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Kodak EasyShare Z980 reviews
You can find here the most interesting reviews / ratings from the well-known expert sites about the Kodak EasyShare Z980 Camera. Here are the reviewers:
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- 18 September 2009 - |
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- 0 |
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- 24 July 2009 - |
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- 4 |
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- 21 July 2009 - |
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- 0 |
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- 07 July 2009 - |
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- 4 |
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- 15 June 2009 - |
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- 4 |
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- 05 June 2009 - |
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- 0 |
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- 05 June 2009 - |
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- 3 |
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- 27 April 2009 - |
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- 0 |
PhotographyReview 's conclusion / rating - 18 September 2009 |
I wanted to love this camera. Having previously purchased two Kodak digital cameras that I loved, I was predisposed to love the Z980. But the best I can say is that I like it. I truly like its amazing lens, good design, speedy shutter and the accurate Smart Capture shooting mode. These are all great features that made the camera a pleasure to use. And I did get many pictures with it that I like.
But the Z980s image quality is unacceptable to me. If I only wanted to share photos online and make small prints, I might be able to live with it. However, I do try to make a few dollars selling my images, and the Z980s excessive noise is noticeable at 8Χ10 and larger.
Also, why spend money on a camera that has two major features I dont need or cant use - vertical shooting and RAW images? As sad as I will be to give up that 624mm zoom, Id rather save my cash for a camera that better fits my needs.
I dont want to discourage everyone, though. The Z980 will be a great fit for some...
PhotographyReview's rating: |
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- 0 |
Complete review here
PCWorld 's conclusion / rating - 24 July 2009 |
If you don't mind the additional weight and size, and you can overlook the slight shortcomings in imaging, the EasyShare Z980 is a solid buy. Its speed makes it a winner of a camera, even if Kodak isn't as sexy as other brands...
Complete review here
DCResource 's conclusion / rating - 21 July 2009 |
What I liked: Lens range, image stabilization, large LCD, zoom can be used in movie mode, automatic redeye removal, RAW support (with in-camera editing), hot shoe, easy photo tagging, image undelete feature, good battery life, good bundle includes rechargeable batteries and vertical grip
What I didn't like: Photo and video quality, no image stabilization in movie mode, poorly implemented manual focus feature, no manual white balance, EVF lacks diopter correction, plasticky body, software barely supports RAW files, plastic tripod mount, can't access memory card slot when using tripod, no video output cable included, full manual must be downloaded (and it's not very detailed)...
Complete review here
DigiCamReview 's conclusion / rating - 07 July 2009 |
Summary: The Kodak Easyshare Z980 has quite a few quirks and peculiarities, for example, it provides full manual controls, plus RAW support, but no manual white balance! The video mode is great on paper letting you use the optical zoom and record in 720p HD, however there is a constantly flashing red light that shows up in videos. The camera has another rare feature, the vertical shutter release, however this is made more awkward to use than necessary by having a manual switch to select which shutter is in use. Despite all of this, I actually found the camera quite enjoyable to use, it's responded quite quickly, had a screen (and EVF) that updated very quickly, which meant that you were able to capture the moment when photographing moving subjects. The huge optical zoom was also useful and managed to take some nice shots. Images are quite good, and very colourful, but not perfect when using the full zoom. It's a strange but enjoyable camera that I would probably recommend it if you can live with it's many quirks...
DigiCamReview's rating: |
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- 4 |
Complete review here
PhotographyBLOG 's conclusion / rating - 15 June 2009 |
The Kodak EasyShare Z980 super-zoom camera offers a lot on paper, but some serious flaws make it hard to recommend to either beginners or more experienced users alike.
Image quality is at the heart of any camera, but unfortunately it's also at the top of the Z980's list of problems. Noise is evident even at the slowest ISO speed of 64, and it will become apparent even in prints at ISO 400 and faster, limiting the Z980 to hand-held use in good lighting conditions only. It also has a tendency to over-saturate the colours, even in the default Natural Light mode - some people may like this effect, but it certainly isn't accurate. And all of our test photos suffered from an over-aggressive smearing of fine detail. One of the Z980's key features, its RAW mode, couldn't make up for the sub-standard JPEG images, thanks to slow processing times, the inability to record both a RAW and JPEG image at the same time, and the lack of a serious development tool, even the one provided by Kodak in the box. The 24x zoom lens suffers from a general lack of sharpness and obvious barrel distortion at wide-angle settings.
The Kodak EasyShare Z980 also suffers from some rather "curious" design decisions. Adding the supplied vertical grip is promoted as a benefit, but in our view it only makes an already big camera even larger and heavier. The reliance on using a mechanical switch to turn on the second shutter release button (itself a strange inclusion) and the inability to automatically switch the LCD display between portrait and landscape when you do is all rather 1999, rather than 2009. Add a too-small Jog Dial and too-unresponsive zoom button, poor electronic viewfinder and low-resolution LCD screen, and it all adds up to a mish-mash of a user experience that will frustrate the majority of users, both beginners and keen shutterbugs alike.
All of these issues might be forgivable (just) if the price was right, but sadly it isn't. $399 / £379 is only a little bit cheaper than the Z980's main super-zoom rivals - ultimately we'd definitely save the extra cash and shop elsewhere. While the Kodak EasyShare Z980's list of key specifications looks promising, in reality it simply doesn't add up as an overall package...
PhotographyBLOG's rating: |
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- 4 |
Complete review here
DigitalCameraReview 's conclusion / rating - 05 June 2009 |
It's been decades since I've shot a Kodak camera, but with the feature-rich Z980 Kodak has produced a viable contender in the ultrazoom compact digital class. Image quality and color fidelity are generally good, and shutter lag is first-rate. AF acquisition times are good at wide angle, and competitive with others in the field at the telephoto end. There's HD video to be had, full manual controls to accompany the usual automatic shooting modes, and a RAW capability that most direct competitors lack. The horizontal and vertical shutter buttons are a nice touch.
Noise performance doesn't quite keep up with the competition starting at ISO 200, somewhat limiting the camera's "sweet spot" with regard to the best quality ISO range. Battery life is relatively short, particularly with pronounced flash and/or monitor use, and flash recycle times with near or full discharges can approach ten seconds. AF acquisition can be somewhat petulant at full telephoto, although probably within class norms. As the largest ultrazoom I've tested, the Z980 approaches small DSLRs in size, particularly with the vertical grip installed.
My old Instamatic is long gone, but it's clear Kodak hasn't been sitting on their laurels the Z980 may not be a perfect camera, but it's certainly worthy of a good look from anyone considering an ultrazoom as their first or next digital...
DigitalCameraReview's rating: |
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- 0 |
Complete review here
CNET 's conclusion / rating - 05 June 2009 |
Marred by a wonky design and photo quality that drops off significantly above ISO 400, the Kodak EasyShare Z980 isn't easily recommendable. There's no doubt that the wide-angle megazoom lens provides a lot of fun and flexibility as does the camera's ability to be fully automatic, fully manual, and everything in between. But it seems like Kodak needs a generation to work out some of the design kinks...
Complete review here
Steves Digicams 's conclusion / rating - 27 April 2009 |
The latest Super-zoom model from Kodak, the EasyShare Z980 is a power packed digital camera with 12-megapixels, a 24x optical zoom lens, 3.0-inch LCD, 720p HD movie mode, and RAW the JPEG image formats. Kodak designed this camera with all users in mind, whether you are an avid enthusiast or a newbie. For those with less experience, the Z980 provides a wealth of user-friendly exposure modes. These include the fully automatic "Smart Auto", Program AE, and 19 Scene modes. For the more experienced, the Z980 offers Aperture priority, Shutter speed priority, and even a full Manual exposure mode. The Z980 also includes most all of the Kodak EasyShare technologies we have come to know, like Perfect Though, Face Detection, and Image Stabilization.
This "mega-zoom" offers a feel that is very similar to a dSLR, with a large zoom barrel and hand grip. To further add to this style, Kodak has added a vertical shutter release, along with a detachable vertical hand grip that bolts up to the bottom of the camera. This not only adds to the versatility of this camera, but also to the comfort. I found that the camera fit very well in my large hands, and the combination of the horizontal and vertical grips gives you a nice secure hold. The various controls are positioned in a comfortable manner, all within reach of your finger tips. While the LCD screen in nice and large at 3.0-inches, its resolution is not up to par (only 201k pixel), and the surface is Very reflective. Luckily you can adjust the brightness of the LCD via the Setup menu. Kodak also included an EVF on this camera. It will display all of the same information as the LCD, and overall worked quite well; I favored it when shooting in bright sun light. Unfortunately, there is no dioptric adjustment. Menu layout has changed slightly compared to past models, and overall I found the menu system was well put together. The "shortcut" menu along with the control dial are welcomed additions, allowing you to effortlessly change settings for ISO, exposure compensation, aperture, shutter speed, etc.
Bottom Line - Kodak's EasyShare Z980 is a great super-zoom model. This camera offers pleasing image quality, speedy performance, and loads of useful exposure modes. The addition of the vertical shutter release and detachable vertical grip really add to the appeal, especially since the Z980 can capture some beautiful portraits. The only issues I had with this camera were the extremely slow red-eye reduction pre-flash and the poor high ISO performance. Kodak lists an MSRP of US$399, which we feel is a great price for the level of features, versatility and performance you are receiving. That said, the EasyShare Z980 should be a popular model in the super-zoom category this year...
Steves Digicams's rating: |
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- 0 |
Complete review here
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