Kodak PixPro AZ405 Mini-review
Death to digital zoom
July 31 2025
The other week, my brother found a point-and-shoot camera similar to mine for a great price. He's been wanting to get into photography like me. I wanted to try his out, so I used it for a quick minute, and made this short review. It is not extensive and does not have categories like my typical reviews, but I have managed to assemble my thoughts in the times I have been able to use it. Here's a quick pros/cons review!
The Camera
PROS
- Good colors in Baphomet comparison below, less of a noticeable tint in the comparison shots (could've gotten lucky in auto settings).
- The manual settings are a boon- I won't a big "scene" user the better I get with photography.
- Image stabilization is pretty good!
- Good zoom too, twice as much as my L120.
- Although at a lower resolution, you can take panoramas without having to assemble them outside the camera.
CONS
- SO CLUNKY (some of it may be that it's used). The interface is laggy (especially on higher ISOs).
- Zoom in dial does not feel good. It's slow to focus, the shutter button is very sensitive, and face buttons are stiff. It feels like they cheaped out on materials and the processor in some cases.
- Macro focus is subpar: Why does the Autofocus GET IT RIGHT while it's adjusting itself, and then decide a blurrier focus is what it will stick with?? Don't give me that beep, bitch! The L120 does suffer from this every now and then, but it's more frequent on this camera.
- Judging by the photos I've taken and my experience with the interface, this camera has a tendency to overexpose things *by default*. That probably contributes to the viewfinder display's lag (Maybe not lag per se, but the low frame rate brought about by it is not pleasant).
- The higher megapixel count of 20 does not equate to higher sharpness- It seems a bit blurrier and it makes me glad the L120 is sharp enough with just 14 megapixels.
PROS
- Good colors in Baphomet comparison below, less of a noticeable tint in the comparison shots (could've gotten lucky in auto settings).
- The manual settings are a boon- I won't a big "scene" user the better I get with photography.
- Image stabilization is pretty good!
- Good zoom too, twice as much as my L120.
- Although at a lower resolution, you can take panoramas without having to assemble them outside the camera.
CONS
- SO CLUNKY (some of it may be that it's used). The interface is laggy (especially on higher ISOs).
- Zoom in dial does not feel good. It's slow to focus, the shutter button is very sensitive, and face buttons are stiff. It feels like they cheaped out on materials and the processor in some cases.
- Macro focus is subpar: Why does the Autofocus GET IT RIGHT while it's adjusting itself, and then decide a blurrier focus is what it will stick with?? Don't give me that beep, bitch! The L120 does suffer from this every now and then, but it's more frequent on this camera.
- Judging by the photos I've taken and my experience with the interface, this camera has a tendency to overexpose things *by default*. That probably contributes to the viewfinder display's lag (Maybe not lag per se, but the low frame rate brought about by it is not pleasant).
- The higher megapixel count of 20 does not equate to higher sharpness- It seems a bit blurrier and it makes me glad the L120 is sharp enough with just 14 megapixels.
Here's a comparison between the L120 and the AZ405. I could not get the exact settings on the L120, but I was within one or two digits in most cases. You'll have to try to compare them yourself.
The lack of a manual focus on point-and-shoot cameras is starting to annoy me. I can not rely on the autofocus all the time. That said, I'm willing to buy a CoolPix P950 at some point, so the zoom on the AZ, while twice as much as my L120, will be blown out of the water anyway. Digital zoom doesn't count. Death to digital zoom.
Out of five stars? Maybe like a 3-3.5. I WOULD recommend it as a daily driver camera. It takes good photos (certainly good enough for a regular user), it has many options for a point-and-shoot camera, and it's on par with the CoolPix in multiple ways. But, it does not feel nearly as sharp and snappy as the CoolPix L120, and the fact that I am comparing a 2019 camera against a 2011 camera, and how the features I praise it for are only praised because the L120 doesn't have them, suggests that maybe a different camera is a better choice. A snappy interface comes a long way for me. Most people would not think anything of it, but for me, I need that extra assurance that whatever I want to do right away, the camera can do right away.