Pros: Low price, 10x optical zoom, uses 2 AA batteries, good photos, easy to use
Cons: Slow operation, annoying joystick, no image stabilization, noisy ISO 400-800
The bottom line: The Kodak Z650 is a good budget mega-zoom camera. It features usable 10x optical zoom and produces sharp and vivid photos. It does its job...
After using the popular Kodak EasyShare Z740, I wanted to see how the updated model (Z650) works. The Kodak EasyShare Z650 is even cheaper than the model it replaced was a year ago. I bought the Z650 for $237, whereas the Z740 cost me $264 a year ago. The Z650 increases the resolution from the 5MP of the Z740 to 6MP and the LCD from 1.8 to 2 inches across.

Just as the Z740 was relatively cheap comparing to its competition, the Z650 is cheaper than the mega-zoom cameras from Sony, Canon and Panasonic: Sony H2 and Sony H5, Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7.

But the Z650 lacks the feature the other cameras above have: optical image stabilization. Do you get what you pay for? Let's find out.

What is Kodak Z650?

The Kodak Z650 is a 6-Megapixel digital camera that has a 10x optical zoom (38-380 mm equivalent focal length), stores images in the internal 32 MB of flash memory or on SD/MMC memory cards. It has a USB port for transferring your images to your computer or printers and an EasyShare dock connection.

The camera runs on 2 AA-type batteries or a single larger CRV3 disposable battery (supplied). The camera has an adaptor that lets you use 55mm filters. The camera has automatic, scene modes and manual modes such as Aperture, Shutter Priority and Manual mode.

The camera has ISO range of 80-800, shutter speed range 8-1/1,700 sec. (more on it later) and aperture ranges of f/2.8-8.0 at wide angle, f/3.7-8.0 at telephoto.

Build Quality and Ergonomics

The Z650 feels solid; its case is made of plastic that seems relatively durable. The fit and finish are less refined as the cameras by major competitors. The plastic looks and feels cheaper than its competitors. The memory card door is slightly flimsy. I see little improvement here over the previous model.

The camera has a convenient handgrip and the shutter release has reassuring feel to it. The shutter release button itself is rather large.

The camera uses a small joystick for menu navigation and as an OK button when pushed. I dislike it. It is difficult to be precise with it and sometimes it misunderstands your intentions. It is especially bothersome when you have to change something in a hurry. It is the same design element that annoyed me in the Z740 and it still does in the Z650.

The menu system uses large icons and is relatively easy to use, but there are short delays in its operation (nothing major). The menu system is typical Kodak: easy to use, but not particularly fast in operation or navigation. I like Panasonic menus better.

The camera lets you select parameters (aperture, shutter speed, etc.) directly on the screen in the manual modes (Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual) as well as exposure compensation without using menus by just using the joystick. I like the concept, but the joystick itself could be better executed. The directional buttons on other cameras work better for me.

Blurry Pictures

The Z650 features a 10x Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon optical zoom lens, which means you can zoom in 10x without loosing any resolution. This is good news. The bad news is not all potential buyers of monster-zoom cameras know that if you use this kind of magnification, you cannot get sharp pictures at full magnification (telephoto) if the camera is handheld and the subject is not brightly lit.

The camera has a zoom, equivalent to 38-380 mm, which means at full telephoto shooting handheld, the shutter speed should be no longer than 1/500-1/350 sec. (if you hold camera very well and push the shutter release button smoothly). I discovered that in bright daylight, focusing on the relatively bright objects at full telephoto, the camera needed to use 1/350 sec. shutter speed (at its widest aperture of f/3.7 but lowest ISO of 80), which caused images that were usable at small print sizes, but looked slightly blurry at full resolution, which prevents you from cropping or making large prints.

In less that bright daylight or at narrower apertures, the shutter speeds needed will be slower, which will cause more blur. This means you have use a tripod to get sharp pictures at full telephoto, or use higher ISOs (ISO 100, 200, 400 or 800). The problem with tripods is the fact that you have to carry one around and attach the camera to it, which is not always practical. The problem with using higher sensitivity (ISO) is image noise, which gets visible at ISO 200 and bothersome at ISO 400-800.

If you plan on using a camera at full 10x magnification at a soccer game or anywhere else where the tripod is impractical and the lighting is far from ideal, you will be much better served by the camera with optical image stabilization. Which is the reason Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Konica-Minolta and others use optical image stabilizers in their monster-zoom cameras. And that is one of the reasons those cameras are more expensive than this Kodak Z650.

As an example, when I used the Panasonic FZ7 (12x optical zoom), it let me take pictures at full telephoto at speed as slow as 1/100-1/60 handheld with no blur. Which means it can be used at much worse lighting conditions than the Z650 and still get sharp photos.

