Kodak Z990

I believe these are all taken in auto mode...it was a very dreary, raining day here in New York...I found the zoom outdoors works quite well. I did not fix any of these pictures..straiight out of the camera

Here are some pictures taken with my Panasonic LX5 (the first two) and a Nikon L120. (last three)..all on auto
I tried to take them about the same time as the Kodak

Hey ,
Thank you very much.

the first two are taken with LX5 and last three with L120 , the others are taken with z990 ???

Best Regards

I am sorry for the confusion I am new to posting pictures on this forum.The first set of pictures (outside shots) were taken with the Kodak 990...I was asked to show the zoom quality. The next set of pictures (indoors) the first two are from my Panasonic LZ5 and the others with the Nikon L120. I thought I also posted the same indoor pictures with the Kodak, but I quess I did something wrong.

Ah , No problem my friend .

Did you take these shots hand-held ? because the first three have noticable hand shakes.

Best Regards

Thanks for all of the photos you've taken Jeannie!

I would love to see some photos with the new filters (Kodachrome, etc.) turned on.. or maybe a panaroma with the automated sweep if possible.

Thx for posting more pictures.

Jeannie46 wrote:
The Kodak Z990 dog picture compares favourably against the Pany.

Jeannie46 said:

Click to expand...

--
chiue -
Nikon D5000 / Kodak P880 DX7590 Z915 DX6440 V803 C190
Kodak Digital Cameras Galleries
http://www.wix.com/chiuestar/Kodak-DC

I am sorry to say, the more I am usiing this camera, the more I am getting a little disappointed in it. I still have not found the time to really play with the different setting, but the first three pictures are taken with the following filters, the first one with theKodacolor, the second with extachrone and finally with the Kodachrome....I stood in the same place, the camera was in auto.
It loooks like the zoom on the Kodak is very bad.

Here are the same pictures taken with the Panazonic LX5 and the Nikon L120

Jeannie46 said:

I am sorry to say, the more I am usiing this camera, the more I am getting a little disappointed in it. I still have not found the time to really play with the different setting, but the first three pictures are taken with the following filters, the first one with theKodacolor, the second with extachrone and finally with the Kodachrome....I stood in the same place, the camera was in auto
It loooks like the zoom on the Kodak is very bad.

Click to expand...

Either that camera is dysfunctional or it was in macro mode. I can believe it can be that bad Jeannie.

Jeannie46 said:

Click to expand...

I feel the same as JW. The photos were just out of focus, it is either the camera was in the wrong focus mode/setting or it is defective. Half press the shutter and ensure you get a focus lock first (ie the little bracket turned to green) before fully press the shutter.

Anyway, focus problem aside, IMO think the colors from the Kodak looks better than the Nikon and the Pany (well my taste, for color is a very subjective thing). Beside I;m surprise to find such heavy fringing from the Pany LX5 picture at both picture frames.

--
chiue -
Nikon D5000 / Kodak P880 DX7590 Z915 DX6440 V803 C190
Kodak Digital Cameras Galleries
http://www.wix.com/chiuestar/Kodak-DC

I would agree there is something wrong, and I think it is a defected camera...
These pictures were taken in atuo mode and I reset the camera to all defaults.

I have been taken enought pictures to know how too..the green box was there and I took the picture...

If you notice, the pictures from the Pany and Nikon are not out of focus..and just for the record, none of these pictures were retouched...directly from the camera.
I think I will call Kodak and ask for a replacement.

I also would agree that this camera does not work properly - but yet for another reason. As was noted before, the zoomed outdoor images (e.g. the "Dead End" sign) seem quite shaky. Image stabilization does not seem to work properly, or at all here. There's a video taken with a Z990 on youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwWWHDsgBQ ), which also is extremely shaky on full zoom level, which opens the possibility that image stabilization is a general issue of the current firmware. We should keep a close eye on that ...

