I’ve been toying around with the product sample of the Kodak EasyShare M1033 for a couple of days now, and I must say that I’m pretty impressed with the M1033′s functionality and features. For a small camera of this size, you wouldn’t expect it to wallop some large scale features that you would commonly find in bigger cameras. But then, the M1033 proves the old adage that “small but terrible”. For the Kodak M1033 is definitely small in size, but terribly big in camera features. Read on to find out why.

Kodak EasyShare M1033 – Amazing quality prints

If you’re into printing large sized photos, the M1033 will let you print up 30 x 40 in (70 x 102 cm) with its 10 mp CCD. This suits well when printing your photos either at home with your portable printer or having it professionally printed through Kodak’s retail photo shop.

Kodak EasyShare M1033 – 3x optical zoom

The M1033 goes with the standard optical zoom fare which is common among point-and-shoot cameras today. With 3x optical zoom (35 mm equivalent: 35-105 mm) the M1033 will let you get closer to subjects without reducing image quality. Plus, with a Kodak RETINAR Aspheric Lens, you’ll sure to capture crisp details of your subjects. The M1033 also boasts of 5x digital zoom which pretty much enlarges your photos effectively. And with blur reduction technology, the M1033 effectively reduces blurs caused by mobile subjects.

Kodak EasyShare M1033 – 3.0-inch display

Considering that the M1033 is being touted as an HD camera, it’s pretty normal for Kodak to have it built with a larger screen display. And the M1033’s large 3.0-inch screen display which also serves as a viewfinder is a pleasure to look at. Although it can get pretty blurry when outside on a sunny day. The M1033’s LCD also has auto picture rotation so no matter how you took your pictures you can still view it in a right side up manner.

Kodak EasyShare M1033 – True HD quality

Now this is the meat of the Kodak M1033’s features as a digital camera. And I would have to give them the thumbs up on this aspect. The M1033 captures beautiful HD pictures in 16:9 format so you can practically view your pictures on an HDTV or other HD devices in all their widescreen glory. The same is true with the M1033’s video capture facility. Using MPEG-4 compression, you can capture more stunning videos. What’s more, you can print multiple frames on a 4×6 in. print and even save single frames of your videos and email it to anyone. Plus, you can also mark special spots in your video with video bookmarking.

Kodak EasyShare M1033 – Automatic setup for capturing beautiful pictures

The Kodak M1033 utilizes two camera technology which make it easy for users to capture stunning pictures. First is the Smart Capture technology which adjusts camera settings to suit any environment. It also analyzes scene conditions and set camera settings including appropriate exposure, focus and ISO. This is geared for novice digital camera users and is a great way to start learning the intricacies of the M1033. In addition to Smart Capture, the M1033 also employs face detection technology which automatically locates focal faces and adjust the camera settings to best capture the subjects’ best angles.

Kodak EasyShare M1033 – HDTV Dock

To complement the M1033’s HD quality photos and videos is the EasyShare HDTV Dock which comes as an optional accessory. But having used this dock, I would have to recommend that you buy it together with your M1033. Because how good is an HD camera if you can’t watch it on an HDTV display, right? And the Kodak EasyShare HDTV Dock is your intermediary between your Kodak M1033 and your HDTV and other HD devices. The Kodak EasyShare HDTV Dock is easy to set up as it is easy to use. It even comes with a remote control for an even easier control.

Kodak EasyShare M1033 – Final Verdict, Conclusion

This is my second time to use a Kodak EasyShare camera, the other one was V series model, and I was not too satisfied with that one. For one it lacks the vivid colors of other digital cameras such as the Canon AS models. But having learned from its flaws in earlier models of the digital cameras, Kodak has tremendously improved their cameras’ picture quality in terms of color and vividness. If you were able to use the M1033 with the correct settings for the current environment where you are shooting, you’ll definitely get high-quality picture outputs.

The Kodak M1033 will suit the needs of novice and advanced digital camera users. It is very easy to use and very “user-friendly”. In fact you won’t even need to read the manuals to learn to use the camera. You can take it out of the box, insert the memory card and start clicking and snapping to your heart’s the light.

Sample photos taken using the Kodak EasyShare M1033 camera

Kodak Philippines has launched two new uber cool digital cameras in the Philippine market – the EasyShare M1033 and EasyShare V1073. Both Kodak babies sport a 10 megapixel CCD with 3x optical zoom. I will cover these two cameras in more details at Photo.Blorge.com in a couple of days. In the meantime, let me share with you my experience on attending my very first tech product launch.

At first I was a bit apprehensive to attend the product launch as the invitation stated something like a “media roundtable”. I said no way I’m gonna sit on a roundtable together with some professional media practitioners. Hey, I’m just an ordinary average tech blogger!

But the better part of me prevailed and said “What the heck.” The PR firm who handled the firm were all very nice and accomodating. And I get to be introduced with the other guests, a tech writer from Inquirer.net (sorry, i forgot your name), a guy from HWM magazine, and some other Kodak people. Also in attendance during the product launch were some people from NET25, Man and Machine, and some other tech mags.

The Kodak presentation was kinda cool as well. It’s different when you’re reading the specs of a gadget via

press releases and product info sites as compared to when you’re listening to somebody trying to sell the product.

Anyway, I forgot to ask the Kodak people as to how much those new Kodak Point and Shoot will retail in the market. Hopefully someone from the Kodak group would read this post and leave a comment indicating the Philippine market SRPs.

As for my take on the two cameras based on a few minutes of tinkering with the display units. I would have to say that both cameras are pretty good. I love the touchscreen features although not as powerful as the Apple products. The video output was pretty crisp and clear as well. They should be because the camera are supposed to support HD video.

Anyway, here are some photos I took during the event. Over all, it was a pretty fun experience.