Kodak EasyShare Z650 Review
Simon Joinson, April 2006

Review based on a production Kodak EasyShare Z650

Announced at CES in January 2006, the EasyShare Z650 replaces the Z740 at the top of the Kodak's affordable super zoom range, and offers a lower cost, lower specified alternative to the 'professional' P850. The changes over the previous model are fairly modest; the pixel count increases from 5 to 6MP and the lens is now a Schneider Variogon (as opposed to the Z740's Kodak Retinar) - though it looks suspiciously similar. The new model also gets a bigger (though lower resolution) LCD screen, a few new scene modes and a live histogram. It may have a budget price, but the Z650 boasts a comprehensive set of shooting options and Kodak's famous ease of use, though it is one of the few models in this class not to offer any form of image stabilization.

• Schneider Kreuznach Variogon (38-380mm equiv.) 10x optical zoom lens
• 6.0 million effective pixels
• Exclusive Kodak Color Science Image Processing Chip
• 2.0" indoor/outdoor display
• High resolution Electronic viewfinder
• Manual and semi-automatic controls
• High-speed, low-light auto focus
• 17 scene modes
• One-touch simple sharing
• MPEG movie recording

Kodak EasyShare Z650 vs Z740 (main differences)

Aside from the obligatory resolution and screen size increase the changes are minor - though some are very welcome (finer AE compensation steps, live histogram). Externally the two cameras are very very similar (save for the bigger screen and the different badge on the lens).

	EasyShare Z650	EasyShare Z740
Lens	• 10x (38-380mm equiv) • Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon	• 10x (38-380mm equiv) • Kodak Retinar
Sensor	• 1/2.5" CCD • 6.1 million pixels total	• 1/2.5" CCD • 5.4 million pixels total
LCD Screen Size	• 2.0-inch • 110,000 pixels	• 1.8-inch • 134,000 pixels
Scene modes	17	14
Live Histogram	Yes	No
AE Compensation	+ / - 2.0 EV in 0.3 EV steps	+ / - 2.0 EV in 0.5 EV steps
Autofocus	• Multi-zone • Center-Zone	• Multi-zone • Center-Zone • Selectable-Zone
Burst Mode	first burst: 2.5 fps, up to 4 pictures; last burst: 2 fps, saves last 3 pictures	first burst: 2 fps, up to 4 pictures; last burst: 2 fps up to 4 pictures

Kodak EasyShare Z650 key specifications

* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area.

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

This article is Copyright 2006 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.