Review on 📸 Enhanced Kodak Easyshare Z1285 12.0 MP Digital Camera featuring 5x Optical Zoom by Bret Wong

Background: This is my third Kodak camera. I wanted this to complement my Z612 which is too big to fit comfortably in my pocket. That should be my portable solution. I do a lot of amateur photography and several photos have been used in publications. First, there aren't many dishes on the menu. For example, the last two Kodak cameras had the option to disable digital zoom. There just aren't many fine-tuning options in the menu. I took the same shot in 12MP and 9MP 16:9 and they were about the same. (By the way, I have an ultra-sharp LCD). In fact, I have a slight fondness for the 9 megapixel capture. You don't have to bother with CCD, pixels and all, but you might be better off with this lower value. 2777 photos fit on an 8GB card. General Photos: I took random shots of the inside and outside. Some while walking, driving, standing/sitting and even with the camera on a flat surface. Almost all photos are grainy, washed out or colorless. I also tried different scene options like macro (flower), text, panorama, landscape, night portrait, etc. Funnily enough, the panoramic shot is the sharpest - even when compared to the same subject as the standard image. It's neat but definitely not flawless in seam alignment. When I increased the maximum optical zoom (5x), I couldn't get a clear picture most of the time without placing the camera on a flat surface. I'm also a pretty stable person. Even with a normal zoom there is a lot of blur. If I wanted photos like this, I would borrow a Panasonic Lumix from my wife. The camera performs very poorly in low light - much worse than my z612. I was hoping that a lower MP would help a little, but no. Video: Even worse than the z612, which is pretty bad to begin with. The picture twitches (it does not tremble even in manual work, but twitches back and forth in numbers), there are also flashes of light that happen without any reason. The audio is poor, and like the Z612, when you zoom in/out or the autofocus kicks in, you can hear it in the last video - it sounds like gears grinding. The only places this camera excels is in well-lit portraits and landscapes. I wouldn't use it for video, macro, action, or low light. This will probably be my last Kodak. I would return it but I want it for an upcoming trip. In addition, it is an additional camera that is easy to carry. I wouldn't recommend this for a main camera.