I had been itching for a fresh Kodak Z915 Camera for the prolonged time. And when I say prolonged, I mean an ice age. My final new photographic camera was a three MP unit purchased within the summer of 2003 ahead of I took an eight-month trip abroad. Needless to say, I make points final and I’ll under no circumstances be the saviour of a consumer-driven economy.

My in-laws came to visit from Europe this past June, and although I’d been agitating with my wife to obtain a fresh photographic camera to chronicle their primary visit to America, I couldn’t overcome her base-level skin-flintiness. Then when the in-laws arrived, a ray of hope emerged. My wife’s grandmother had sent to each of us a tiny cash present. Not feeling constrained to response to my wife within the use of MY present, I surfed the webs and picked up this photographic camera refurbished from B&H.

My wife was… unimpressed. Actually, angry was a better way to put it. See, although our old photographic camera was approaching the level of a piece of junk, regardless, my wife always imagined that our next photographic camera would be a fancy DSLR job, since we’d borrowed one ahead of and enjoyed it, and we’d also just helped her parents pick one up for her brother, who’s on his way to being a professional photographer. She said that there was no point to buying an ordinary point-and-shoot because 1) we under no circumstances took pictures and 2) better to wait and buy a fancy DSLR. My retort was that 1) we under no circumstances took pictures anymore because the old photographic camera was such a pain to use and 2) it will under no circumstances make sense to obtain a DSLR because we’d under no circumstances really need that much photographic camera. Needless to say, the night after I bought the Kodak Z915, we went to bed angry.

Then she used it.

Now, my wife and I can’t be blamed for being blown away with any new piece of digital photography kit, given how prolonged we suffered under the yoke of outdated technology. I’m sure the high shutter speed and pixel density wouldn’t make as great an impression on someone whose photographic camera is only 2-3 years old. And I don’t doubt that there are better units out there than the Z915 to be had for not many more bucks than we spent. Having used a DSLR for the whole vacation, I can tell you that for your average user, this photographic camera will bring you about as close as any non-professional or serious hobbyist really needs. The image stabilization is really quite incredible; the photos I took from the upper deck of a moving ferry to Mackinac Island on a blustery day were gorgeous. I leaned towards this unit because of Kodak’s reputation for punchy colors, and I wasn’t disappointed. It does veer a tiny close to looking surreal, but the photos I took of the gardens of Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and on New York City’s High Line Park are rich and varied. That caters to my tastes, and I won’t apologize for it. All the other tiny points are there – a pretty intelligent automatic setting, nice scene settings for everything from close-ups and portraits to landscapes and sunsets, 10x zoom, fast transfers to your home computer. You know the drill. It covers everything quite well. And let’s be realistic, people, as much as the photographic camera companies are trying to guilt you into moving on from your older cameras with newer models sporting 12 MP, nobody needs that many. Heck, most of us don’t need 10 MP. In fact, on the hunt that eventually resulted in my buying the Kodak Z915, I limited my search to cameras between 7 and 10 MP

Complaints about the design and build are not entirely out of line. The plastic does feel a touch on the cheap side. I’m not opposed to having a photographic camera that evokes the feel of the simple pocket cameras of my youth, but still this does have a toyish feel. And the screen-only viewfinder is a bit frustrating when reviewing the photos you’ve taken. Even my old Nikon felt like it gave me a better idea about the quality of the photos on the card. That’s just a word of warning – this photographic camera takes BEAUTIFUL pictures, but you won’t appreciate them at all until you’ve seen them on your home computer or printed them out.

For related post, please visit Kodak EasyShare Z915 Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized and 2.5 inch LCD Black Kit Guide.