Kodak EASYSHARE LS443 4.0 Megapixel

I purchased this camera as a basic step into photography, last year. I wanted something easy to use that had a few extra features. The Kodak LS 443 is a 4 megapixel camera (pictures can be blown up to 11 X 14" without losing quality). The picture quality has been very good. Like many digital cameras, it doesn't do a great job at taking pictures at low lights unless you alter the settings (Landscape mode helps correct this in some situations). The great thing about the camera is that the differenct "scene modes" that adjust shutter and aperture for different situations are very easy to use. You can have the best camera in the world but if you always use auto instead of the individual settings, your pictures will be decent at best. As you switch into each mode, the name and description of that mode comes up on the screen. For example, if you switch into close up mode, it says "use for subjects closer than 28 inches." Another bonus for your picture quality is the Schneider-Kreuznach lens. This is one of the highest quality lenses you can get on a Kodak camera.

The lithium ion battery has a great life. I usually get 300 pictures out of it. These batteries are cheap so keeping a few spares is cost effective and convenient. I've only needed to use the extra batteries a few times but I'm very glad I had them. On a dolphin watching trip, I went through 2 batteries, and half of the charge on a third after two hours of constant clicking, using the screen, and using the movie mode. The movie mode is helpful and has sound which is a nice little added bonus. The zoom is good for a camera of its size (3x optical). 4x seems to be the highest you see in a camera of this mid size.

The recovery time between pictures is one of the only things I'm not crazy about on this camera. It takes a good amount of time to ready itself for the next picture. You can reduce this by buying a high speed memory card like San Disk's Ultra II SD cards. They write/read much faster than the normal cards. The other thing that isn't great is the screen quality. The screen tends to look grainy when the image quality is fine.

This camera is a great starter camera. Great picture quality at 4x6 and 8x11 inch size prints. The camera is incredibly easy to use. The 3x zoom is very good and the camera has the high quality Schneider Kreuznach lens. Movie Mode with sound an added bonus.