Aside from this issue, the camera produces sharp pictures throughout its zoom range with only slight blurring in corners at telephoto end. So if you can use a tripod or any stationary surface to support the camera and use its timer to avoid the shake associated with depressing the shutter release button itself.

Resolutions

The camera lets you select between several resolutions up to 6MP. Since the memory cards are now cheaper than ever, I used 6MP almost exclusively.

Movie Mode

You can select one of two resolution modes: 640x480 and 320x240. The video at 640x480 was jerky (low refresh rate or 11 fps), whereas at 320x240 it was more fluid (20 fps), but still not to the digital camcorder level. The zoom does not work in movie mode (supposedly to avoid noise of the zooming motor).

Startup and Shutdown

The camera takes about 3 seconds to start up and extend its lens. The shutdown takes also about 3 seconds, but if the buffer is full, it may take much longer for the camera to flush it to the memory.

Disappointing Shooting Speed

I was disappointed with the Z740’s shooting speed and the Z650 is better, but still has catching up to do. The camera is slow in processing images and writing them to a memory card (or to internal memory). The same happens with a regular-speed and a fast SD memory card or when writing to the built-in flash memory. I used both a fast Kingston Elite Pro 512 MB SD Card and a regular-speed Kingston 512 SD Card.

The shot-to-shot speed was OK at about 1.5 seconds without flash, 2-3 seconds with flash. But once you fill the buffer, the camera slows down. It takes 8-10 seconds to flash its buffer onto the memory card, during which time you have to wait.

The camera has a burst mode. In this mode, I was able to take 4 photos at 3 per second (which is good), but then the camera slowed down to flash its buffer onto the memory card and I was able to resume taking pictures 10 seconds later.

Shutter Lag

The Z650 takes the picture almost instantly if pre-focused. Including autofocus, the shutter lag can be as short as less than a second.

Focusing

The camera focuses fast in good light and/or up close. But in low light at distances more than 1 meter (3 feet), it took more than a second to obtain the focus without the AF light. With the AF light, the camera focuses fast at close distances (up to 9-10 feet).

The focusing slows down at telephoto, but not to a point of being annoying. It seems better than the focusing of Sony H1, but slower than Panasonic FZ7.

Zooming

The camera zooms reasonably fast and the zooming is precise, letting you frame the shot the way you like it. The zooming is pretty responsive too.

Manual Control

You can control the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance and more in the camera's different modes (A, S, M, etc.)

Battery

The camera uses two AA batteries. I used my 2300 mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries that lasted for more than an hour of shooting, reviewing and deleting images with no sign of depletion. I suggest you get an extra pair of AA batteries if you intend on shooting more than 250-300 pictures.

LCD and Viewfinder

The camera has a 2-inch LCD screen and an electronic viewfinder (EVF). Both offer close to 100% coverage, are fluid and have decent resolution. They are fluid even in dark environments and gain-up (increase brightness) in the dark, helping you frame the shot better.

Computer Connectivity

I did not have to install any drivers on my Windows 2000 SP4 computer and could use the supplied USB cable in a matter of seconds. Obviously, you can also use a memory card reader.

Image Quality

The Z650 has a wide range of adjustments, but out of the box produces images that are sharp, have good contrast and are richly-saturated (sometimes too much for my taste). You can easily change the saturation by selecting Natural saturation.

The lens produces some chromatic aberration (not much), that I don't find too bothersome. The lens also has some blurring in corners at telephoto, but nothing too noticeable and not more than the competitors. Usually, at such high magnification levels, you are amazed to see the object so upclose and do not even notice the slight blurriness in corners.

The images are slightly too colorful and too contrasty out of the box, but this is what most consumers like.

Competition

A couple of better (and more expensive) competitors include Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7. Obviously at $60-170 more than the Z740, they are not similar in price. But they do provide much more: optical image stabilization is essential if you intend on shooting handheld at high zoom levels. They also provide 12x optical zoom versus 10x of the Z740. And their operation is significantly faster. I especially like the FZ7, which is very similar to the S3 IS for $100 less.

Pros

Low price for a 10x optical zoom. Good optics, features, fast lens (f/2.8 at wide angle, f/3.7 at telephoto), uses two AA batteries, filter adaptor, built-in 32 MB memory, easy to use, nice-looking photos.

Cons

Slow operation, annoying joystick, no image stabilization.

Bottom Line

The Kodak Z650 is a good budget mega-zoom camera. It features usable 10x optical zoom and produces sharp and vivid photos. It does its job well enough, but if you intend on shooting a lot of pictures at high optical zoom levels with no tripod, a camera with an optical image stabilization (e.g. Canon PowerShot S3 IS or Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7) may be a better choice, at $60-170 more. They also have larger screens and faster operation.