Kodak unveils Z980, M380 ultrazoom and Zx1 mini-camcorder

Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 10:21
Digital Camera
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Sunday was the day when Kodak took wraps off its launch plans for CES, which begins with the Z980, one of the farthest-reaching high-zoom camera. As its reviews, the new Z980, in the face of its name, is touted to be a successor to the Z1000-series cameras. As the features, the new Z980 comes with a new 26mm lens, which boasts of being capable of zooming up to 24X vs. the prior best 15X lenses of the company.

Besides, the Z980 is also capable of shooting quite close –up owing to an extensive angle design and to cut back on blur, it is hardware stabilized. A new 12-megapixel sensor together with a native 720p video capture is likely to be part of the design when it is will be shipped in the spring with the price tag of around $400.

In addition, Kodak curtained off the Kodak Zx1, which is also considered as a follow-up to the Zi6. The latest model boasts of shooting 720p at around 60 frames per sec but switches to an added upscale design, which, according to Kodak, fulfills IP43 standards that ought to resist daily dirt, dust, as well as water splashes.

The camera maker keeps on making efforts to distinguish its models from Pure’s Flip Mino HD by making use of detachable SDHC cards for storage however now comes with an HDMI video out for rough footage previewing at its native resolution. The YouTube-friendly Zx1 is expected to be rolled out in April with the estimated price tag of around $150.

Last but not the least is the EasyShare M380, a more conventional still photo camera, which comes built-in with a 10-megapixel sensor, 5X optical zoom as well as a full scene auto-adjustment mode also dubbed as Smart Capture. The EasyShare M380 will be made available in March with the price tag of around$179.