EasyShare Z650 Timing
Good to average speed for a long-zoom consumer camera.

The Kodak Z650's performance ranges from the slow side of average to very good for a long zoom, depending on what you're trying to do. Start up falls in the average range. Shutter response when the lens is set to its wide angle position is better than average, but at maximum telephoto, it's decidedly slow. If you "prefocus" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure, it's very fast, with a shutter delay of only 0.08 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are average, at 2.61 seconds for large/fine JPEGs. Continuous-mode speed is average, at 1.76 frames/second, for up to four shots in succession before the buffer has to written to the card. The most notable slow point for the Z650 though, comes when it's writing images to its memory card: It can take 30+ seconds to completely clear the four-shot buffer, even with a fast memory card. The flash takes about six seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, about average in terms of time, but better than average when you take the power level of the Z650's flash into account. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast enough that you probably won't feel a need for a separate card reader, but nonetheless aren't as fast as many cameras currently on the market. The convenience of using an EasyShare camera or printer dock greatly outweighs the file-download speed hit, though. Bottom line, while not a first choice for sports or other fast-paced action, the Kodak Z650 is responsive enough (particular at wide angle lens settings) to handle most family photo opportunities. If you need quick shutter response at long telephoto focal lengths though, the Z650 could be frustrating.

Battery
Short battery life with the LCD on, very good when LCD is switched off.

The Kodak Z650 uses two AA batteries for power. The table above shows the number of shots it can take with either Lithium or NiMH batteries, based on the CIPA battery-life standard. A CIPA rating of 236 - 265 shots on 2300 mAh NiMH cells (with the LCD display enabled) is pretty good, but as always we strongly recommend that you purchase a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The EasyShare Z650 has 32MB of internal storage, a good digital wallet to store Favorite images in. Expanded, working storage is provided by an SD memory card slot, but no card is included.

We strongly recommend buying at least a 128MB card, preferably a 256MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.

Battery
Poor battery life with average alkaline cells, much better with rechargeable NiMH batteries.

The Fujifilm FinePix A500 uses two AA-type batteries for power, and a set of ordinary alkaline cells are included with the camera. The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of, based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions. Given the short runtime with the alkaline cells, and only moderate runtime with NiMH cells, we strongly recommend that you purchase a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera.

Storage
No card is included with the Fujifilm FinePix A500, although it accepts xD-Picture cards; approximately 12 MB RAM is built into the camera.

We strongly recommend buying at least a 128MB card, preferably a 256MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.