Its back!!!!

And $30 less then last time.

This is a great camera at a great price!

I just wonder if it's collectable now that Kodak is kaput?

Holy crap, this shoots in RAW?! Is it any good?

mossygreen wrote:Holy crap, this shoots in RAW?! Is it any good?

The RAW files are not created in all modes. You should read the manual. Someone else created a link to the manual.

Love mine. Debating buying another.

Update: Debating finished. Order in for one.

Wait, why does it say the last purchase was 2013 years ago? What is woot trying to tell us?

GREAT CAMERA AT A GREAT PRICE!!!! Too bad i paid $150!

I see a LOT of complaints about battery life and shutter lag. Anyone that owns one care to comment on either complaint? Some of the ones about shutter lag (even after firmware update)make the camera sound nearly unusable. 5-10 seconds in between shots???

ThunderThighs wrote:Says a few second ago for me. Maybe it was screwy on the first purchase?

Yeah, it's better now. It was probably screwy before the first purchase. Still, maybe the universe is sending me messages.

see this link: http://www.dpreview.com/products/kodak/compacts/kodak_z990

Body type
Body type SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor
Max resolution 4000 x 3000
Other resolutions 4000 x 2264, 4000 x 2256, 2832 x 2128, 2048 x 1536
Image ratio w:h 4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Effective pixels 12.0 megapixels
Sensor size 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor type BSI-CMOS
Image
ISO Auto, 125, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400
White balance presets 4
Custom white balance No
Image stabilization Optical
Uncompressed format RAW
JPEG quality levels Fine, Standard, Basic
Optics & Focus
Focal length (equiv.) 28 – 840 mm
Optical zoom 30×
Autofocus •Contrast Detect (sensor)
•Multi-area
•Center
•Selective single-point
•Single
•Face Detection
•Live View
?
Digital zoom Yes (5x)
Manual focus Yes
Normal focus range 70 cm (27.56")
Macro focus range 1 cm (.39")
Lens mount Unknown
Screen / viewfinder
Articulated LCD Fixed
Screen size 3"
Screen dots 460,000
Touch screen No
Live view Yes
Viewfinder type Electronic
Photography features
Maximum aperture F2.8 - F5.6
Minimum shutter speed 16 sec
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 sec
Aperture priority Yes
Shutter priority Yes
Manual exposure mode Yes
Subject / scene modes Yes
Built-in flash Yes (Pop-Up)
Flash range 8.9 m
External flash No
Flash modes Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye reduction, Off
Continuous drive Yes (5.6 fps up to 6 images)
Self-timer Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Metering modes •Multi
•Center-weighted
•Spot

Exposure compensation ±2 EV (at 1/3 EV steps)
AE Bracketing ±1 (3 frames at 1/3 EV steps)
WB Bracketing No
Videography features
Format •H.264

Microphone Stereo
Resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Storage
Storage types SD/SDHC card, Internal
Storage included 128 MB Internal
Connectivity
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI Yes
Wireless None
Remote control Yes
Physical
Environmentally sealed No
Battery AA
Battery description AA (4) batteries (NiMH Rechargeable batteries)
Weight (inc. batteries) 445 g (0.98 lb / 15.70 oz)
Dimensions 124 x 91 x 105 mm (4.88 x 3.58 x 4.13")
Other features
Orientation sensor Yes
Timelapse recording No
GPS None

Here is a flickr group for people who use the z990

Thousands of sample shots over there!

Edit: So i can find this later: This was my 500th Quality Post.
500th Quapo 500 quapos

friartek wrote:Its back!!!!

And $30 less then last time.

The last go round it was NEW, not a refurb as I bought one for a gift.

friartek wrote:Love mine. Debating buying another.

Update: Debating finished. Order in for one.

You talked me into it!

I bought a Nikon Coolpix P7100 for a photography class last spring by which I'm still kind of intimidated (the camera, not the class). But another fully automatic camera with manual modes, a viewfinder and RAW capability is quite tempting.

I can do the camera equivalent of a taste test!

Golf11 wrote:The last go round it was NEW, not a refurb as I bought one for a gift.

Right you are, it was new at $150. But refurbs don't bother me at all, so for $120, this is a great deal.

Wonderful camera, one of the best bridge cameras ever made IMO, and at this price, it's really a great bargain.

You can get the same camera in a bundle (new) for $159 over at amazon:

Kodak EasyShare Z990 12.0 MP Digital Camera with 30x Optical Zoom, HD Video and 3.0-Inch LCD. Bundle includes memory card, rechargeable batteries and HDMI cable.


http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Z990-EasyShare-Bundle-Rechargeable/dp/B0056H9K6W/

Here is the manual

I'd normally upload to my google docs but I'm tired and gotta get up for work tomorrow. Just stuck around to take a victory lap and finish a celebratory wine for 500 QPs. Any lonely alcoholics looking for an excuse to drink I just gave it to you.

