For a very attractive price the EasyShare Z1085 IS offers interesting technical characteristics: a 10 million pixel sensor, optical stabilization, 5x zoom, and HD video.

Handling

The EasyShare Z1085 IS features a classic design but it is still rather thick (39 mm).  There is a small handle which gives you a comfortable grip.  Otherwise, the 2.5 inch LCD screen has a definition of 230,000 pixels and displays fluid images.  As this compact does not have an optical viewfinder, the screen is the only way of aiming.

The Z1085 IS is not very fast as it takes 1.90 seconds to shoot two consecutive photos.  Recording takes even longer for three or more continuous shots and the camera becomes locked into this function.  As for the burst mode, it attains 2.3 i/s, an honest score, though not overly impressive considering that certain rivals offer slightly higher speeds (Olympus mju 850 SW – 5.1 i/s or the Fujifilm F100fd – 4.8 i/s).
Navigation is still classic.  There is the MENU button to set shooting parameters (configuration, white balance, etc.) and a dial to change modes (scenes, photo, and video).  We liked the rapid access to the most frequently rapid modified parameters such as sensitivity, shutter speed, etc.  The presence of optical stabilization avoids increasing sensitivity in poorly lit conditions.

Quality of images

The 10 million pixel sensor produces nice results indoors and there is good color fidelity.  As for white balance, it’s accurate with no particular dominance while optical stabilization is efficient as we obtained sharp photos of our test Barbie at 400 ISO and 1/4 s.  Images have good detail in the center, a little less on the edges but shots are still entirely satisfactory.  One unfortunate downside is that the macro mode requires focusing at 20 cm.  When increasing in sensitivity, granulation starts to become very visible at 400 ISO, a common score for most digital compacts, while loss of detail starts at 800 ISO.  On A4 prints, we noted purple fringes.  Otherwise, at the lowest sensitivity, image quality is very nice with a strong accentuation of detail in the center as much as the edges of shots.  Kodak proposes HD video on this model and the rendering and sound are very good.  Finally, the Z1085 IS unfortunately does not have a wide angle.