I am very picky about my point and shoot cameras. They have to be easy to use and have a long battery life. This camera is AMAZING. The pictures come out beautiful. The buttons are easy to figure out and there are two separate buttons for snapping pictures or taking video. No more messing around trying to figure out what setting to use for a video and having to go back and change it to take a picture. The camera is small too so it doesn't take up alot of room in a purse and easily fits in a pocket. I love this camera! Oh, the panorama shots are so easy to do and come out very impressive! I bought it at Sam's Club for $108 and it came with the case, a 4G SD card, strap and charger. Great deal.

This is a definite downgrade from previous Kodak models. I have been buying Kodak cameras for five years and thought that I would remain loyal to the brand in perpetuity, but buying this camera has changed my mind. On average I buy a new Kodak once per year, and I have never been disappointed. Each new model seems to build on the previous one, although in some cases some obvious errors in design and function are made. The most obvious one was when Kodak switched from being able to control settings immediately on the camera without having to turn on the device to having to do things when the camera was on that took up precious time. This camera at least does not have that issue. You can easily use video or take pictures witout having to mess with settings. However, if you want to switch between different modes, there are several screens you have to go through to do so. It's not a big deal and definitely not complicated, but good picture situations can turn into mediocre picture situations in fractions of a second. Even looking at your pictures reguires that you hit the review button and then again hit okay to go into a subfolder. The quality of pictures is definitely a huge downgrade. I have never had a Kodak camera take such blurry pictures in EVERY mode. If the subject is moving even a little bit, you can expect a lot of blurring, even if you manually set the shutter speed to it's maximum. Also, I have never had a Kodak camera malfunction like this one. There seems to be a severe problem with the video. Many times when taking video it will simply freeze and delete whatever footage was shot to that point. This is not an isolated problem, it is an intrinsic issue with this model. The great colors and white balance adjustments from previous models are also gone from this camera. It usually takes pictures that are either too dark or too bright. Overall, it is a very lackluster point and shoot. It is no wonder that the initial retail price was below older models, even older models that are still on the shelf with similar specs (14MP, 5x zoom, etc).

I have a higher-end Kodak Easy Share which I love. I bought this one because it's small and easy to carry in my pocket when I'm just going to be taking snapshots. I realize that this is a point and shoot and won't give SLR results. However, well over half my pictures are turning out blurry - even when I double check to make sure I have the green "in focus" box. The colors are very washed out.

I chose this one because of the film options; I could have saved myself the frustration. They rarely are in focus.

The only time the pictures come out decent that I have found is when you are standing 6-10 feet from the subject and are outside on a bright sunny day with the auto picture setting. Forget overcast conditions, indoor pictures, or any picture within the optical zoom range.

I've used Kodak's 1850mAh NiMH batteries for about a year in my Olympus C-4000, and they're fantastic. I can get hundreds of (daylight) shots, or several weeks of intermittent use, before needing to recharge. With its higher capacity, the 2100mAh battery should be even better.

These high capacity NiMH batteries work great in frequent use/high drain devices, such as cameras, flashlights, PDA's, CD players, toys, etc. Unlike NiCads, they don't contain the toxic heavy metal cadmium. They aren't subject to any significant "memory effect," so they don't need to be discharged fully before recharging. They will outperform both NiCads and throwaway alkaline batteries in high drain devices, and can be recharged more than 500 times. Their only disadvantage is that they self-discharge over time, losing 1-2% of their capacity per day. Alkaline batteries are still the best bet for low drain devices such as clocks and remote controls.

With the appropriate adapters, such as those sold by Star Batteries, you can even use your NiMH AA's in your C and D cell flashlights!

For best results, charge these in a charger designed for NiMH batteries. For longest battery life use a smart charger that protects against both overcharging and overheating, and signals when charging is complete.

These batteries are green in color, not red as shown. They are made by Sanyo in Japan & are of excellent quality. They last really long. Get only the Kodak Charger & NOT other brand, i had the bad experience in mixing battery & charger from diff brands.

Now, i got more of these & use them in toys, kitchen electrics etc. etc. Got some Kodak AAA as well & each charge lasts 3 months or so in my wireless mouse.

I am very pleased with this product in that it performs as advertised. I am using these in a Kodak digital camera and have recharged them several times in the past month. When fully charged they last as long as a non-rechargeable and have already paid for themselves.

Product was originally shipped with package opened and 2 batteries missing. Amazon immediately replaced the item when notified with no hassle.