Just realized I haven't heard from Whatsamattu in a while, Hope things are going well for you brother.

Edit: after reading the manual i realize how badly you messed up. You could have sold yesterdays rechargeable batteries today with this camera, you probably would have moved a lot more units.



[MOD: But it already comes with batteries and a charger.]
[DANN: Now I realize how badly I Messed up!]

Aww poop, I just bought that Samsung from the camera sale.

brucem105 wrote:I see a LOT of complaints about battery life and shutter lag. Anyone that owns one care to comment on either complaint? Some of the ones about shutter lag (even after firmware update)make the camera sound nearly unusable. 5-10 seconds in between shots???

Haven't found battery life a problem, but I normally use the electronic view finder to extend the battery life. The manual has other suggestions to extend battery life. Haven't had an event yet where I would need to shoot a large number of shots with flash, so I can't comment on how long they would last under those conditions.

Not sure what you mean about shutter delay. If you are in single shot mode, the camera displays the last shot, but if you press the shutter button again it goes back to viewing and ready for the next shot. I haven't experienced any extended delays between shots.

You may want to read the discussions from the last time as there was a lot of great info there.

friartek wrote:Haven't found battery life a problem, but I normally use the electronic view finder to extend the battery life. The manual has other suggestions to extend battery life. Haven't had an event yet where I would need to shoot a large number of shots with flash, so I can't comment on how long they would last under those conditions.

Not sure what you mean about shutter delay. If you are in single shot mode, the camera displays the last shot, but if you press the shutter button again it goes back to viewing and ready for the next shot. I haven't experienced any extended delays between shots.

You may want to read the discussions from the last time as there was a lot of great info there.

I agree. Battery life is good as long as you use good rechargables. I am using the Kodak rechargables that come with the camera and after about 200 shots the indicator still shows "full".

And there is no noticable shutter lag, or delay between shots. I just fired off about 10 shots without flash and the camera was ready almost immediately after each shot. There was a 3-4 second "processing" delay when I switched to review, but that is not a problem for me.

I like this camera so much I just ordered two more at this price.

playmechanic wrote:You can get the same camera in a bundle (new) for $159 over at amazon:

Kodak EasyShare Z990 12.0 MP Digital Camera with 30x Optical Zoom, HD Video and 3.0-Inch LCD. Bundle includes memory card, rechargeable batteries and HDMI cable.


http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Z990-EasyShare-Bundle-Rechargeable/dp/B0056H9K6W/

That is the same bundle being offered here, except for:

Amazon includes an sd card'(looks like 8GB, which is too small), and
One year warrantee on the new camera, vs. 90 days here.

Not worth the extra $40 IMO.

speedoo wrote:That is the same bundle being offered here, except for:

Amazon includes an sd card'(looks like 8GB, which is too small), and
One year warrantee on the new camera, vs. 90 days here.

Not worth the extra $40 IMO.

Yep, can pick the Square Trade warranty for $20, less if you search for a coupon code.

Also: reviews indicate that the class 4 card included would be too slow.

Has no one else noticed that Kodak is filing bankruptcy and trying to liquidate failing models to lower the punishment/payout?

The camera isn't perfect, NO CAMERA IS - but this camera is by far, hands down, the BEST bridge camera that can be found for the money - and the z990 may be the best consumer digital camera Kodak ever made.

I would go so far as to say that if this quality was present in other Kodak digital cameras, they just might have been able to turn it around (notwithstanding other financial issues).

Check the comments above for the link that will take you to the discussion for the previous sale. Myself and others posted a ton of great info about this camera (and Kodak itself and how this camera compares to other Kodak digital cameras - many of us have owned both 5000 series cameras and outlined comparisons in that discussion).

Bottom line: if you are in the market for this type of camera, you will not get more bang for your buck with anything else you can find for sale today.

As for shutter lag and other issues that are still present after the firmware update . . . if you look very closely at those comments, you'll see that they are primarily comments specific to certain specialized shooting modes the camera offers. Overall, for general shooting, the firmware update is such a game-changer for this camera that IMHO it adds twice the value of the purchase cost again to the camera - Kodak got it right. It is that good.

I own three of these cameras, I have purchased eight. Some were gifts, some were for business use. I will more than likely be in for three more, possibly more (under a different account).

If you're on the fence, step off. Hit the buy button and be happy you did. At this price, for a refurbished unit (which I have had great luck with, purchasing some of my z990 cameras from Ben's Outlet, and that is all they carried [refurbs]) the deal can't be beat.

I have thousand of woot! purchases spread over my own account, my family's, my wife's and two business accounts. This is one of the BEST woot! offerings - EVER, based on quality, performance and price paid. I've been loyal to woot! since 2005 and deals like this, brought back because woot! has listened to their customers, gives me hope that Amazon hasn't completely ruined the place - LOL.

