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The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 digital camera Design and Construction Like all point-and-shoot
digital cameras, the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is designed to be compact enough to
fit in your pocket. It’s silvery finish will certainly attract lots of attention
too. Its dimensions are 4.0 inches by 2.6 inches by 1.25 inches
(weight-height-depth), and it weighs only 6.3 ounces. There is a little 1.6 inch
LCD screen behind the camera for viewing images. Initially, I found the LCD
screen a tad on the small side, but I got used to it after snapping a couple of
photos. Optics and Resolution The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is equipped with a Kodak Retinar lens and offers with a 4 megapixel resolution. There’s also a 3x optical zoom for taking subjects faraway. What is interesting about this camera is its wide range of scene modes. Most point-and-shoot cameras have a handful (maybe 5) scene modes for photography under different conditions: macro, landscape, night photography, etc. The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 has 9 scene modes to choose from, which is much more than the competition. I didn’t expect much in terms of manual control in the camera’s optics. If you’re looking to play around with shutter speed, aperture, white balance and other photography options, then this camera is not for you. Sure, there are some basic exposure controls but they are nowhere near the fine settings allowed in advanced digital SLR cameras. That being said, the quality
of photos taken by the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 were nothing short of outstanding.
The photos, when printed out, were of extremely high quality. So if you’re the
type you just whips out a camera and takes quick shots, with a minimum of fuss,
then this camera will be great for you. User Controls The user controls in the
Kodak CX7430 are located on both sides of the LCD and also on mode dial at the
top surface of the camera. Those more accustomed to Canon or Sony models will
find that the controls take a little getting used to. However, I did not have
any problems reaching commonly used functions like flash control or image
viewing. Movie Mode If you like to shoot some
spontaneous movies with your digital camera, then you’ll be glad to know that
the CX7430 comes with a movie mode. You can capture video at 13 frames per
second (fps) at VGA size 640 x 480. The movie mode is continuous, meaning that
the camera allows you to record movies up to the memory limit of your memory
card. Storage and Transfer In terms of storage, the
Kodak CX7430 comes with internal memory of 16MB. You’ll certainly want to
purchase a SD or MMC memory card to add on to the amount of memory available. In
terms of image transfer, the camera supports USB 1.1 ports. This is enough for
fast image transfers between the camera and your computer. Battery Life The Kodak CX7430 uses AA
batteries. The ones that come in the box are alkaline batteries – I’d recommend
that you get some NiMH rechargables. They will pay for themselves very quickly.
The support for AA batteries is a great bonus because AA batteries are easily
found in any convenience store, even when you’re overseas. Shortcomings The bad points about the Kodak EasyShare CX7430? Well, here’s a few shortcomings I’d point out – Kodak would sell many more units if they were corrected:
Conclusion Despite its shortcomings, the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is one heck of a good camera. If you’re just starting out in digital photography, this it the camera to buy. Take it with you anywhere you like, snap many photos and immerse yourself in the world of photography. You can always upgrade to a better camera when you grow in your skills.
Related ArticlesYou may also wish to read the following related articles:
A review of the Canon PowerShot S500
digital camera © 2006 Basic-Digital-Photography.com
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