KODAK PIXPRO C1 Friendly Zoom Digital Camera - 13MP Compact Point and Shoot with 2.8” 180° Tilt LCD Flip Screen, Retro Vintage Design with 4X Zoom and 1080P Full HD Video for Travel, Vlogging, Black

Objectively speaking, this is a terrible camera that I would not recommend to most people. No, for most people, I'd probably suggest you buy a used old digicam or heck, go buy one of Kodak's other cameras, like the Pixpro FZ45, which costs the same, has better features, and can produce similar results, if not better. So why am I giving it 4 stars? Because for my use case, which is pretty specific, it's great. Now, I'll start with the bad, so people know what they're getting into.- Heavy banding under fluorescent lighting, even in still images. You can see this in one of my sample images taken against a white wall. This is a common problem with recording videos due to frame rate issues, but in still images? I own digicams from 20 years ago that were budget-priced at the time that don’t have this. This is unacceptable in 2025 and if you take photos under artificial lighting often, this is a major deal-breaker.- Flash is an LED light, not a normal xenon flash. Think the your light on your phone and not the flash on a disposable film camera. This means you won’t be able to freeze motion in your photos and the reach of the light is much, much shorter.- The AF assist light is the LED flash. There is no little orange light to help the camera attain focus. What happens is the LED flash goes on, then the camera focuses. This can be VERY distracting and/or disturbing in dim or dark situations, like in a restaurant or museum.- No removable battery. That means when the rechargeable battery that’s built into this camera dies, the camera is bound for the landfill. No picking up a new battery to bring it back to life.- Poor overall protection. This includes exposed USB-C port, memory card slot, and most importantly, the lens. Most cameras have a lens cap or closing lens cover and the ports and memory card are usually behind a dedicated door or the battery door (non-replaceable battery, remember?). One slight press on that memory card and it might pop right out and don’t put the camera in your pocket with keys or that lens might get scratched.- No saving shooting settings. When you power off the camera, the only thing that is saved is the last used mode (Auto, Program, etc.), not things like exposure composition or effects. Like to use the “Retro” color effect? Every time you turn on the camera, you’ll have to re-enable it. The camera won’t even save the Rule of Thirds grid on your display.- Slow overall response, especially indoors. I tried taking a photo of my breakfast in a cafe and right after I pushed the shutter button and the screen went black, I moved my hand and when the preview came on, the photo was blurry. I’d say there is about a half-second to a full second delay between pushing the shutter button and the camera actually taking the photo.- Small image sensor. A small sensor means possibly poorer image quality in regard to low-light performance, dynamic range, and overall clarity. This camera has a 1/3” sensor compared to the 1/2.3” sensors found in the FZ45 and FZ55.- -No optical zoom. The 4X zoom Kodak touts here is digital, which is like when you open a photo on your phone and then zoom into it. That means you’ll have degraded image quality the more you zoom in. Again, by comparison, the other Kodak cameras, the FZ45 and FZ55 have 4X and 5X optical zooms, respectively.- No onboard memory. Now, this isn’t a big deal, and I’m not expecting 4GB of memory here, but many cameras have a small amount of memory to allow for at least a couple images to be saved without a card, but not this camera. Be sure to buy a micro SD card if you don’t have one lying around, or you won’t be using this camera when you get it.Now, after writing all that, I will reiterate, for most people, I would recommend you get either of the other Kodak models. The FZ45 retails for the exact same price and it has optical zoom, a protected lens, uses easily sourced AA batteries, has a larger image sensor, a real flash, and also takes nice photos with that Kodak look. The FZ55 has an even longer optical zoom, a removable rechargeable battery, and is also quite small and pocketable.However, just because something is objectively better doesn’t make it better for everyone and even as someone who owns about a dozen cameras, I love this camera. Why?- Size. This camera takes me back to the Casio Exilim line of credit card cameras back in the early 2000s. It’s so easy to take around.- USB-C. This makes it easy to charge, as I can use the same cord I use to charge my iPhone, wireless earbuds, etc. Plus, I can connect it via USB-C directly to my iPhone and import the photos directly to my Camera Roll and it is FAST. Much faster than the wireless transfers I’m used to from my other cameras.- Articulating screen. I’m a middle-aged man who has never taken a selfie in my life, so that’s not the draw here. I like using it as a waist-level viewfinder and it’s amazing to use for low-angle photos, especially if you have bad knees.- Lovely colors. I’ve been using the standard color mode and “Retro” color mode and loving it. The colors pop and they have a nice contrast to them, very reminiscent of old Kodak film.- Looks. I will admit to being a sucker for the retro look of this camera. It just makes me want to pick it up and use, which in addition to its size, means I can easily take it out and snap photos, which is the whole fun of photography.Now, as to why I still love the camera despite the flows I wrote above, number one: I predominantly shoot wide, even with my cameras with zoom lenses, so I don’t miss not having an optical zoom. As for the unresponsiveness of the camera, using it means I have to slow down when I take a picture, which is something I think everyone needs to learn (but mostly just me). And finally, I prefer using natural lighting in my pictures, so I almost never use the flash on my cameras anyway, even indoors.I apologize for the extra-long review, but in the end, I think this camera is great, but very much not for everyone (or even most). I see this as a toy camera (yes, despite the price tag). If you don’t own another digital camera, and want to dip your toes into the world of digicams, I’d suggest you buy something else, even within Kodak’s own family of PixPro cameras. You’d be getting much more for your hard-earned money and would still get those lovely Kodak-colored photos. But, if you’re like me and you already own other digital cameras, understand the C1’s limitations, and just want something small to everyday carry to document little moments of your life, this could be the right toy camera for you.