I agree, this is a very nice camera. It takes nice, high quality pictures and videos. It's easy to use, with a nice large screen, and plenty of memory. The face recognition feature is something I have never encountered before, and I really like it - it makes it really easy to find pictures.

The only con to this camera is the use of AA batteries. It does go through them relatively quickly, so if you are going to be shooting all day, you really must carry a supply of them with you. It's a prejudice, but I do prefer rechargeable cameras.

But, in spite of that, it's a really nice camera and I like it a lot!

(Review of Kodak EasyShare C195 Digital Camera)

So far, I am pleased with this digital camera. Regular AA batteries don't last long, but went to AA Lithium batteries and no problems. I like the 3" screen and picture taking is easy. Pictures are clear and sharp.

I have been using a Kodak Z1275 for a couple of years and I loved it! It was 14MP and full of features, most of which I eventually learned how to use. I regularly had photos blown up to poster size or printed on pillow cases and blankets. They were always crisp and clear when I used the automatic setting. Unfortunately, Kodak does not make that camera any longer. (My beloved camera fell off the back of a chair when taking photos two weekends ago so it is no longer working.)

I looked for a Kodak camera with the same features. What I found was the C195. It is not exactly the same (e.g. 5x optical zoom vs. the Z1275 have 3X optical and another 5x digital), but most of the settings were exactly like the camera I loved. It even uses 2 AA batteries and is the same size (pocket-worthy). Despite noticing some dust under the display on the rear, I was thrilled with the first four test photos so I registered the camera the same day it arrived from Amazon.

I did not really take "normal" photos until this past weekend. I took 647 photos and videos while on a trip to Disney. As my 4GB memory card filled up I decided to look for bad photos and delete them to make extra space. That is when I noticed that some of the pictures looked blurry. I wear glasses so I asked several other people for their opinions and they agreed. I thought it might be related to the dust under 1/8 of the screen on the back, but when I downloaded the photos to my computer I found that every 4th, 5th, or 6th photo was horribly blurry. That was very frustrating, but also very sad as many of those photos were once-in-a-lifetime shots (e.g. my wife making very close eye contact with one of the Boys II Men singers). I am sending this camera back to Amazon tomorrow. I am not going to buy another C-series camera from Kodak. Those moments cannot be replaced.

A little background: I have been using Kodak's high-end EasyShares since 2002. I got the EasyShare Max z990 on April 11, 2011. I have been putting this camera to the test for 18 days.

There are a lot of things I love about my z990. But I have had enough disappointments to make me wonder what Kodak was thinking, and to question if this camera is worth its original $300+ price tag.

My first z990 was very buggy. It kept becoming unresponsive for several seconds or even freezing up. It helped to reformat the SD card and internal memory and to reset the camera. But I ended up having to get a replacement. My new z990 works much better!

Things I love:
* Best low-light no-flash pictures I have EVER seen from a digital camera!
* Very nice image quality.
* 1080p video! ... Good image quality. Acceptable sound quality.
* Snap pictures WHILE recording a video! They are lowish quality, but still decent enough for a 4x6 or maybe even a 5x7 print.
* Photobooth is so much fun! I just wish you could use the timer to add an extra 10 seconds before it starts snapping. ... The camera does give you a few seconds to get into position, but sometimes I need a little more.
* My 8 year old LOVES automatic panorama! ... But it can be a bit sensitive if you sweep at the wrong speed or if your subjects are moving. (like tree tops on a windy day)

Annoyances
* Automatic panorama does not always capture the whole image. - Sometimes it saves less than half of the image.
* You cannot set your favorite film effect to be the default. (I prefer more natural colors, but every time I turn the dial or power off my camera, it resets to oversaturated)
* Several vividly colored flowers just won't record right on this camera. Example: I have several rose pictures where you cannot tell where the petals are. It's just a smear of color. Some of my wild flower pictures look solidly colored to the eye, but when I take a picture the edges of the petals are colored perfectly and the centers of the petals are white!
* No standard "menu" button. ... But they did move a lot of the "menu" functionality to "DISP." (display)
* Included charger was VERY slow. 7 hours and my batteries were only half- charged.
* Continuous capture does not meet my expectations. It was the worst setting about freezing up on my first z990. On the new one, it takes about 24 shots before slowing down.
* Ability to shoot nice pictures in low-light conditions makes capturing a silhouette more tricky. I tried several times to catch dark strawberry plants and trees against a dark blue sky. - They came out obviously green and surprisingly detailed!

