Kodak EasyShare Z650

Manual Control Options
With the exception of the exposure compensation setting found in the auto mode, the manual controls for the Kodak EasyShare Z650 are found in the PASM shooting modes. The Z650 doesn’t provide a manual focus option, but it does include control over metering, exposure, white balance (although only in presets), image sensitivity, aperture, and shutter speed. The lack of a custom white balance and manual focus will deter photographers seeking full manual control. At the price of the Z650, consumers can find alternate options like the Canon PowerShot A630 that include control over white balance which will greatly improve the color accuracy in photographs, regardless of lighting source.

Focus
Auto Focus (6.0)
There are several auto focus settings on the Kodak EasyShare Z650 . Within the shooting menu of the PASM modes, there are two AF mode options for both AF control and focus zone while in all other modes only the AF control parameter is listed. When opened, the AF control option reveals options for continuous or single AF shooting. The focus zone sub-menu only found within the PASM modes allows shooting in either multi-zone or center-zone. The multi-zone focus option evaluates three zones to provide the focal setting while the center-zone evaluates a small area in the center of the composition and is mostly used when attempting to focus on a very specific subject. Auto focus is set by the user when the shutter is pressed halfway, a setting method that will be familiar to all point-and-shoot photographers. The auto focus will be set when and only when the frame switches from light blue to bright green. If auto focus cannot be set, a red flashing dot and AF symbol will appear in the upper right corner of the LCD. Auto focus performed competently in well-lit situations and adjusted in just around a second. However, when auto focus was forced into lower lighting or more complicated scenes, the resulting AF time slowed to several seconds.

Manual Focus (0.0)
There is no manual focus option when shooting with the Kodak EasyShare Z650.

Metering (7.25)
The Kodak EasyShare Z650 does feature manual control over exposure metering with three possible settings that can handle more complex lighting situations. The metering options for the Z650 are listed in the exposure-metering sub-menu of the shooting mode menu. The options allow for selection between multi-pattern, center-weighted and center-spot modes. These options will adjust exposure to compensate and meter accurately even when shooting backlit subjects or scenes that are lit by multiple lighting sources. The metering options are only provided when shooting in the PASM modes. While it makes sense to include this option in the mode with the most manual control, it would be nice to find this feature also listed in the menu of the auto mode. It isn’t an overly complicated feature, and novice users would be able to make appropriate adjustments to metering without too much reading or practice.

Exposure (7.5)
Many of the Z650's modes have an exposure compensation system for making overall adjustments to exposure levels. The exposure compensation scale for the Kodak EasyShare Z650 is displayed as a small number with arrows bracketing it vertically and can be adjusted in auto, aperture, shutter speed, and program modes. The scale for this Kodak digital camera is +/-2 and adjustments of 1/3 and 1/4 steps EV (depending on position within the exposure scale) are made by pressing the joystick in the center of the mode dial up or down. The scale can be traversed quickly and beside the joystick being too small the interface isn’t hard to engage or understand. The helpful thing about the exposure compensation feature in the auto mode is that photographers are provided with a continual live view as adjustments are made. This isn’t a possibility with the exposure metering settings in the PASM modes since they are listed within the shooting menu with its unchanging opaque blue background.

White Balance (5.5)
The white balance options for the Kodak EasyShare Z650 are limited. If looking for custom white balance in a point-and-shoot camera, an alternate model like the Canon PowerShot A630, which has the option to shoot in auto, preset and full manual white balance, would be a better choice. The white balance options for the Kodak EasyShare Z650 are only available in the PASM modes, just like adjustments to exposure metering. The white balance options are listed within the shooting menu. Users will have to make selections and leave the menu system to see how changes to white balance affect the final image. This time-wasting design is due to the lack of live view. This is an unfortunate decision since many users might overlook or avoid these features. The white balance options for the Z650 are auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent and open shade. Many point-and-shoot cameras on the market today have, in addition to a custom setting, the possibility of two fluorescent settings, incandescent, and other lighting situations that are easily encountered in the everyday world of snapshot photography.

To see how the Z650's white balance settings performed during testing, refer to the Testing/Performance section of the review.

ISO (5.25)
When shooting in aperture, shutter, and manual modes of the Kodak EasyShare Z650, photographers can manually adjust image sensitivity. ISO alterations can be made in both auto and program modes. The ISO settings for the Z650 are 80, 100, 200 and 400. The ISO symbol and current setting are situated directly above the lower right corner of the LCD screen and can be adjusted once it has been selected by toggling the joystick to the left or right. When highlighted, the joystick can be toggled up or down to move through the ISO range. The small size of the joystick made these adjustments a hassle, and oftentimes, the desired ISO setting was accidentally skipped when trying to adjust quickly. Noise was pronounced at 200 and 400 . For users comfortable with manual controls like shutter speed and aperture, it may be wiser to rely on these options to brighten subjects when capturing in low light situations.

Shutter Speed (5.5)
The shutter speed for the Kodak EasyShare Z650 can only be controlled when the camera is in PASM mode, manual, or shutter priority modes. Along the bottom of the LCD are both the shutter and aperture controls. Adjustment to shutter speed settings can be accomplished by pressing the up and down arrows. The manual shutter speed range is from 8 seconds to 1/1000th of a second.

The problem with making adjustments to the shutter speed parameter is the physical design of the joystick. It’s undersized and when attempting to move through the shutter range quickly, there was a tendency for the joystick to inadvertently move left or right and highlight either aperture or ISO or both. It’s a hassle and an annoyance. Considering the functional design of the camera, ease in menu navigation, and physical layout, the undersized joystick and resulting mistakes are unacceptable. Other than this setback, the actual shutter speed range captures quality images in low light situations without engaging the aggressive pop-up flash.

Aperture (7.0)
Aperture can only be controlled when the Kodak EasyShare Z650 is switched into the manual or aperture priority modes. These listings are located in the lower left corner of the LCD screen and can be cycled through by pressing the joystick up or down when the aperture is selected. The aperture range when in wide-angle will allow the photographer to shoot from f/2.8 to f/8.0. While in telephoto, the range becomes truncated to f/3.7 to f/8.0. As mentioned in the shutter speed section, adjustments to the aperture settings were complicated by the small size of the joystick and the tendency for the control to accidentally slip left or right and highlight instead shooting mode, shutter speed or ISO options.