Gadget review: Kodak Pixpro FZ201 Friendly Zoom compact camera for the family
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- Published on Saturday, 27 May 2017 11:14
- Last Updated on 26 May 2017
- Monica Costa
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This Summer I will travel lightly and only take my new Kodak Pixpro FZ201 Friendly Zoom compact camera (only 109×69×38mm) ditching my Canon SLR camera. I love to take good pictures, in fact I always aim to take excellent photography, but after trying this little camera during a city break in Lisbon I have made up my mind. For me the crucial feature is the quality of the images and videos as well as the vibrancy of the colours and the Kodak Pixpro has both.
The Kodak PixPro FZ201 is a new product aimed at mums who have lots of stuff to carry and little space in the handbag but want to take great pictures of their kids on holiday or at school assemblies without compromising the memories of a lifetime with bad photos. 
It’s a compact camera with a 16-megapixel CCD imager and a 25-500mm f/3.5-4.9 lens. Other features include an impressive 20x optical zoom, a slim and smooth body design, a 3-inch rear display with a resolution of 230,000 dots, a 3cm macro mode, twenty-one Scene Modes, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), face detection, smile detection, a powerful panorama shooting, one-touch HD video recording capabilities.
The Kodak PixPro FZ201 is retailing for £100.
I have the black camera but I love this colour too!
The Kodak PixPro FZ201 is designed to look a bit like a mini SLR, which pleases me as a longstanding SLR user, but is lightweight (it weighs approximately 200 grams). I love that fact that when it is switched off and the zoom lens retracted for storage, the camera easily fits into most of my jackets (Winter and Summer too) as well as my little pouch which I use when I don’t want to carry around the big handbag. This size camera is especially good now that we are forced to carry less weight on airplanes.
Considering it isn’t a SRL camera, it still performs well with its massive focal range – its lens goes from 4.5mm to 90mm, which is equivalent to 25-500mm in 35mm terms.
The first time my 10 year old son Diego took a look at it and tried to use it, he found out how to work out the numerous features in less than 5 minutes. It’s so easy to use that its marketing should state ‘the dummy guide to photography’.
The camera has a comfortable, textured thumb rest and a conveniently located, dedicated movie shutter release. So it’s simple to shoot videos and to my surprise when you zoom in both images and videos maintain the high resolution.
The Panorama mode is quite handy and allows you to take four consecutive shots automatically stitched in to produce a 180-degree panoramic image.
The Kodak PixPro FZ201 is powered by a removable, 900mAh lithium-ion battery that enables users to shoot approximately 210 photos with a single charge. This feature is particularly good if you are on a trip and out and about all day. The battery can be charged inside the camera with a USB cable or the included mains adapter.
This camera uses SD / SDHC memory cards and supports Eye-Fi cards for wireless image transfer. I have bought the latter and this has been one of the best purchases I have ever made. With the eye-fi card I can transfer my professional photos from the Kodak PixPro FZ201 directly to my iPhone and then share them on social media. Totally brilliant! This is one of my favourite features which I have always missed when using the Canon SLR.
Examples of images I took with the Kodak Pixpro FZ201
Lisbon cable car
Richmond Park Isabella Plantation
Richmond Park Isabella Plantation is stunning, but I am really happy my new Kodak PixPro FZ201 has done an excellent job at capturing the beauty of the flowers in full bloom this Spring.
The Kodak PixPro FZ201 has proven to be totally reliable in the most memorable moments, like this once in a lifetime opportunity for Diego to be photographed with US author Jeff Kinney.
More information can be found on the manufacturer’s website kodakpixpro.com/Europe/cameras/friendlyZoom/fz201.php
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
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