Departing from the trend of flimsy Kodak cameras, the Z730 feels quite a bit more solid than many other Kodak models in this category. There is still a large portion of plastic, but it is reinforced with several metal sections. Its comfortable rubber grip sits nicely in the hand. It is a little larger than some other models (which can be put down to its 4X optical zoom), but we were nonetheless pleasantly surprised by the improvement.

We were also surprised by the feature set that accompanied the camera. Previous Kodak models had a habit of being firmly focused on beginners, and neglecting the creative options that a more experienced photographer needs. That is not the case with this model. It hands complete control of aperture, shuttle speed, focus, flash and white balance over to the user. This allows complete tweaking of the image and would satisfy photographers at most levels.

At the same time, it does not neglect its amateur-friendly options, still offering the great Kodak menu explanations and a useful set of predefined picture styles and feature combinations. The 30 frame continuous shot function is particularly good, and allows a wide margin of error when trying to capture the perfect shot.

It also comes with a beautiful 153,000 pixel, 2.2" LCD that makes picture taking a joy. All of this is powered by a lithium ion battery that allowed us to take several hundred shots.

The images were great, as we have come to expect from 5 megapixel Kodak models. They did perhaps look a tiny bit washed out compared to other models, but with the multitude of options at your fingertips that should be easy to correct. It did suffer the debilitating image lag that seems common among Kodak models, and this detracts from what is an otherwise wonderful package. The camera takes between three and five seconds to recover after taking a shot, which really puts a dampener on rapid photo taking.

We must also mention the ridiculously irritating button that must be held down on the function wheel while simultaneously turning it, just to switch on the camera. It is badly placed, extremely awkward to use and creates a bad first impression.