n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Last week, I took my Kodak Z990 to a concert, same as last year. I took concert shots with P and M modes, and everything was fine. Later in the autograph line, I got to take a picture of the artist with my wife. It took a little time, and he said "Hurry up! That old camera is really slow!"

I later found out out that Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits has some camera knowledge...

I researched my focal lengths, and next year I'm taking the Oly E-PL5 with the 40-150.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

That Peter Noone is into photography doesn't surprise me. There are actually many big-name musicians who take up photography as a serious hobby. Most bands have a member or two who take up photography. They get to travel all over the world, meet interesting people, and the camera is a fairly portable device. And it helps break up the oftentimes tiring routine of being on endless tours and performing. The perfect hobby for the traveling musician indeed.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

"...Mrs. Brown you've got a dodgy camera....(camera)...

You should go and get a-nother one...(another..)...

Sung to the tune of Mrs. Brown you've got a lovely daughter.

Rathyatra Loc: Southport, United Kingdom

Ha!! Ha!! - very funny :thumbup:

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

You do know how to switch from slow single frame to continuous when there is fast action?....or do you?

Phreedom Loc: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Quote from: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/kodak_easyshare_z990_review/conclusion/


"One of the biggest issues with the Z990 is the buttons and switches being so unresponsive. If you want to shoot in a hurry, forget it. Choose a different camera.

At times it took us up to a minute to turn the Z990 on, we had trouble zooming in and out as the camera seemed to ignore the commands entirely and entering the menu at the top of the screen could be a nightmare. The weird thing was that sometimes the Z990 would execute commands straight away and other times it seemed to take an age.

At one point when we were shooting a football match, we missed a lot of opportunities because the Z990 wouldn't zoom in or allow us to choose a different ISO setting. Another key issue regarding speed is the processor. Pictures take a long time to download onto the card from the sensor and don't expect the camera to allow you to do anything. It completely locks up. It would have been nice of it to allow us to make adjustments to the settings or something but we just got a half black, half blue image that simply said processing. It's extremely infuriating but if you're not in a rush, then you won't be bothered by this."

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

So you are quoting someone else's review all the way and
not your own experience. May I ask why?

Phreedom Loc: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

If a reason needs to be given; n3eg quoted an observation of Peter Noone’s.
Based on that observation, n3eg apparently decided to change up to a different (faster?) camera in the future.
I quoted a relevant portion of a review on the “speed” of the camera in question with a link should anyone wish to read the full review.
The reviewer’s findings on the camera support Noone’s observation and thus n3eg’s decision. It details what/why the “old camera” might be considered “really slow”.
It is simply more information relating to and supporting the original post.

The above did not, nor was it intended to bash the Kodak Z990 (which by the way, had a very good sensor) nor any who might own one.
If one limited herself to only direct personal experience about any posting in UHH or elsewhere, then many topics would have no discourse at all.

Why?

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

Yes,why anything really,sort of. We don't know whether n3eg had ever used this camera before,things seemed to be going along very well at first,then he/she met Peter Noone,who may be a walking encyclopiedia on camera models,but this cast some doubt that any fumbling with controls would be the result of the person using it.It could be the camera itself.
Then later we reinforce the doubt about the camera by reading the review from one person only. This is the only one so far who has (supposedly)touched this camera model,but
we don't know.

So Phreedom,to explore "why" a little further we had a newbie to digital not too long ago who wanted to get the best out of the camera he kept insulting but actually he had taken a very decent picture which one of our knowledgeable members post processed for him.

We all remember I hope that we started somewhere. Often the choice is,or has to be,...and certainly should be...something less than an intimidating expensive DSLR ...and yet these people don't even have the basic knowledge to operate anything beyond the simplest P&S 100%
automatic mode. It hardly seems like a decent thing to do to discourage them from trying because surely the camera wouldn't deliver. And from these people we discover they don't know they have a menu with many features,or a whole manual from which to learn.

What makes me so dedicated to try to help them is having picked up the previous model mentioned,Z981,2 years ago when I could barely stand up or walk and couldn't lift anything over a pound. I'm by no means a newbie,rather looking at the sunset yrs. of life,but I still use that camera frequently. Guess I would have to ask why we would expect someone not to use continuous focus in fast-moving photo situations if speed is important...they need to know of its existence even if not ready for BIF,huh?

So I hope the negative feedback here today doesn't serve to discourage some budding photographer from learning, or plant in his/her mind that every failure in photography is due to the purchase of something not capable of delivering much better than they have so far produced.We can all usually do better if we try.

Here's an example Phreedom: Someone complained to me that a Z990 in Panoramic MODE would not work in MANUAL mode. Sad,huh? And the camera was blamed!!!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Better have the new em1 then next time you see him
:P

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

This wasn't continuous action, this was a posed photo opportunity. I know about burst.

I also know about the slow speed of the Z990 - I just got caught between photos in a fast moving line of people.

I debated up to the minute of the concert which camera to take, and according to the pictures, my decision was OK. I also used it with good results last year.

I was just relating a funny photgraphy story. And he was still smiling when I took the picture.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

That E-M1 looks like a nice camera, and probably even can sync to make your coffee in the morning. I passed on the E-M5 due to size though. My E-PL5 with 14-42, 40-150, and 75-300 lenses, adapters, filters, batteries, and so on will all fit into a 8 1/2 x 6" Tamrac bag..

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

Burst mode isn't the same thing as continuous focus where you don't have to wait for anything. Did you ever download the manual for this camera that is loaded with features that Kodak generously put into it? They owned the patents for so many things that other companies used on leases. On paper,the manual runs to about 63 pages.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Yes, it is a slow camera. It can only do one thing at a time, whereas the Oly E-PL5 will save RAW+JPEG almost instantaneously and I had to lengthen the picture view time. It's something you have to work around. There are also workarounds for the SD card slowing down when it gets full.
The Z990 also has an excellent sensor, although not quite as good as the SX50 Canon. I took it because I was more familiar with it, having used it for 2 years compared to 2 months for the E-PL5. Just tonight I stuck the E-PL5 in ISO set in P mode and couldn't figure out how to get it back to shutter speed.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Yes, I downloaded the manual before I even bought the camera. And sorry about misinterpreting you, it's just that "single frame to continuous when there is fast action" sounds a lot more like burst mode. "Single focus" sounds more like what you were getting at.

The Z990 has fast AF (probably the only thing it does have that's fast!) and single AF works for me. The slowness came from flash recycle time and having powered down the camera not expecting a second picture. I only use continuous AF in video, because the way I use my camera, it goes crazy while I'm carrying it with continuous AF on. Plus, it drains the battery.