Kodak Easyshare Digital Camera

The nifty little 4-megapixel Kodak EasyShare LS743 packs almost everything a point-and-shoot user could want into a stylish, exceptionally easy-to-use device.

The 6-ounce LS743 has a nice, solid feel. The 1.8-inch LCD is sharp but doesn't automatically adjust when the scene is very dark or light, making it difficult to set up shots in those conditions. The unit can accommodate optional SD/MMC cards, and comes with 16MB of built-in memory.

The menus are models of clarity and simplicity, yet they offer a few sophisticated surprises, such as three metering modes, two focus modes, slow shutter speeds, and ISO equivalencies ranging from 80 to 800. For novices, there's a huge range of automatic modes.

The 4-second startup time is slower than most of the shirt-pocket cameras we recently reviewed, notably our other Editors' Choice in this category, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1. On the other hand, the 1.5-second click-to-click time was comparatively quick. In burst mode it can fire off six quick shots in just 2 seconds.

Image quality is very good—equal to or better than any point-and-shoot we've tested in terms of resolution: 1,300 horizontal lines per inch (lpi) and 1,250 vertical lpi. Our simulated daylight and flash test shots were crisp, with excellent detail and color, though slightly underexposed.

The LS743 is a very good all-around camera. The Sony entry has more bells, whistles, and sex appeal, but this Kodak arguably delivers better images.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.