Kodak EASYSHARE Z981 14.0 MP Digital Camera - Black

I bought the Z981 because of the price, the 26x zoom and its famous German manufacturer, the EVF, the RAW feature, the large LCD, and the 14 megapixels. It looks like a semi-professional camera, and it can be, sometimes.
In 'Smart Capture' mode, the camera sets itself; you have no control over anything but the zoom. It will choose an ISO, shutter speed, aperture, flash, and then use in-camera JPG compression and noise reduction. That's bad if you need a fine image, but if you only want a small print or web shot, it's OK. Better to leave the camera set on 'P' and the ISO at 100, then after you get a record shot, take the time to get a better one with 'M' or 'A'. Be aware that the max range of f-stops is only from 2.8 to 8.0 (3 stops), and that there's barely a 1-stop range at full zoom! Don't use Shutter Priority with the Z981-— use the Sports/Action setting if you need to stop movement.
RAW/KDC: 'Fine' JPG's aren't that fine-- smooth areas are blotchy and pasty up close-- especially above ISO 100, because noise reduction is automatically added along with JPG compression. There is really no other choice but RAW if you care about true high quality results. Bracketing exposures has to be done manually in RAW; the auto-bracketing function in the Z981 doesn't work except in JPG. Oddly, the Color, Contrast, and Sharpness settings all affect the RAW image.
Images deteriorate very quickly as ISO numbers go up, and noise is noticeable as early as 100, though only by direct comparison with 64. Other long-zoom point-and-shoot cameras I've tried had serious chromatic aberration problems; the Z981 has almost none.
I couldn't test the Image Stabilization since it can't be turned off/on, but it seemed excellent. Camera shake wasn't noticeable even at long zoom extensions, although I was careful not to use shutter speeds under 1/125.
The Super Macro setting allows a distance of less than half an inch from the front of the lens to the subject! The sharp macro shots so far show an astounding ability in this area. There is no real manual focus-- AF and motorized manual focus (MF) only. The AF got confused by a dark red car as well as a distant landscape at full zoom, but usually did well.
Batteries: After only twenty-five JPG shots, the battery meter showed the level below half. Take extras with you.

Pluses:
1) Records good HD video
2) Has an EVF and a large, bright LCD
3) Amazing macro/zoom range (from less than half an inch at 26mm to 676mm!)
4) Very low chromatic aberration
5) High quality images possible at ISO 64 and 100, especially in RAW
6) Uses AA batteries instead of proprietaries
7) Low price-- you still get an awful lot, even with the minuses
8) Has the usual tricks for photo manipulation, from face recognition and scene presets to black and white and sepia imaging
9) A decent 'point and shoot' snapshot camera, except for its size

Minuses:
1) Digital noise gets pretty bad by ISO 200
2) Blurred edges from mid to max zoom
3) Only 3 f-stops at best, 1.3 at worst-- little depth of field
4) Battery life is short
5) AF issues-- sometimes it can't focus at long zooms
6) Even 'Fine' JPG compression looks bad up close
7) No real manual focus.
8) No thread to mount filters, etc.
9) Rather useless 'Keyword Tag'(except with Kodak software)

Some great photos are possible with the Z981 if you: 1) expose at minus 2/3-1.3 EV when shooting in direct sun; 2)use only ISO 64, 100 & RAW; 3) crop the blurry edges out of your telephoto shots.

This camera was my first non-point-and-shoot type of camera I have ever owned. However, if you took a look at the pictures that this thing put out, you'd have thought I been using these cameras for years. The quality and features the Z981 houses are astounding, especially for the price tag. My buddies, who all either had hundreds to thousand dollar Cannon or Nikon cameras, couldn't even get better shots than I did with this camera. They were so upset when their images came out blurred and far off, while my prints were crystal clear and looked amazing in the most difficult lighting. The zoom on this is about the most impressive feature of all. Being able to capture clear images at 100-300 yards away, and yet still be able to zoom in further after taking the picture, it was one heck of a great weapon in a photography contest. The only complaint I have about this camera is that it does not have a manual focus for its lens, but it does very well already taking macro and distant pictures. You just cannot choose weather you want the closer object in focus or the distant one. All in all, for around $200, this camera certainly comes out on top.

The Kodak 26x Optical Zoom Camera was actually a purchase made mainly based on the zoom abilities, But, first time in hand, I started to feel the disappointment arise in me due to the feel it had in my hands. It felt very cheap. It felt thin and flimsy, and I was almost ready to return it before I ever tried it. I also have a fuji camera with 12x zoom, and this was supposed to be my step up in ability to take long shots. 26x zoom!! Amazing, right?? So... I had to have it. Well, the difference in feel is amazing. The Fuji feels like, ummmm... a brick! It's a tank!! I always felt like I really had something when holding the fuji. So, first impression of the Kodak was not good.
I also have a Canon DSLR, and, I have become tired with changing lenses when I can get very close with one digital camera like these newer digital cameras that have pretty much the same options available to me, and a wide range of zoom capability. So, you can see why the Kodak was a good idea as a purchase. Well, for me anyway.
So, with this cheap feeling camera in hand, I ventured out to see just how much disappointment I would obtain with this "hollow" "thin" camera.
This Kodak simply shocked me in so many ways. The stability system "anti shake" is absolutely amazing! Pictures are crisp and clear even in the lowest light situations. Zoom is very smooth, not the choppy loud motorized zoom experience I have had with most cameras. It no longer feels cheap and thin, what it has done is made my fuji feel too heavy to carry around!! This Kodak has become my " go to" Camera. It out performs all of my other cameras. If I go to take pictures, it's this camera that's going with me. It's light enough to carry for long periods, it has the zoom ability to take wonderful "long-shots", and the actual photo quality is absolutely amazing. It surpasses my Fuji, and it Rivals my Canon in a serious enough way that I pick up the Kodak before the Canon.
You will not be sorry with this purchase

This is an amazing camera. This was a birthday gift because we have one son graduating from high school this year and the military next year, another son who is big into wresteling, another son starting little leauge baseball and Jr. high football, one more son big into track and drama and our daughter has given us our first grandson! We take tons of pictures every weekend when we are all together. This camera is wonderful for taking those pictures from distances (using the amazing zoom!)without our grandson noticing and completely stopping what he is doing or getting that action shot of our boys in sports. The zoom is incredible and the features are incredibly easy to use. I read other reviews that complained about the position of the on/off button however, I find it extreemly convenient and easy to use (I don't have very big fingers either). With my Nikon, the on/off button was a push button next to the shutter button and I was forever turning the camera off when I was trying to take a picture in a hurry. So, this one does not bother me at all. The other complaint that I read about is that this camera does not come with a user manual. You can go online and either save the manual to your hard drive or read through it and review when you need to. I, myself, hate having all of those different manuals around to search for when I need to reference something. They takes up way too much space in my file cabinet and ultimately with 5 kids and a grandchild, the manuals end up where they don't belong and I can't find them anyway!!! Needless to say, I prefer to have any manuals online anyway! Having had this camera for a month now and using it almost every day, I can't think of another camera that I would like more. I'm still trying to figure out how to use a few of the settings but overall, this is a great camera that takes amazing pictures and video! I can't recommend this camera enough!

Pro: 26x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens, Easy to use. Many Usefull Features, Pix. Quality, Battery Life, Response Time, and Cost.

Cons: Instruction Manual, Lens cap, Dating the Pixs one @ time manually, and the size of the Camera.

This is the best camera out of the 5 cameras I ever owned. It has many usefull features but the instruction manual is so poorly written that you have to call Kodak to find out how to use them.

I would recommend this camera to everyone that wants to own only one camera.