Kodak Easyshare Z980

Review Index – (updated 19 September’09)

Photography Review
“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.”
Rating:  

GoodGearGuide
“In overall image quality, the Kodak EasyShare Z980 scored a bit below average when measured up against 50 other point-and-shoots in Test Center jury evaluations. Its overall image score was Good, and it received above-average marks in sharpness, but it took its knocks in the color and overall exposure categories. The fact that the Kodak EasyShare Z980 shoots in RAW, however, allows the camera to one-up nearly all of its competitors, giving users greater post-production control over the image.”
Rating:  

PCWorld
“Concerning overall image quality, the Z980 scored a bit below average when measured up against 50 other point-and-shoots in the PC World Test Center’s jury evaluations. Its overall image score was Good, and it received above-average marks in sharpness, but it took its knocks in the color and overall exposure categories.”
Rating:  

DCResource (As compared to the Nikon P90, Olympus SP-590UZ, Pentax X70)
“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)”

DigicamReview
“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.”
Rating:  

PhotographyBlog
“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.”
Rating:  

CNET
“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.”
Rating:  

DigitalCameraReview
“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.”

Video Preview by TigerDirect

Steves Digicams
“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.”