Kodak PIXPRO Astro Zooms Hands-On Preview

We have a look at Kodak's new Astro Zoom bridge cameras at their launch event held at Warner Brother Studios in Leavesden, near Watford. The Astro Zoom name comes from the huge zoom ranges offered by these cameras, with the largest being a 65x optical zoom providing an angle of view equivalent to a 24-1560mm lens on a 35mm camera. Other models with 52x and 42x zoom ranges will also be available.



All of the cameras sport optical image stabilisation, which will help to steady those enormous equivalent focal lengths and a 24mm wide angle. Wi-Fi connectivity is also a feature which runs through the range, allowing easy sharing of images. Two of the cameras, the AZ651 and AZ526 have an electronic viewfinder for ease of composition and all but the base AZ421 model sport an articulating screen. Just like other bridge cameras, the size of these devices is just smaller than the most compact DSLRs currently available. We didn't manage to get hands on with the AZ421, but managed to handle the AZ651, AZ526 and AZ525 cameras at the event. The AZ651 sports a 65x zoom and the AZ526 and AZ525 are identical, both having a 52x zoom lens, except the AZ525 lacks an electronic viewfinder.

Details of pricing weren't available at the event, but will be released shortly before launch.

Kodak PIXPRO AZ421 Photos of Equipment

Kodak PIXPRO AZ525 Hands-On Photos of Equipment

Kodak PIXPRO AZ526 Hands-On Photos of Equipment

Kodak PIXPRO AZ651 Hands-On Photos of Equipment