Kodak EasyShare M1033 and EasyShare Dock Series 3 - Review

We recently purchased a Kodak M1033 10MP camera and the EasyShare Dock Series 3. Our old Sony had worn out, and I wanted to investigate other less expensive options.

Description: "The Kodak EasyShare M1033 digital camera blends the latest in picture-taking technology with the ultimate in style. Enjoy pure features like Kodak's innovative Smart Capture, as well as HD pictures and video, right at your fingertips. It's the take-anywhere camera that captures pictures beautifully, easily and, best of all, automatically."

Results: This camera has a lot of functions and capabilities that I will probably never use, but so far it has done rather well for us. The pictures are sharp and accurate. There is a slight delay, as with most all digital cameras, but it has not been an issue to this point. The colors are crisp, and the "Smart" mode seems to get the lighting/flash/timing about 95% correct.
As for the video mode, I'm a little less pleased. If you don't hold the camera PERFECTLY still, and I mean ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY still, its very jittery. The other part of the video I'm less than impressed with is the zoom. When used in video mode, the motor to extend the lens is horribly over-amplified in the sound captured by the camera. This never happened on our Sony. The video is really good when you hold the camera very still. A stabilizer would do this camera some good.


Kodak EasyShare Dock Series 3: Misrepresented, but nice once you get the needed parts.

***get ready, the rant starts here***As for the Dock, that's entirely different issue. All of the documentation states that there is 100% compatibility with all camera less one, which I did not even consider on my list for that reason. The base is an excellent feature that allows you to easily set your camera down and charge it continuously and also have the option to press one button to download pictures to your computer. Very handy, and this is something our Sony did very well.
The issue I have is that when you tell me something is 100% compatible, and nothing else is required to make something work, I actually believe you. The camera comes with a USB cable to plug into the bottom of the camera to transfer pictures. We will call this CableX. The base has a connector that the camera connects to with the exact same connector as CableX. Excellent! This makes sense, so the camera can fit the base and allow for photo transfers. Aaah, but wait. The dock itself does NOT come with a USB cable. The connector that the cable (CableX in this case) is supposed to fit in is of size Y, TOTALLY different connector.
Ok, so how do I make this work? I looked it up on the Kodak website, and what do you know, they sell the correct cable, for ONLY $24.95! What a deal. To make my $35 docking station actually function as promised in all of the documentation, I have to spend ANOTHER $25. This got me irate, so, I called the sales support line. After about 20 minutes of explaining to the tech what the issue was, we figured out which cable I needed. I was then asked how I would like to pay for the cable. I stated I would NOT be purchasing the cable that was not supposed to be needed per the documentation accompanying my already expensive purchase. After some debate, I was transfered to a supervisor. After about 15 minutes more, and my explaining that I will not pay for the cable AGAIN, I was told there is no other way to make the dock work. Well, yes there is. Kodak could back up their documentation and provide me, the customer, with the correct cable to make the dock work. After repeatedly being told I had to purchase the cable, and my refusal, I was again transferred to another higher level. It came down to 2 options in my mind: 1) Kodak steps up and acknowledges their mistake and sends me the cable, free of charge, and we go on our merry way in a happy world, or they don't, and I return both the camera and docking station, write a scathing blog about how poor Kodak mis-represents their products, and purchase a different cable. Needless to say, the 2nd level supervisor immediately shipped me the cable. ***end of rant***

The Kodak EasyShare Dock Series 3 works flawlessy with the M1033 Camera. Charging times are short, file transfers are quick and painless, and the ease of not having to plug any cords into the camera or do any crazy battery removals to charge them is outstanding. This is an excellent product, once Kodak provides the implied cables in their literature (sorry, almost ranting again!).

In the End:
Still Picture Mode: I would rate the camera for still pictures a 9/10.
Pros: The photo quality, ease of use, excellent lightweight but rugged chassis, choice of colors (we chose red), and sheer convenience of this camera are big pluses.
Cons: Slow power up and power down, but nothing too extensive and life altering.
Video Mode: In the video departmentI give it a 6/10
Pros: Battery life and good picture quality. Sound is decent.
Cons: motor noise when using zoom, no image stabilizer.

Would I buy this camera again? Maybe. Would I shop other cameras? Probably, but for the Sams Club price of under $200 with the base shipped to my door, it's a very good deal. Oh, and with a 4Gb SDHC card, it can take OVER 1150 10MP images. WOW! Now that's some serious photo snapping!