I ordered this PIXPRO C1 for my 9-year-old granddaughter, and she was thrilled to receive it. The compact size makes it a perfect fit for her small hands, and she’s been enjoying it a lot—proof of how simple and approachable the camera is. She mostly uses it to take instant photos, much like we used Instamatic cameras back in the day, and it serves that purpose wonderfully.The photos it takes are surprisingly nice, with good quality for such a small and affordable camera. The flip-up screen is a great touch—it moves easily and makes taking selfies simple and fun, which she really likes. While she hasn’t explored the menu much, it hasn’t been an issue because she mainly focuses on quick snapshots.Battery life has been solid so far, lasting well between uses, which keeps the fun going without frequent interruptions. Overall, it’s a charming little camera that’s perfect for kids or anyone looking for a straightforward, nostalgic-style digital shooter.

As an intermediate to advanced enthusiast photographer, I’ve been using DSLR cameras for over a decade. While my current camera gear is a significant investment by comparison, I enjoy finding well-priced cameras that can help beginners learn photography. I ordered this Kodak PIXPRO C1 digital camera to have a small, portable option we could use to take casual, everyday photos during an upcoming family trip.This camera offers enough features and image quality to make it a thoughtful, researched gift.🔍 Performance and Features:The digital zoom is essentially just cropping, so I avoid it (it noticeably degrades image quality).The camera shuts the screen off after ~25 seconds of inactivity, and powers down after a total of ~58 seconds from that same start point.The shutter lag is about 1.75 seconds, even after the green focus box appears. That’s a significant delay, especially if you're trying to photograph something moving (you'll likely miss the moment).I tested it outdoors (where natural light works best for sensors like this) and a few times indoors. It really is a 13MP camera (confirmed in EXIF data), but compared to modern smartphones with much higher resolution, image sharpness and dynamic range do feel dated.I was able to record a 29-minute video at 1920x1080, 30fps, which is respectable for this class of image sensor.👍 What I Like:Compact and lightweight, yet doesn’t feel “cheap.”Charges via standard USB-C.Accepts 32GB MicroSD cards, which can hold around 6,500 to 11,000 photos at this resolution.The flip-out screen is handy for selfies or group shots, especially when paired with a small tripod or telescopic selfie pole (thanks to the tripod screw mount).Startup is quick: from pressing the power button to capturing the first image took about 5.5 seconds, which is quite good for a point-and-shoot. (For reference, my DSLR can do it in about 0.4–0.6 seconds.)In continuous shooting mode, I captured 20 shots in about 10 seconds, which is surprisingly fast for this type of camera.Offers basic but useful settings like:ISO: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, or AutoWhite Balance: Auto plus five selectable lighting presets👎 What I Don’t Like:No lens protection included! No cap, no retractable cover, not even a pouch. A simple threaded cap would prevent dust and scratches.Shutter lag is frustrating. Even after half-pressing the shutter and getting the green focus box, there’s still a ~1.75 second delay before the photo is actually taken. This makes it hard to photograph people or pets who won’t stay still.Battery indicator uses 3 bars only. I’d prefer a percentage. Being at 2 bars could mean 62% or 34%, which is a huge difference when planning a day out.🧾 Overall Summary:If you need a compact point-and-shoot camera for casual photography, good enough for 5x7” prints or even **8x10” in the right lighting**, this gets the job done. It doesn’t feel like a toy, and it’s from a recognizable brand, so I expect the sensor and battery (the two most expensive parts in a camera like this) to outlast what you'd get from unknown brands.Photos shown are unedited and represent the camera's natural output.