Kodak Z980

Kodak Z980 is Kodak's Small Sensor Superzoom digital camera initially released on January of 2009. It houses a 12 MegaPixel, CCD 1/2.3" sized sensor and has a maximum resolution of 4000 x 3000.

The Z980 is ranked #196 out of 244 in Small Sensor Superzoom cameras and all round #869 out of 1465 for cameras in our collection. Remember to test our Smart camera filter to get camera rankings based on your custom requirements.

Below is a diagram of multiple criteria used in the scoring system.

The Kodak Z980 is part of a family of products. You can view the complete range underneath.

You can check the Z980 from various angles in the gallery underneath.

Below is a collection of positives and negatives of the Kodak Z980 based on aspects which are generally viewed as important in a digital camera.

The sensor dimension in the Kodak Z980 is 6.08mm x 4.56mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor has the ability to resolve 4000 x 3000 pixels and aspect ratios of 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera includes Image Stabilization (Sensor-shift). Optical stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter can easily cause cropping.

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The CCD sensor boasts 12 megapixels and delivers a standard ISO range of 64 - 6400. RAW files are saved therefore you have wider margin for error.

The graphic underneath shows the Z980's sensor dimensions when compared to other popular sizes. The Z980 sensor comes with a crop factor of 5.9 and is showcased in green.

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To get an idea of various aspect ratios, you should refer to the graphic below.

Kodak Z980 has a weight of 0.98 lb (445 gr / 15.70 ounces) and features exterior size of 124mm x 91mm x 105mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 4.1"). The weight of normal Small Sensor Superzoom camera is 387 gr so the Kodak Z980 is heavier in comparison with other rivals.

Photography Glossary

Underneath is a picture of the Kodak Z980 alongside a soda to help you have a feel for its scale.

The top view under will show you the button design on the Z980.

The Z980 features a fixed lens and it has a focal range of 26-624mm giving it a 24.0 x zoom which is great and would make it easier to zoom all the way in.

At the widest 26mm, the lens offers an aperture of f2.8 making it really slow and not ideal in low light situations and you may find it hard to capture good bokeh. You would also have to increase the ISO setting which results in noisy photos. At the tele end, 624mm is excellent zoom and comes to f5.0 making it really sluggish and you may need to go with slower shutter speeds.

The Z980 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Cameras that have NFC and Bluetooth connectivity can be used wirelessly through smartphones. You will be able to send files and in some cases change camera settings without connecting physically to the camera.

Many applications even stream a Liveview and click the shutter in case you aren't close to the camera. If the camera comes with a HDMI out, it can be attached to an external display. Most cameras enable you to charge the battery using the USB port.

The maximum video resolution in the Kodak Z980 is 1280 x 720 and it can shoot in Motion JPEG file format. 720p is low by today's standards. You really should go for at least 1080p resolution for decent video. The camera doesn't feature a mic and headphone jack which means that you get little control over your audio. It is probably a better idea to take a look at another model if you want good audio in your videos.

Kodak Z980 doesn't include weather proofing so wet conditions can easily ruin the camera.

The Kodak Z980 is equipped with a 3 inch fixed display supporting a resolution of 201 thousand dots.

Sadly the display isn't a touch screen.

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The View Finder specs regarding Kodak Z980 are as follows:

• ViewFinder Electronic

In those sunny outdoor situations which make the camera screens washed out and hard to view, viewfinders can be pretty valuable.

Kodak Z980 has the ability to shoot continuously at 1.0 frames per second. The max shutter speed is 1/2000 seconds.

Kodak Z980 includes both built in flash plus external flash ability.

Kodak Z980 includes just Contrast Detect Auto Focus and does not have Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection autofocusing is more quicker & exact in comparison with Contrast Detect autofocusing.

It supports 25 focus points to select from. Kodak Z980 includes manual focus if needed for low light situations or you want to have more precise focus control.

The general Small Sensor Superzoom camera battery life is 316. Fujifilm HS35EXR comes with the highest possible (600) battery life for this kind of cameras.

Following is a listing of Small Sensor Superzoom cameras with the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm HS35EXR
Z980 vs Fujifilm HS35EXR600 yesnono

Nikon B500
Z980 vs B500600 nonoyes

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Nikon L840
Z980 vs L840590 noyesno

Panasonic FZ200
Z980 vs FZ200540 yesnono

Leica V-Lux 4
Z980 vs V-Lux 4540 yesnono

The following graph presents a overview of the Kodak Z980 for specific styles of photography. To look at more, have a look at the specific section underneath.

The Kodak Z980 gets a points tally of 41 which is dreadful, and means the camera is not really appropriate to use for portraits. Shooting portrait photos leans greatly towards sensor size, RAW support together with the ability to utilize external lighting.

Coming in at a decent rating of 54, the Kodak Z980 is somewhat suited for street photography. A good street photography camera provides a good balance of picture quality and portability.

A dreadful sports photography points tally of 34 indicates the Kodak Z980 is not really appropriate for shooting sports. A camera must have very good focusing and continuous shooting for sports photography.

Size is really critical when getting a camera for travel. Overall, the Kodak Z980 gets a decent 51 as a travel camera which is somewhat acceptable for your vacations.

When you're looking to purchase a digital camera for landscape photos, the most vital factor is going to be image quality. The Kodak Z980 with it's dreadful score of 45 as a landscape camera is not really appropriate amongst it's competitors.

A camera for vlogging really should posses a articulating display, microphone input and preferably image stabilization. Considering all things, the Kodak Z980 is not really appropriate for vlogging as it delivers a dreadful score of 23.

If you are searching for alternatives to the Z980, below is a range of the highest placed cameras that fall within the category of Small Sensor Superzoom.

The graph down below gives you a summary of the Z980 versus it's top ranking competitors mentioned earlier.

Following are additional cameras you may consider as alternatives. To read through a comprehensive comparison, visit the "compare" link.