This is a great woot!. If you're in the market, this is the woot! for you.

knappj2 wrote:Has no one else noticed that Kodak is filing bankruptcy and trying to liquidate failing models to lower the punishment/payout?

Sorry, I guess one of us should have mentioned it. It still doesn't take away from the camera's abilities. It is still a great camera, and for the price even better. Try to find a P&S(point and shoot) camera with these capabilities for this price. You cant. For one, none of them can contain the optics or sensor because of their size, a limiting factor of P&S cameras. This is a "bridge" camera. It falls in between a P&S and a DSLR(Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera.

Again take a few minutes and read the previous sale discussions, it is well worth your time.

Item discussed during the last sale included:

Kodak's current problems
Features
Batteries
Differences between the Z900 and Z5000 series
Battery chargers
Cases
And a lot more.

so how does the refurb units look? can they pass for brand new? i need a camera for my mom and not sure if its worth the extra money for a new one. for those that have refurb's are they pretty much mint condition? and do these comes with everything in the picture as they do new?

NM

Esko245 wrote:Aww poop, I just bought that Samsung from the camera sale.

The Samsung is awesome so you didn't make a mistake. Both this Kodak and Samsung have their high points. I own both this Kodak and a Samsung similar to yours, and I'd choose the Samsung as a better choice for most people. Both shoot very good photos, with the Kodak performing better under very low light. The Kodak offers more manual functions, but the Samsung is also amazingly customizable from manual focus to shutter speed to aperture. But unless you need RAW photos and/or supermega-zooming, I find these huge glorified point-and-shoot DSLR-lookalikes to be too unwieldly to be an everyday camera. I simply never wanted to carry it anywhere. I didn't even like carrying it to special events, so I use it mostly at home. What a waste of the 30x optical zoom and my favorite feature, the great electronic viewfinder (which is most useful in sunlight).

Another thing that all Samsungs have that the Kodak doesn't is the ability to PAUSE during video. That's a really important function for me because I don't want to end up with a lot of little snippets which I'll have to stitch later. The overhead also wastes memory. This Kodak's video capabilities are strictly no-frills. You press a button to start, and you press it again to stop. That's it. No pausing, no way to adjust sound.

Anyway, the Kodak is sitting in a closet while the Samsung is constantly with me in my knapsack. I just recently got an Olympus with 3D abilities so that may replace my Samsung if it tests well.

zfactor wrote:so how does the refurb units look? can they pass for brand new? i need a camera for my mom and not sure if its worth the extra money for a new one. for those that have refurb's are they pretty much mint condition? and do these comes with everything in the picture as they do new?

Not sure about the packaging, as it wasn't marked. If its not original packaging, most referbs I have gotten were normally marked so(i.e. white box), but not all.

The items in the box are the same as the new one I purchased the last time. My experience with factory refurbs has been, they look like new. I would expect no less from this item.

zfactor wrote:so how does the refurb units look? can they pass for brand new? i need a camera for my mom and not sure if its worth the extra money for a new one. for those that have refurb's are they pretty much mint condition? and do these comes with everything in the picture as they do new?

My Kodak Z990 was new so I can't tell you how a refurbed one looks. However, the Samsung I mentioned in the previous post was refurbed (also bought from Woot). It had a few deep scratches on the body (where you can see the silver metal under the black paint) but everything else was fine.

If you're planning to tell your mom that it's refurbed, and she doesn't mind such things, go for it. But you plan to pass if off as a new camera, think again. First of all, the camera may come in a plain box or worse, the wrong box. I bought a refurbed Kodak from Woot about two years ago and the box belonged to a completely different model.

The absolute worst thing though is the embarrassment of being discovered. Even remving all the REFURBED labels (including internal ones, i.e. inside the battery compartment) may not be enough. If the recipient decides to register the camera online, the system will almost always indicate REFURBED once you enter the serial number. The same is true if s/he needs the camera fixed under warranty because refurbished products have a shorter warranty. So unless you upfront about it and the recipient doesn't care, you'll risk embarrassment. I know firsthand.

Got this beauty last time she was on Woot!

In 100% honesty, if you are looking to buy a camera and want something better than your average point-and-shoot, then your search has ended here at TechWoot.

I'm not expert photo taker, but I love this camera, and for a few reasons. 1) The quality of ohotos that you can crank out of this sucker can easily contend with $600+ cameras. 2) The UI (user interface) on this camera is one of the best I've used to date. 3) taking photos, whatever the enviroment, has been a breeze.

This camera will make you feel like a pro, or at least it does for me. Just messing around with it I snaped some epic photos of the tree outside my window. The detail and zoom are truely amazing. Couldn't be more pleased.

