And so we get to the Z650. Although it offers some real improvements over the Z740 (better picture quality, larger screen), it's more evolutionary than radical. Like its predecessor it's actually a very nice camera, and an easy and (usually) enjoyable one to use, and the color is typical Kodak - rich, vivid and generally very accurate. It's also very compact, has excellent photographic controls and is very easy to use. The results won't win it any awards for detail or sharpness, but - once you've spent a few days with it and learned its foibles - the Z650 is capable of a very high hit rate, and unless you print at sizes above 5x7 inches the output is perfectly tuned for the target market.
But in the final analysis the Z650 - like the Olympus SP-500UZ - falls between two stools. The price is undoubtedly keen, but there needs to be much more clear blue water between it and models such as the Panasonic FZ7, which you can get for around $40 more - less than the price of a decent steak dinner. And the FZ7 will give you sharper results, a higher level of specification and - crucially - optical image stabilization (not to mention a better aperture range and higher zoom factor). And if you act quickly you could pick up a Konica Minolta Z6 for even less. And if the Z650 is aimed at the 'point and shoot' brigade then surely they don't need all those manual controls, and would be happier with something pocketable like the new Panasonic TZ1 - or even Kodak's own recently announced V610?
Taken on its own the Z650 is a perfectly good camera, one capable of perfectly good results, and one that offers perfectly good value for money. Unfortunately perfectly good just isn't enough in a market this competitive, and the Z650 suffers by comparison to some of its competitors, and because in attempting to 'dumb down' the feature set of the DX line Kodak cut too many important features without offering much in exchange. I'm sure it will sell well (Kodak is no small player in this market), and I'm sure those who buy it will be perfectly happy, but I would certainly look at the alternatives before handing over my money for the Z650.
Above Average
