Any good? Kodak Z650 Digital Camera

Happycat

I am a newbie both to the board and to digital cameras - so please help!

I am looking to a digital camera to take away with me for a year while working in Africa (before you ask, it's charity work so i need it to be the best value for money i can get). I had hoped to get the Fujifilm Finepix 5600 sold through Argos for £112.49 but there seems to be no stock anywhere, so i have found the Kodak Easyshare z650 being sold on amazon for £129 delivered!

I really need your help as i am not sure if this is a good deal/good camera? Or should i wait for the sales?

Any help gratefully received

Thanks

Happycat

tartanannie

I think you had a lucky escape with the Fuji Finepix .My daughter took that one to eastern europe and it broke early on in her trip .She is now in Thailand witha a Kodak.

nooksky

Hi there,

I have recently bought the Kodack Z650 and paid £150 ish for it and the camera is amazing!!!
Deffo the best camera around for the price and the takes a brillant picture you will not be dissapointed at all.
There are a lot smaller cameras about but dont let this put you off as you what you are getting its a steal.

Hope this helps you

ziffius

Happycat wrote:

I am a newbie both to the board and to digital cameras - so please help!

I am looking to a digital camera to take away with me for a year while working in Africa (before you ask, it's charity work so i need it to be the best value for money i can get). I had hoped to get the Fujifilm Finepix 5600 sold through Argos for £112.49 but there seems to be no stock anywhere, so i have found the Kodak Easyshare z650 being sold on amazon for £129 delivered!

I really need your help as i am not sure if this is a good deal/good camera? Or should i wait for the sales?

Any help gratefully received

Thanks

Happycat

I would avoid the Z650. It lacks image stabilisation which you really need on a 10x optical zoom camera, the images are also on the soft side. You might be able pick up a Panasonic FZ7 or a Sony DSC-H2 cheap in the sales.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/kodakz650/

competitionscafe

Hi Happycat - Which? magazine did a test of digital cameras this month and this one (£129.99 at amazon) was the overall best buy:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Digimax-i6-Black-Digital/dp/B000F3MAUU

Other best buys were the Canon Ixus 65 (£210 rrp) , the Canon ixus
wireless £175 rrp) and 2 Sony's - Cybershot DSC-T9 £235 and Cybershot
DSC-W50 £150, the Olympus mju 700 (£142) also did quite well.
Which magazine also said the discontinued Canon Ixus 55 was a best buy (£260 rrp but still available on amazon for £149).

They only tested 15 cameras though and there is no test for new ones
like the Olympus mju 725SW which is waterproof and 'shockproof' (£227
at amazon but will probably fall in price as it's just come out?). The
mju 700 (£142) is water 'resistant' and I would guess therefore also dust resistant to some extent which is an advantage in many parts of Africa! (I have an older water 'resistant' olympus mju digital camera (mju 300) which has stood up to some abuse - dropped onto rocks (accidentally) snowstorms, light rain and still works fine although the metal body is a bit scratched!

I would go for a small one (as you don't want to have it 'on display' at all times so you can keep it in a pocket, something quite sturdy too and with a decent battery life as you may go some time between charges... If you can stretch to £150 I would say the ixus 55 or the olympus mju 700 might be good options for you.....? The new ixus 800 looks good too, as do the ixus 65 and the Mju 750 but they are all around £180/ £200......

http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/photography/digital-cameras/452843/expert-reviews
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/photography/digital-cameras/556188/expert-reviews

Comparisons of reviews for all digital cameras:
http://alatest.com/Digital+Compact+Cameras/

If you are not in a big rush, I would keep an eye on this forum for any bargains, particularly once the sales start (around 25 december onwards!?) and always use a site like pricerunner (mse link just above your post) to find the cheapest price.

sevlow

Read this;

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/a530.htm

connlach

The Z650 is a fantastic camera. I got it a few weeks ago and for 129.99 it does everything you need it to. The zoom is amazing and it takes good close up shots as well. It is bigger than other cameras, but that is the price you pay for a 10 x optical zoom!

Happycat

Thanks so much to everyone that has commented - all really useful stuff!

Although now i need to decide what to do?

I think waiting for the sales is a good idea - but all of you have convinced me that your various cameras are the right ones! I want a camera that takes good photos, is sturdy, good value for money and allows me to learn on the camera at the same time. I like the idea of the Samsung as it will allow me to play music as well but do i need a greater zoom/optical zoom?

Ultimately i would like to buy my camera for £150 (or there abouts) all in all, including cases, memory cards etc (that i assume i'll need for lots of pictures/playing music)...

Again thanks for everyone's help - any more pointers from anyone though will really help me decide!!

Happycat!

sevlow

Hi Happycat,

Think about how you will be using the camera and the particular limitations you might encounter on your travels.

For example some of the compact cameras mentioned including the Samung use proprietery batteries. If your battery runs out and you dont have ready access to a power supply then your stuck.You could take a second battery but this is expensive. If this is important to you then choose a camera that uses standrd AA rechargables.

Most compacts for the budget you have will provide 3x or 4x zooms and most folks find this perfectly adequate - after all we have feet and can walk nearer the subject . If your shooting wildlife however you may need a bigger zoom, but long zooms bring added complications including camera shake. Only concern yourself with the optical zoom specs, ignore the digital "magnification" quoted by manufacturers.

All of the cameras listed will provide simple point and shoot capability where the camera decides all the settings for you. If you want the opportunity to affect depth of focus or use in available light without flash then you going to need a camera with manual/shutter/aperture priority modes(like the canon A530)

I assume you will have access to a pc/laptop etc so that you can upload your photo's from the cameras memory card. You can pick up a 1GB Sd card on ebay for £15.

ManAtHome

I'm on my fifth Fuji - only had a problem with one of them and that was fixed quickly (and freely). Plenty of stock about - DSG (PC World, Dixons, Currys) still have them, although not at £113, but still a bargain under £150. Would think most of the "name" brands will have service centres in SA - no electronics stuff is 100% guaranteed (or other stuff come to that).

competitionscafe

sevlow wrote:

I assume you will have access to a pc/laptop etc so that you can upload your photo's from the cameras memory card. You can pick up a 1GB Sd card on ebay for £15.

Prices on these are dropping all the time - you can get a Viking or Toshiba 2GB SD Card for £17.99 delivered now:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=239128

1gb SD card (Toshiba) can be bought for £10.99 here (free delivery):
http://www.w2w.com/moreInfo.asp?code=TOSSD1GB&tabGroup=GROUP-PC&tabGrpCode=COMP1&tabselect=TAB4

or 1gb Kingston card for £8.99 or less and free delivery at amazon with the Hellmans book offer (see other thread).