Kodak EasyShare Sport C123 Review Discussion

[Mark Calley]

The Kodak EasyShare Sport C123 is not really expected to amaze performance-wise. It’s a low-budget, rough-and-tumble point-and-shoot, with underwater capability as its main highlight and selling point. This hunk of camera is designed to take a trip down the river and like it.

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[Andy Stanton]

Low discharge batteries like Eneloops will improve battery life, but overall the camera looks mediocre at best.

[KCook]

Simples controls though? We do get inquiries about very simple cams for young children and impatient seniors. Not that I am impatient of course . . .


Kelly

[Mark Calley]

I'd say anyone could master the controls pretty quickly, and this really might not be a bad camera for a little kid with the photography bug.

With that said, I feel like there are more fun and less expensive options out there if you're exclusively buying for a child, and the PlaySport, while not kid unfriendly, isn't really tailored to them either.

And regarding impatient seniors, the Easyshare sport could be pretty frustrating at times. Between frequently having to change the batteries and chronically blurry shots, I think that if anyone who is easily angered by technology got their hands on the Easyshare Sport it would be a really good thing that it's so rugged.

[leaftye]

What does poor battery life mean? Many new cameras with lithium batteries already get poor battery life, so how about quantifying the word with the number of shots or the type of batteries used. A couple weeks ago I got 2053 shots on a set of AA nimh batteries. Is it really too much to ask for such important common sense details on critical features?

[Mark Calley]

Ask and you shall receive:

~40 seconds of video
~120 shots
General futzing around with settings, menus, etc for the sake of the review

Two AA Alkaline batteries, provided by Kodak.

Sorry to give approximations. I took some photos after switching out the batteries, and I'm not 100% sure where the first set ends and the second begins. Should be pretty on target though.

[leaftye]

Thanks Mark. You're right, 120 shots and a little video is pretty low. I don't know why camera makers still bother with including alkaline batteries when they only make their product look so very bad.

[LandNav]

I was actually quite happy with the camera's performance. I did not have high expectations to begin with, after having read the reviews. At the time I bought it (2011), it was the lowest priced underwater camera with a flash. I took it to a number of beach outings, went snorkeling with it, took it to the pool, dunked it in a river, and I must say that the pictures and videos I took were pretty decent.

So overall, I'm a satisfied customer.

The only negatives I can share is that opening the battery compartment can be a pain after a while. I need to use a pencil eraser so I have enough friction to push the battery compartment door open while holding the lock in the OPEN position. Looking at the bright side, better this way than having water leak into the device.

Also, one has to be careful about temperature extremes. After a hot, daytime hike to a river, I tried taking underwater photos in the cold water. The change in temperature caused the lens to fog up. I had to wait for the internal temperatures to equalize and the moisture to go away.

[Photokat]

I just lost my Kodak C123 Sport while rafting down the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels, Texas, and was severely bummed about it. I had the camera for a year and put it through probably the toughest tests you can imagine while running not one, but TWO Tough Mudder adventure races. That camera had been buried in mud, soaked, dropped, and shocked (there are two obstacles that involve 10,000 volts of juice). I used it while mountain biking in Colorado, zip lining and playing in the surf in Mexico, and in a few other environments that are not friendly to electronics and the little $70 digital did a fine job. Of course, I had to Photoshop everything that came out of the camera for color and sharpness, but, otherwise, the camera was marvelous for what I needed--a tough camera with built-in flash that I could use in these muddy environments.

I have another race coming up this December--the Spartan Beast--and am looking at the Pentax Optio Wg1, because, while the Kodak was suitable, its many limitations restricted the photographer in me. I think the Optio will be rugged enough and offer more photographic flexibility, but I guess we'll see.

If you want a camera that is nearly indestructible that allows you to bring back pictures from the edge, where most other cameras can't go, then the C123 is a great choice. If you know how to use Photoshop and can deal with the battery life, fixed focus, etc., you're good to go.

Check out some of the images from this camera at www.facebook.com/joenicolaphoto