Kodak EasyShare Z980 review

Of course, you can use the Z980 as a standard point-and-shoot camera too, thanks to 16 scene modes and Kodak's 'smart capture' mode that combines its intelligent scene detection, intelligent capture control and intelligent image processing. It's a reliable mode if you don't trust yourself -- or others -- to get a good shot. On the other hand, because of this camera's poor high-ISO performance, you may want to opt for the 'program auto' mode most of the time, so you can at least control the ISO.

Performance
Although it's far from speedy, the Z980 is on a par with other superzoom cameras. The time to first shot is a reasonable 2.4 seconds. Shutter lag is at the tail end of acceptable, at 0.5 seconds in bright conditions and 0.9 seconds in dim light. Its shot-to-shot time is good, though, at 1.1 seconds without the flash and 2.3 seconds with it on. Shooting in raw extends the time up to 6.7 seconds, however. As for shooting in a burst, the Kodak's full-resolution continuous shooting is capable of 1.4fps for up to six photos.

The zoom range doesn't much matter if the photos don't look good, and those produced by the Z980 are rather mixed. Even shooting at its lowest sensitivity of ISO 64, noise is present, giving photos a certain graininess. Shooting below ISO 200 is your best bet, as, over that, noise and noise suppression kicks in heavily and starts destroying detail. You get usable results at ISO 400, but photos taken at higher sensitivities are fairly smeary. If you're looking for something to shoot with in low light without a flash, you probably don't want this camera.

Also, other than macro shots, photos tend to be fairly soft. The Z980 handles colour well, however -- it's pleasingly vibrant. Exposure is very good, too, as is white balance. Even auto white balance is decent, avoiding the overly yellow results you often see with other manufacturers' cameras.

The Z980 captures video at a high-definition resolution of 720p. The quality is generally very good and you get full use of the optical zoom, which is a definite plus. You just have to be patient, as it's unsurprisingly slow to focus. 

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim)

Shutter lag (typical)

Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD

2.8 

2.4 

0.8 

0.5 

Casio Exilim Pro EX-FH20

3.6 

1.8 

0.8 

0.5 

Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

1.5 

2.1 

0.8 

0.6 

Kodak EasyShare Z980

2.4 

1.1 

0.9 

0.5 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50

2.3 

1.8 

1.3 

0.7 

Typical continuous-shooting speed (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50

1.6 

Kodak EasyShare Z980

1.4 

Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD

1.3 

Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

1 

Conclusion
Marred by a wonky design and photo quality that drops off significantly above ISO 400, the Kodak EasyShare Z980 isn't easy to recommend. There's no doubt that the wideangle superzoom lens provides a great deal 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 more time to work out some of the design kinks.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet