there’s lots of fun stuff available including adding favorites displaying slideshows and more
To review in thumbnail mode, it’s as easy as hitting the ‘W’ or magnifying glass icon and thumbnails of 12 frames/screen are displayed. you can use the command dial to select the photo you like and hit the “T” or the magnifying glass with the plus sign to see your photo fill up the 3 inch LCD screen. If you keep on pressing the “T” button you can enlarge or zoom in on your photo. A handy feature for checking focus/exposure on the 3 inch LCD display
If you hit the settings button a REVIEW menu is displayed where you can Search/Tag/Favorite/Copy/Display Slideshow/Multimedia Slideshow and lastly Multi-Up which displays the 12 thumbnails again.
The EDIT menu option allows you to apply ‘Perfect touch technology’ to the photo (the camera post-processes your files for you), crop your photo and one neat feature is to add a Sound Tag where you can record an audio note to annotate your photo. A handy feature that to date I’ve only seen on PRO flagship DSLR’s.
Software:
I’m on a Mac, so I installed the Kodak EasyShare software, and the install went without a hitch. Use of the software was a breeze too. I plugged in the supplied USB cable and launched the Kodak Easyshare Software and all went without surprise, or grief. It just worked.
Import was fast, and easy. A thumbnail of every photo came up and allowed me to edit/email/print with ease. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time with the software as it’s the camera and ease of use I’m concerned with and not how many different templates there are for holiday cards, but if this is for you, the software allows you to print at home/email or connect with the easyshare center where you can turn your photos into greeting cards, find tips and more. At another time I might review the software more, but for now I’ll say that it works and allows me to quickly import/organize and share my photos.
Performance
I used this, for the most part on Smart Capture mode as I’m guessing that that’s how you’ll use it too. I did use it in Program mode when I changed the ISO setting to compare noise at different ISO settings but for the most part I just pointed and shot. I let the camera take care of all the settings. I really liked this camera and had some fun with just day to day photos. None of the photos below are portfolio material, but they’re snapshots of life. Probably the biggest feature the Kodak Easy Share M1093 has going for it is it’s compact size and fast startup time. You can and will want to bring it with you as it is easy to bring along. Below are a few examples:
Summary.
Let’s start with the negative: I wish this little Kodak would shut down faster. I found myself waiting for the camera to turn off so I could put it away. Startup is fast, I wish the shut down could be the same.
Battery life is great. I had no issues with battery life, and forgot it even took batteries for the most part. When I was out shooting my original photos for my ‘first look’ post , but it was COLD out. (-20C). I bet any camera would complain about a low battery in those temperatures. I was outside with the camera in the cold for approx a half an hour before the low battery warning came on. This was the only time I experienced the low battery warning. I’d remember to charge the battery every now and again and in return the camera was ready for me to shoot with no battery or power issues.
There’s minimal buttons and they all are pretty intuitive. I had a quick skim through the manual, but the camera is pretty intuitive. There’s no cryptic settings or labels. And, as I mentioned above – the buttons have a nice feel to them and can be worked with gloves. This could be a great camera for wildlife shooters or hockey moms where the temperature might not be room temperature and gloves are required.
White balance is really impressive on this camera. I took some photos with mixed light (fluorescant and tungsten) and the color balance technology of this camera is up to speed. Well done.
Exposure is really good too. For example, the snow on the stairs photo I took above. This was with the sun pointed directly at the lens and not one area of the snow is blown out. There’s detail in highlights where lesser cameras might not be able to hold their own.
The High ISO capabilities of this camera are also impressive. I’d easily shoot at ISO 1600 with this camera. ISO 3200 and up might be a little sketchy, but in a pinch or for low light situations like birthday cakes and no lights on, or at a poorly lit gym the ISO and 3200 and up settings will get you a photo and one that is useable, albeit with a bit of noise.
For the MSRP of $199.95 and a full feature set I’ve listed above, this little camera is a bargain. Fast to startup, excellent battery life, great HIGH ISO quality and fantastic auto white balance alone make it a great buy.
Where To Buy.
You can buy this camera at the following online vendors. Here’s the great part: All carry this camera for LESS than MSRP if you buy using the links below. Doing so allows me to continue to write reviews like this. You help me, and I’ll help you. It’s SO appreciated. Thanks! – Jim
See also:
Kodak EasyShare M1093IS Sample Images
Kodak EasyShare M1093 High ISO Examples.
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