Another point is the Auto-mode: It seems to target higest possible lens apertures (smallest f-values) at very fast shutter speeds. Thus 1/500 sec at f4 for a wide angle image image certainly does not look like balanced auto-settings to me - it looks more like aperture priority set to f4.

Resetting the camera menu settings does not reset the focus settings controlled by the middle button on the top right side of the camera. Page 19 of the Z990 Extended User Guide explains these settings and is available for download from the Kodak site and is copied below.

As pointed out earlier you may be in some focus mode other than Auto Focus like Macro AF. That would explain why the pic of the dog is so well focused while others are not.

But what do I know. My Z990 is not due to arrive until tomorrow.

Using the Focus button
IMPORTANT: Focus mode availability varies by picture-taking mode.
1 Press the Focus button until the desired focus icon is displayed on the LCD.
2 Press the Shutter button halfway to focus and set exposure, then completely
down to take the picture.
Mode For
Normal AF No icon Normal picture taking.
Infinity AF
Distant scenery or for taking pictures through a window.
(Turn off the flash when taking pictures through glass. See
page 12.)
Macro AF Subjects that are 10–80 cm (3.9–31.5 in.) from the lens.
Super Macro AF Subjects that are 1–20 cm (0.4–7.9 in.) from the lens.
Manual Focus
The focus icon shows the direction and distance of the focus
(to infinity). Press to magnify the central area of focus.
During magnification, press to adjust focal length.

That is weird. I watched the three new youtube test videos and the lens actually looks very sharp zoomed out, especially the one zoomed out to street light, yet I noticed the serious amount of shake too. It is as if the SR is not really on .

I wonder if you could run the clock test with tripod or somehow brace the camera on something. The ISO 400 shot of the dog looks very impressive for the detail in the fur etc. compared to a similar ISO 400 shot with the LX 5 which is very surprising. I am a Pentax SLR user and while the level of detail is not quite up to SLR in the fur it's not too shabby (bad pun intended).

Did you, at long zoom, wait a second for the stabilizer to kick in?

On the Z980 it's difficult to get sharp pictures with long focal length if you don't wait for the stabilizer to come into action. It takes 1 or 2 seconds.
Maybe the same at the Z990?

Mart
--
Kodak DX7590, Z980, P880
( Lumix TZ5 fw 1.20, my wife)

Pitiful !!

Perhaps a sign of the times.....either the manual is woefully incomplete due to Kodak staffing cutbacks, or today's Kodak Camera users just don't know how to or want to read.

Example, try finding anything in the Extended User Manual concerning EXPOSURE METERING, IMAGE STABILIZATION, or AUTO FOCUS ZONES.

You will, however, find some information on SHARING photos, SMART CAPTURE, and other types of stuff for the casual user.

A camera classified as a HIGH PERFORMANCE camera JAMMED FULL OF FEATURES, one should expect more from an EXTENDED USER GUIDE.

Shame on you Kodak.

jr

I think part of the problem might be the fact that Jeannie is trying to cram way tooooo much into her photo cranial storage area at one time. She is trying cameras like the Samsung EX1, Pany LX5, Kodak Z990 and maybe more in a short period of time. nothing wrong with that, but it's not easy. That is a very hard and confusing thing to do for anybody. Even for a sales person in a photo store to know everything about the new hi-tech cameras he or she sells is near impossible. It takes time to learn the ins and outs of a new camera and one or two days is not enough time for a real good judgement. Keep trying them out Jeannie! JohnW

Hey Jeannie ,

You just need to select the right focusing mode.
It appears that you didn't select the right one with these pictures.

Best Regards

I have worked with Kodak Z cameras for the last 5 years and i can tell you that this is the best model I have seen Kodak put out in the last 5. The software is fantastic and easy to use, but also very powerful. I waited for the last 5 years hoping Kodak would put out another Z series camera that would live up to the past and they have. I can tell you after talking with customers and using the Nikon and Canon super zooms this is a real winner, and it is much cheaper with better performance.

James C. Locker
Imaging Expert