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>> Josh Golden: Hi. I'm Josh Golden, senior editor for
CNET reviews and this is a look at the mega zoom Kodak
EasyShare Z980. This is a 12 mega pixel camera with a wide
angle 24X zoom lens on front. And on back is a 3 inch LCD
with an electronic view finder. If you're afraid of
controls this probably isn't the camera for you since you'll
find then all over. On top is mode dial with shooting
options that take you from fully automatic to fully manual.
There's also a switch that activates a secondary shutter
release on the side and then you control the zoom with a
four way directional pad on back. It even comes with an
extension grip that screws into the bottom. However the
overall feel of the camera is pretty clunky and a little too
plasticky. Photo quality is decent though. Color is very
good, but even at its lowest ISO settings the photos are a
bit noisy. Also noise suppression is so aggressive above
ISO 400 that pictures aren't really usable making it a poor
choice for low light shooting without a flash. On the
upside has a hot shoe on top for use with an add on flash
unit. The Z980 is capable of capturing HD video too and you
get use of the zoom lens. Kodak includes AA rechargeable
batteries with the Z980 which is unusual since most
companies only include Alkaline batteries for their cameras
that take AA batteries. It just would have been nice if the
compartment door closed a little easier. If you're in the
market for a mega, mega zoom camera that can do more than
just simple point and shoot functions this is one worth
checking out. You'll just have to overlook it's design and
noisy photos. I'm Josh Goldman and that's the Kodak
EasyShare Z980.
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