KODAK PIXPRO WPZ2 Rugged Waterproof Shockproof Dustproof WiFi Digital Camera 16MP 4X Optical Zoom 1080P Full HD Video Vlogging Camera 2.7" LCD (Blue)

I wanted an easy-to-use camera to capture family vacation in the Bahamas, including snorkeling in the ocean and swimming in a water park. This camera performed surprisingly well taking descent photos in a variety of conditions over a week of intense use.Hardware:Self-contained waterproof camera rather than a traditional camera with a water proof case. Reasonable LCD although not the highest resolution. I was pleasantly surprised that digital images actually were crisper when viewing later on a phone or computer as opposed to on the camera screen.Ease of use:Take some time to get to know how to change modes from underwater to action shots before diving into the ocean. The menus are not easy to navigate on the fly if you are not prepared. Also the screen can be a bit hard to see underwater. Particularly while swimming, I took lots of photos and went back later to see how well I got the shot as opposed to looking at the image on the LCD.Photo quality:Attached a few photos of different lighting/photography conditions. For the most part, I was going for underwater photos. On sunny days, these water photos had good quality and the camera did well with autofocus. Lower light conditions in seaweed and rain gave rather muted murky photos. I had not expected to use the camera as much above water and was pleasantly surprised that this worked well in action mode for water slides and tubing. I did not take videos (save one of sharks) though there is the capability in the camera menus.Battery:Here is my one complaint! The battery that came with the camera has a small capacity 800 mAh. I used the small-capacity 800 mAh battery on the first day, and the camera seemed sluggish and slow to respond underwater. I had purchased a 1200 mAh battery with charger mostly to avoid having to charge the camera with a cable rather than charging the batteries (personal preference): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMWHFMDX?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 . These large-capacity 1200 mAh batteries seemed to make all the difference being able to take a full day of photos and having a better camera response time. Either low or high capacity battery, don't expect this to respond quickly like a DSLR. The Kodak is much more like early days of point and shoot digital cameras in an underwater version.

So far the Kodak Pixpro WPZ2 has been working as expected. It takes decent snapshots. The accompanying image is downsized from 4608x3456 to 900x675 pixels. So, it really doesn't represent the possible resolution. but shows the color and contrast. It has a nice wide angle default image and somewhat decent optical zoom to 4X. As it is with most digital devices, going beyond that into digital zoom isn't valuable to me. It comes with a brief starter manual. You can easily find the full manual online to unlock all of the capabilities.. I added a cheap plastic screen protector for the back because the glass is pretty exposed. I'd say that with an inexpensive 32 gig microSD memory card and a second battery, you'd be pretty set to take a week's worth of photos on a trip. I generally don't do much with videos but they are ok for this sort of camera.One issue with the features is that the Wifi is for connecting to a cell phone app to show pictures via your phone. From what I've found, I can't simply download images to my PC with the camera's Wifi. It has a supplied USB cord for that or you can transfer them from the memory card.So, the two shots are unaltered. One is wide angle and the other is full 24X of the same building. Another issue is that the protective glass over the lens can very easily get a greasy fingerprint on it. So, if you can find some kind of lens cap, it would be a good addition.Added 2/14/25 We took this camera on our recent cruise and I had a chance to take some underwater shots in underwater mode. Some photos included.

I wanted a true point and shoot camera for upcoming trips and for some field work. I don't like cameras that take two hands to manipulate. This cameral really fills the bill. It is rugged, the battery holds a charge, the controls are intuitive. Additionally, it boots up quickly. It is an excellent unit.It has a unique wireless connection to a smartphone. It has its own wifi router that allows the smartphone user to remotely manipulate the unit. It also allows for wireless download from the camera to the smartphone.The only downside (and I would buy another one of these if they fix this problem,) is the connection to the PC. It does not allow wireless connection to a PC. In order to connect to a PC a USB connection is required. That by itself is not a huge deal, but the USB connector is not the new type C connector that virtually has taken over the world, it is a USB type B connector. Thus, in order to download photos to a PC, the user may have to do some shopping to get the right connector. Yes, one is included, but I would rather have everything in my kit be interchangeable.It comes with only one battery pack, so if the battery goes bad, the user is out of luck. It would be more useable if it used regular batteries that can be purchased anywhere-even in third world countries. If one is in a place where the only electricity is 220V, (say Europe), an additional adapter would be required. I take a pocket charger with me when I use it for just this contingency.Summary-an excellent camera I just wish someone from the design department had talked to a user.

I bough a cheaper one for my grand daughter. Stopped working at 6 hours.This is twice the price but a bargain for the performance.Do not forget to buy the memory.

It’s so small it’s hard to take pictures with

Used once at the beach then once under water. It didn't work properly then stopped working. Won't even turn on. Unfortunately bought it for vacations so out of return date.Previously owned a Fuji underwater camera that worked great for alot uses over years. It's not available anymore so bought this camera thinking Kodak is a well known name so it should be good quality.Would not recommend this camera.