The EasyShare Z650 is a welcomed addition to Kodak’s “Z” series line of super-zoom models. Offering great image quality, good performance, and a great deal of versatility with its 10x optical zoom and wide range of exposure modes, the Z650 offers an excellent “bang for your buck” with an MSRP of US$349! So, if you’re in the market for a full featured, affordable super- zoom model, be sure you check this one out.

With its full range of exposure options, the Z740 would be a great choice for novices who want to grow their skills, while experienced users will immediately appreciate the more advanced features it has to offer. On the down side, the Power switch and popping flash are annoying and the lack of image stabilization makes the 10x zoom less useful under any but the best conditions. More puzzling, Movie mode delivers a lot less than we’ve come to expect from Kodak.

We can be concise about the final results: they are pretty good. The image quality is good and the automatic white balance generally works well. The colours look realistic and powerful and the portrait setting also gives good results with very natural skin tones.

Kodak apparently strained to hit its price point with the EasyShare Z650, leaving out image stabilization and skimping on the LCD in favor of the lavish electronic viewfinder. We think that the real problem with the camera is its lack of custom white balance – the only piece missing from a very good manual control implementation and a Kodak Color Science Chip.

A decent advanced camera that really only has its 10X zoom as a point of differentiation.