Any thoughts on the Kodak P880?

[Catch22]

Anyone have any thoughts on the soon to be released Kodak P880? I thought I had narrowed the choice for a new cam down to a Canon G6 or Konica Dimage A200. I haven't been able to try the A200 out yet but the G6 was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, the lack of a wide angle on the G6 is making me really hesitant as I think it's a feature I would really get a lot of use from. I just ran across the press release on the new Kodak line and the p880 caught my eye. Anyone see this as a worthy competitor of the G6, A200, etc? I love the fact that it has the 24mm wide angle and my current cam that has given me a few great years of service is an older Kodak Easyshare. The lack of a swivel screen is too bad but I guess I'm used to that from my current cam anyways. As far as the specs go I'm completely clueless if it will be a decent model or not. What do the camera experts think?

Here's the release info:
Kodak Easyshare P880 and P850 - Press Release

[Michael Fanelli]

Anyone have any thoughts on the soon to be released Kodak P880? I thought I had narrowed the choice for a new cam down to a Canon G6 or Konica Dimage A200. I haven't been able to try the A200 out yet but the G6 was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, the lack of a wide angle on the G6 is making me really hesitant as I think it's a feature I would really get a lot of use from. I just ran across the press release on the new Kodak line and the p880 caught my eye. Anyone see this as a worthy competitor of the G6, A200, etc? I love the fact that it has the 24m wide angle and my current cam that has given me a few great years of service is an older Kodak Easyshare. The lack of a swivel screen is too bad but I guess I'm used to that from my current cam anyways. As far as the specs go I'm completely clueless if it will be a decent model or not. What do the camera experts think?

As the Kodak P880 hasn't even been released yet, it is unlikely you are going to find anyone who has any credible opinions about it. It is to be released "sometime in September", the good reviews and tests won't be out until November at the earliest with user reviews maybe dribbling in little by little through Christmas. No one has any idea how good or bad the Kodak P-series cameras will be.

If you think these cameras will be great, hold off on the purchase. Otherwise, go with a camera that is out there and available now.

[Photo-John]

Michael is right about the new Kodak cameras. We won't know anything about them besides what they've told us for a few months. And it's bad to get caught in the trap of waiting for the next big thing. Especially when excellent cameras are available now. If you love the G6, consider buying the wide-angle accessory lens for it. But I know what you mean about the lack of wide angle. And I don't want to have to buy and carry an accessory lens for a compact camera. For that reason, you should take a look at the Olympus C-8080 and the newer C-7070. I'm pretty sure that the 7070 has the same sensor as the G6 and Olympus's new processor may even make the 7070 faster than the G6. I believe both the 8080 and the 7070's lenses are 28mm on the wide end. I haven't had a chance to use either one yet, but there's a very good review for the 8080 here. And it was even written by a mountain biker.

deja vu.... Did I already tell you about the 8080 review once?

[Catch22]

Michael is right about the new Kodak cameras. We won't know anything about them besides what they've told us for a few months. And it's bad to get caught in the trap of waiting for the next big thing. Especially when excellent cameras are available now. If you love the G6, consider buying the wide-angle accessory lens for it. But I know what you mean about the lack of wide angle. And I don't want to have to buy and carry an accessory lens for a compact camera. For that reason, you should take a look at the Olympus C-8080 and the newer C-7070. I'm pretty sure that the 7070 has the same sensor as the G6 and Olympus's new processor may even make the 7070 faster than the G6. I believe both the 8080 and the 7070's lenses are 28mm on the wide end. I haven't had a chance to use either one yet, but there's a very good review for the 8080 here. And it was even written by a mountain biker.

deja vu.... Did I already tell you about the 8080 review once?

Thanks guys, being new to the whole camera buying experience I was wondering if the wait (especially with a current cam that is in a world of hurt) would be worthwhile on a completely new model. I was actually looking pretty hard at those Olympus models this morning. The one ECH reviewed was the 7070 and there are some great reviews on the 8080 as well(I think someone misscored their review on the 8080 that knocked its overall score down a ways). A couple of the links off here have the refurbished 8080's for under $500 which seems like a great deal but I'm not sure what goes into the refurbishing process. Do the manufacturers typically carry a warranty over to these or is it just a matter of hoping you don't get stuck with a total lemon? I could always go with a new 7070 but the new 8080 would be out of my price range right now. Any glaring differences outside the .9mp and 5x zoom compared to 4x that would be worth doing a refurb 8080 for $100 more than a new 7070?

[Photo-John]

I'd buy the 7070 over the 8080. If the 7070 has the same 7-megapixel sensor that the G6 does, then it's got the best compact digital sensor available in it. That sensor is the best thing to happen to compact digital cameras since faster processors. I'm pretty sure the same Sony sensor is in all the current 7-megapixel cameras. It's hard to get confirmation on that from the manufacturers, though. The differences are in the image processing, lens, and speed. I think Canon's processing is the best so far. But the Olympus design is usually better than Canon's, and I agree that a wider lens is a good thing.

[Catch22]

I'd buy the 7070 over the 8080. If the 7070 has the same 7-megapixel sensor that the G6 does, then it's got the best compact digital sensor available in it. That sensor is the best thing to happen to compact digital cameras since faster processors. I'm pretty sure the same Sony sensor is in all the current 7-megapixel cameras. It's hard to get confirmation on that from the manufacturers, though. The differences are in the image processing, lens, and speed. I think Canon's processing is the best so far. But the Olympus design is usually better than Canon's, and I agree that a wider lens is a good thing.

Well, it's official, I've got a 7070 on the way from Beach Camera, hopefully will have it early next week. I'll try and get a review on here as soon as I have some time to mess with it a little more. Thanks for the help everyone!

[SW2CAM]

Me...........I going to hold out till the P850 and P880 hit the streets. I'm shooting with a decent cam now, I'm in no hurry to box it up till I find the cam thats right for me. I can hold out untill the first of the year. It's just like a new car. I wanted a new one last year, but a car is coing out in 07 that I think I want. I'm waiting till I can put my hands on it.