Other comments:
* Decent battery life - take well over 100 pictures and a few videos between charges. ... Included batteries are 2100mAH. When I use my 2300mAH energizer nimhs, I get well over 200 pictures plus a few videos!
* Batteries do fit a little snug when you try to close the compartment. But not too bad.
* Built in HDR processing is a nice feature, but often accuses you of moving the camera if there is too much movement in the scene. Does not handle moving objects (such as a kid riding a bike) as originally advertised. ... Instead of multiple images of the kid showing up, I just get a few ghostly smears.
* The icons for different modes and affects are bigger, and more detailed. In some ways I like being able to see a sample of what "children" are. But I am not a fan of having to scroll to the next screen to see the rest of the options.

Overall I like this camera and will probably keep it. But the color quality is disappointing compared to my z1012.

By the way ... Kodak told me there will be NO remote for this camera. They said it was a bug for them to list it on their site. ... You might want to look into that.

As a mechanical engineer I particularly appreciate good design. This camera is loaded with it. It can be used easily as a "point and shoot" camera, or maually by a more experienced photographer.

The 30X OPTICAL zoom lens is spectacular. Sure, it might not be quite up to SLR standards, but the pictures I get while SLR owners are struggling changing lenses make a big difference. I have been taking photos for decades, and virtually any lens with the name Schneider has always been a good one.

Important to me, since I take lots of photos of kids and animals, is the short time between shutter push and the photo being taken. It adapts well to changing situations.

Many cameras have no eyepiece viewer, and in bright sunlight can hardly be used because the viewing screen appears so dim. Not so with this camera. Although the direct view could be of better quality and include a diopter admustment, it is so much better than trying to compose a photo in the bright sunlight using an almost invisible viewing screen.

I love to do available light photography. I have never seen a camera with such great low light ability. Sometimes it is almost as though it had "night vision." I normally set the camera to the "No flash" setting.

I think this camera might be a little too technical for first time users unless they are willing to get to know the camera and its capabilities as they go.

I read a review of a comparable Canon offering, and they criticized the lens for purple fringing -- NOT a problem with my camera.

I still carry a small "point and shoot" camera, but when I get serious about taking photos, I lean on this camera.

This camera seems to have the ability to do just about anything I want it to, including making HD video.

If you take a photo at the wide angle setting (28mm equivalent) and then take one at the highest telephoto setting (840mm equivalent) you will likely be amazed.

I recommend this camera highly.

Low light pics are really amazing with this camera. I took a pic in my family room taken at 8:30 at night in smart mode with no flash and the room lit by only the light coming through the doorway from the kitchen and the TV. While I realize you wouldn't want to take pics of people at the shutter speed selected by smart mode (.3), the pic came out with the room appearing as though it was 2 pm on a sunny day.

Some reviews have said you can't save settings when you shut off the camera but that is not completely true. If you shoot in PASM modes it will save your settings in those modes even if you switch modes or shut off the camera. While it may not save settings in "scenes" and special features (like shooting fireworks or sunsets) those are preset anyway as soon as you dial to them.

I am no photo expert but the menus seem very intuitive and easy to navigate.

The main reason I bought this camera is that it gives me a lot of versatility with its zoom and low light capacity. I hate flash photography and I like a lot of sports and outdoor action shots of family and friends.

The zoom is 30X optical while in smart mode and another 5x digital zoom when shooting in PASM modes (which allow you to override a host of presets that you can't do (except to shut off the flash) in smart mode. Though you cannot zoom manually, the toggle for the zoom is on a ring surrounding the shutter button and very easy to use without taking your eyes off the subject of your pictures. It responds instantly and does not require you to zoom in and out to get where you want like my old digital camera (Sony Cybershot DSC-S70).

Very little lag between pushing the shutter button and the pic being taken imo, especially in low light where you'd expect the camera to think about it for a while before shooting. As for complaints that you have to wait until the preview pic goes away you can easily overcome that by pushing the shutter button half way which clears the screen and allows you to take another pic right away.

One other thing. I would never buy a camera without a view finder in addition to the lcd screen and the z990, besides having a very bright 3" lcd which is excellent, has an EVR (electronic view finder) with all the same info you get on the lcd and which is very useful in bright sun when you cannot see the lcd. If you want to use the EVR instead you just hit a button to the top left of the lcd and the lcd turns off and the EVR on.

Though I am no expert at photography I have taken thousands of pics over the years with my trusty Konica Autoreflex TC SLR and my Sony point and shoot. But from what I can see this new Kodak offering beats them by far. I really think I am going to enjoy this camera.