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Kodak EasyShare Z650
Reviewed by
Philip Ryan
on 07/05/2006
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Add to my list Product summary

The good: Full manual exposure controls; 10X optical zoom.

The bad: No image stabilization; noticeable fringing and artifacts; ISO 800 not available at full resolution; no manual white balance or focus; choppy video.

The bottom line: This budget superzoom's price will garner interest, but the Kodak EasyShare Z650's performance and image quality will ward off enthusiasts.

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  • Reviewed by:
    Philip Ryan
  • Reviewed on: 07/05/2006
  • Released on: 01/17/2006
You'd expect Kodak to cut some corners with its budget-conscious superzoom, the EasyShare Z650, and you'd be right. Unlike the more expensive Kodak EasyShare Z612, which includes a 12X optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization, the EasyShare Z650 comes with a 10X optical, 38mm-to-380mm (35mm equivalent), f/2.8-to-f/3.7 lens without image stabilization. On the one hand, the fast maximum aperture of the EasyShare Z650's lens makes it useful for low-light shooting, but we expect to find image stabilization on a camera with such a long zoom lens.

One-handed shooting is definitely possible with the prominent, rubber-accented right-hand grip, though we found that our pinkie fingers were left dangling uncomfortably. A rubber ring on the lens barrel provides a perfect left-hand grip, which should help when shooting at longer focal lengths. Dedicated buttons for flash, macro/landscape mode, and drive mode sit atop the grip, along with the shutter button and on/off switch.

All other controls, including the mode dial, are on the camera's back. A small five-way joystick in the middle of the mode dial lets you navigate and select from the easy to navigate menu system. Depending on the mode you choose, the joystick also lets you change camera settings on the LCD, including shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, and ISO. Strangely, program, aperture- and shutter-priority, and manual modes all occupy one spot on the mode dial and can be selected using the LCD in the same manner as the aforementioned settings.

Metering options include multipattern, center weighted, and spot, and they can be tweaked with as much as plus or minus 2EV exposure compensation. Focus can be set to multizone, center-spot, or full auto, but manual focus is not available. As with most of the cameras in Kodak's Z series, sensitivity ranges from ISO 80 to ISO 400, with a boost mode that gives you ISO 800 at a reduced resolution of 1.7 megapixels.

Video lovers should note that this camera's video-capture mode can serve up only 11fps at 640x480 pixels, or 20fps at 320x240 pixels. Either way, that's well short of the 30fps of regular TV, making for choppy video if you choose to use that feature.

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Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

  • alaTest.com

    Editors' rating: 87

    Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 661 reviews of Kodak EasyShare Z650 from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 71/100 and users 86/100. Comparing these reviews to 540866 other Digital Compact Cameras reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 87/100 = Very Good.

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  • dpreview.com

    Summary: When Kodak launched it's first 'SLR-like' super zoom, the DX6490, back in 2003 it was entering a much less crowded marketplace, and one where it held an ace up its sleeve; a highly competitive price point (and, to be fair, a comprehensive feature list).

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  • newbie.org

    Editors' rating: 100

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  • whatdigitalcamera.com

    Summary: Despite a general lack of true style and panache both inside and out, the Z650 offers some impressive specs and an extremely favourable level of imaging prowess

    Read full review

  • neocamera.com

    Editors' rating: 50

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  • digitalcamerainfo.com

    Editors' rating: 89

    Summary: The Kodak EasyShare Z650 brings a lot of features and controls to a compact SLR-inspired digital camera that pairs a simple and understated camera interface, and menu system with more advanced manual control. The advantage to this pure point-and-shoot ...

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Kodak EasyShare Z650

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