Now, this here is a refurb, which I have no issue with normally, but I'm glad I snatched this up last time when they were new. It's no secret that kodak has seen better days, and this is something to consider. However...

At this price, for this camera, you can't afford NOT to get it. People praise this camera here in the community and everywhere else for a reason. Get it. Just do it. Now. Like right now.

That is all.

I have a Panasonic LX5 Lumix. How would the Kodak Z990 compare? Thanks for any recommendations.

brucem105 wrote:I see a LOT of complaints about battery life and shutter lag. Anyone that owns one care to comment on either complaint? Some of the ones about shutter lag (even after firmware update)make the camera sound nearly unusable. 5-10 seconds in between shots???

Yeah, I bought one a few weeks ago from woot and updated the firmware.

There is certainly a lag when using in "Smart" mode. However, the lag is not present always and happens randomly. It does get annoying sometimes. However, for the price [I bought it for $150] I think it offers great value for money!

sdc100 wrote:The Samsung is awesome so you didn't make a mistake. Both this Kodak and Samsung have their high points. I own both this Kodak and a Samsung similar to yours, and I'd choose the Samsung as a better choice for most people. Both shoot very good photos, with the Kodak performing better under very low light. The Kodak offers more manual functions, but the Samsung is also amazingly customizable from manual focus to shutter speed to aperture. But unless you need RAW photos and/or supermega-zooming, I find these huge glorified point-and-shoot DSLR-lookalikes to be too unwieldly to be an everyday camera. I simply never wanted to carry it anywhere. I didn't even like carrying it to special events, so I use it mostly at home. What a waste of the 30x optical zoom and my favorite feature, the great electronic viewfinder (which is most useful in sunlight).

Another thing that all Samsungs have that the Kodak doesn't is the ability to PAUSE during video. That's a really important function for me because I don't want to end up with a lot of little snippets which I'll have to stitch later. The overhead also wastes memory. This Kodak's video capabilities are strictly no-frills. You press a button to start, and you press it again to stop. That's it. No pausing, no way to adjust sound.

Anyway, the Kodak is sitting in a closet while the Samsung is constantly with me in my knapsack. I just recently got an Olympus with 3D abilities so that may replace my Samsung if it tests well.

Yup, small size is a definite plus. Which Samsung model #'s are you talking about? Looks like that sale is over, but they could come back and I might want to grab one.

I have this camera, bought it when it first came out for about twice the price. It replaced the Kodak P712, which I loved to death. Both model take just excellent pics... Kodak's lenses are top-notch. I liked the interface/usability of the P712 slightly better, but zoom and pic quality is better on the Z990.

Battery life is similar to most every other camera. Flash will kill quickly, and the LCD screen will wear them down too. But I avoid flash, and prefer using the viewfinder most the time.

There definitely is a shutter lag. The firmware update helped IMMENSELY. And using a Class 10 memory card obviously helps. The lag isn't that bad with the jpg captures, but when shooting RAW (which is harder to select than it ever should be), the lag is bad, and can be the 5-10 seconds people mention. Most of that, I imagine, is because the jog is about 4mb and the RAW is about 20mb. Oh, and the manual controls are very tedious to set.

There more, but much has been covered already, and I'm tired. Overall, IMO, this is a very, very good camera that straddles the consumer/pro line well. As a simple point and shoot, it is excellent, with a surreal optical zoom. And for this price, it is a great deal. (And a very good gift, if that is what you are thinking.)

I shoot a lot with this camera, and my work often gets mistaken for high-end a SLR.

Found a forum with
Problems with the Z990

mardavis13 wrote:I have a Panasonic LX5 Lumix. How would the Kodak Z990 compare? Thanks for any recommendations.

There are a number of differences. How they effect overall photo quality, I'm not sure since I don't have an LX5 to compare with. The LX5 looks well built, but I doubt I'd pay ~$350 for a compact.

LX5 vs Z990

10.1 vs 12 MPs
1/1.63-inch CCD vs 1/2.33" BSI CMOS sensor
3.8x vs 30x Optical Zoom
optional attachment vs built-in Electronic View Finder
720 vs 1080 Video

Didn't go through all the features. These are just a few I checked. Personally, between the two, I'd buy the Z990, but that's my opinion.

sdc100 wrote:The Samsung is awesome so you didn't make a mistake.

You are my new favorite person.
Thank you for the detailed response!

eddieeddy1 wrote:Found a forum with
Problems with the Z990

Most of the remarks were from 12 to 16 months ago and no one mentions which firmware release. If I was to guess, I'd say it was not the latest release. Those problems that could be firmware related, may be corrected. Not saying there aren't problems, but I would try to find a more current list to see if the same problems still exist.

Alright, you guys talked me into it. Been in the market for a new camera...really want a big zoom...I'm in.