Why You Can Trust CNET Kodak Ektra review: Kodak shouldn't have made this phone
Even after a price drop and a software upgrade, this still isn't the camera phone for most.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Editors' note: Since our initial review, Kodak has made significant software updates and dropped the price to $400 in the US and £370 in the UK (the US price converts to AU$540). We have edited our original review to reflect the price and slight improvements to the camera and have replaced our test images with new ones taken with the latest software. The original review posted January 20, 2017, and was updated July 5, 2017.
Kodak Ektra
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The Kodak Ektra is my first disappointment of 2017. As an experienced photographer, I was genuinely excited to review this phone. Wow, did it let me down.
The Ektra's combination of a shoddy plastic design, clunky camera interface and poor battery life (even after the software update) were frustrating enough. But the worst part is that this photography-focused phone, despite software updates to improve it, still doesn't even take great photos.
Kodak says it wanted to make the Ektra for people with "artistic-oriented hobbies, interests, passions." The way that some people are into Lomography or Holga cameras, Kodak wants to tap a demographic that enjoys the aesthetic look and experience of using a modern version of a throwback camera as much (if not more) than they do creating images. I get that, and I even like the concept, but that nostalgia of holding one of Kodak's classic, metal film cameras will be quickly lost when you pick up this plastic thing.
The problem is, you can achieve the same photos or better on better-made devices that also have more impressive specs. Unless you're really, really dedicated to Kodak's vision, you'll be happier with the new OnePlus 5 or Samsung Galaxy S7 . You can get the S7 for around £455 ($503, AU$949) on Amazon, while the stellar OnePlus 5, with its awesome dual-camera setup is £449 ($479, AU$750).
Kodak isn't the only company to blame here. Its partner Bullitt actually manufactured the phone. The price has been lowered since its first launch, but at £370, it's still not affordable. It went on sale in the US for $400 earlier this year, although there's no word on availability in Australia. The US price converts to about AU$527.
The Ektra's camera still struggles with colours
The Ektra's string of software updates have made some welcome improvements from when I first tested the phone last December.
My biggest problems with the camera performance were the often inaccurate white balance and autofocus that frequently failed to lock on to the scene. The updates have done a lot to resolve both those issues, but neither have been completely fixed. I've taken scores of new test photos with the phone, as have my CNET colleagues Patrick Holland and Mariana Marcaletti -- all three of us came to the same conclusions.
The white balance is unnaturally warm on this outdoor scene.
This outdoor landscape overlooking London has a yellowish tint that looks unnatural and shows that the white balance is still not perfect.
Colours are all but gone in this test shot.
Whether a white balance, exposure or just a general image processing issue, this shot of a basketball stuck in a tree has been all but stripped of its colour.
The white balance is better in this scene.
It's fared a bit better in this park scene, although it's possible to see colour variations in the sky, with the right and left edges looking more of a purplish-blue, while the central portion is more of a greenish-blue. The software updates have improved it since I tested it for the original review -- it's now arguably 'hit and miss' rather than consistently inaccurate.
Mmm, lovely espresso.
This close-up shot of a lovely espresso is, at least, spot on.
The Ektra continues to struggle in low-light, too.
It's not great in low light.
There's a huge amount of image noise in this San Francisco scene, and an overall lack of detail in the face of our unlucky model, as shown in the detail zoom below.
Detail really suffers when the lights go down.
I found the focus to be much more accurate -- not to mention a lot faster -- following the software updates, but various scenes still proved problematic.
The autofocus has entirely missed in this scene.
The Ektra's autofocus failed entirely in this outdoor shot and CNET editor Patrick Holland reported similar results from his test handset, particularly in low-light areas.
I also still find the Ektra's camera app clunky to use. Although it loads faster, you change modes using a tiny wheel in the bottom right which can be fiddly to do in a hurry. The HDR mode is a separate mode, too, rather than a quick setting to turn on in regular auto mode -- as it is on the iPhone or Galaxy S8 . On the upside, Kodak has finally added raw shooting to the phone which, while great, really should have been there from the beginning, especially as raw support is baked into Android.
Cheap design, struggling software, short battery life
Beyond the camera troubles, there are still more things I dislike about the Ektra:
- It's designed to look like leather and metal, but it's actually made from cheap plastic that feels flimsy to hold.
- The chunky ring around the camera lens serves no actual function (it's purely aesthetic).
- It's running last-generation Android Marshmallow software, even after multiple software updates.
- Despite the deca-core processor, its interface can be sluggish to navigate.
- Graphically intense games are playable but often with low frame rates, which doesn't look great.
- There's no fingerprint scanner for Android Pay or quick unlocking.
- A thick bezel makes the display look squashed in.
- Battery life is poor -- it lasted 9 hours and 50 minutes when we tested it. That's no match for the S7's 16 hours. You'll need to avoid using the camera too much if you want it to last a full day.
There are only a few things I can say in its favour: It has a microSD card slot to expand the storage . The interface is an uncluttered, near-stock Android experience. It charges using the updated USB-C standard, and it can stand up on its own, horizontally, which can be handy for taking selfies.
What to buy instead of the Ektra
Despite software improvements to the camera, the Kodak Ektra is still an underwhelming phone all round. A phone that's aimed squarely at photography enthusiasts really needs to excel with its camera skills and the Ektra simply doesn't. The plastic build quickly wipes out any excitement over the retro design too. Even with the slightly lower price, there's no question that your money is better spent elsewhere.
If you want a brilliant camera phone for the same money, go for the Galaxy S7. Or splash just a little more and snag the OnePlus 5 -- a brilliant all-rounder with an awesome camera and a slick, metal design. Both of these phones will let you take better photos and the gorgeous designs mean you won't be embarrassed to whip them out to start snapping.