Kodak PIXPRO Astro Zoom AZ252-WH 16MP Digital Camera with 25X Optical Zoom and 3" LCD (White)

I think most, if not all, of the negative reviews talking about issues with auto focus have been user error. This is not exactly a point and shoot camera. The main thing thats easy to overlook is that you have to hold the shutter button down halfway until the square on the screen turns green, then you push it the rest of the way down. If you dont do that, the AF doesnt work as intended. If a standard point and shoot is what youre looking for, you probably wont love this camera. But if you dont mind learning how to play with the settings a bit and recognize that its a learning process, this camera is capable of really amazing pictures. I definitely didnt want something too complicated, but I wanted more than a point and shoot, and this is a nice compromise, especially for the price. Of course Im sure its not going to produce the quality of the more expensive DSLR cameras, but Im not a pro, I just want decent pictures of my son that my generic Android smart phone cant produce, and this more than fits the bill. And like I said, I wasnt impressed with the point and shoot cameras in my price range, especially with a fast moving toddler in a variety of scenes. I needed something with more customizable features and this camera fits my needs exactly.

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Takes great photos. Has a decent size screen. Wide screen so you can get more in the photo. Has a nice trip to hold it. I recommend a tripod for better photo quality. Comes with neck strap and a lens cap and a USB to plug it into your laptop. I can edit photos too. Has a bunch of scene modes. Even one for dogs and cats. Can take video.

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Purchased this as a gift for my daughter, primarily for the zoom and the auto focus pictures, but there are lots of other cool pictures. She complained from the beginning that it didnt take good pictures. I didnt believe her initially, but I have tried several times to take close ups/zoom and even distant pics, but I have not been impressed at all with the auto focus. My phone camera takes better pictures, disappointed for the price I paid. I will keep reading the directions, but I have purchased several similar cameras over my lifetime, this has been one of the poorer auto focus cameras.

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This camera is a bit hard to compare given how few major brand models are still available (Kodak Pixpro is a 3rd party generic which licensed the brand name). The overall image quality is slightly beneath what you used to get from a Canon, but current Canon models in this range and a little higher have almost no manual controls. So the upside here is manual controls at a lower price which fits the image quality. Not bad. My biggest complaint is that the auto-focus can get confused and, despite having a manual mode with both aperture and shutter speed control, there is no manual focus. When taking a macro picture, it constantly focused slightly behind where I wanted it (despite setting it to center/spot). I had to pre-focus with a half press and then slide the camera back. Being able to set a long shutter time to get night shots is normally a benefit of manual controls, but when its a distant shot at night the auto focus cant find anything to focus on so you get a well-exposed blur. No way to set it manually, not even a forced infinity toggle. This would be nothing but a menu option in a camera which already has numerous on-screen settings (eg, the auto/macro menu which pops up), but I guess whoever designed this just didnt know that this is something you might need. Its still not a bad deal if you want a long zoom during the day and wont be doing macro shots too close.

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I was looking for a low priced portrait camera when I purchased this one. All 50 pics I have taken so far are very soft focused. I have done everything and read all I could to make this camera auto focus. I have had several mid priced cameras that worked better than this one. I agree with another reviewer that my cell phone takes better pics. What good are lots of fancy features when the auto focus is missing? This one is going back, I think I will try a Nikon low end next.

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I bought the first PixPro and it had a focus problem. I know how to focus a camera, but no matter the distance... closeup, zoom, normal ... there was no sharp or crispness to any of the photos. I returned it and got a second one. The focus wasnt as bad ... but what was worse was the lens squealing when you zoom in and out. I tried recording, and sure enough we could hear the lens squeal as we watched the video. Oye. My ancient Kodak Easyshare camera does a lot better with both. I learned from another reviewer that the Kodak PixPro isnt really from Kodak but it is licensed to use the Kodak name. Is this true? I didt research it to find out for sure, but that would explain some things. ;-)

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This is a very nice camera for the price. It is well made, works well, and is easy to operate but standard alkaline do not last very long. Be sure to carry extra batteries with you especially if you intend to record very many videos.

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This camera does not have view finder. Cannot see image in the screen if sun behind you. Even trying to shade the screen. Very difficult to take pics with back light. If you zoom, better have tripod or such, the pics will be blurry. My obsolete kodak that looked very similar to this one, beat this one hands down. Especially with zoomed pics. My dummy self would not have bought this if I had known NO viewfinder.

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Its a nice camera but the battery use is high. The batteries it came with literally lasted 10 minutes of use. When I put in NEW rechargeable batteries it always shows 1/2 charge and lasts only about 30 minutes. Ive tried several brands rechargeable and nonrechargeable with always the same result and I bought 2 of these cameras. At this rate the battery purchases are just too costly.

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It is a good camera overall. It takes good pictures and is easy to use. However, I put in 4 new AA batteries and after a day of using the camera they needed to be replaced.

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