Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Nov 23, 2004 - By James Murray
With the Kodak EasyShare LS753, the consumer expects the strong shooting elements of its predecessor, the LS743, but with an expanded 1/2.5-inch 5-megapixel CCD. The two cameras are physically similar, with an emphasis on the LS753's low slung silver gray body and slim profile that allows for practical and effortless transportation. The back of the camera features an attractive and amply sized 1.8-inch LCD screen with LED lights that allow for easier navigation, a feature that will be appreciated by any user who has ever attempted to shoot in low light. The only major drawback of the Kodak LS753 is the relatively restrictive 2.8x optical zoom lens; however, the seductive aesthetics may encourage many users to overlook this. The camera is capable of direct printing and includes 32MB of internal memory along with a SD/MMC memory card slot. The LS753 retails for $349.95.
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Manual Control Options
The user of the Kodak EasyShare LS753 can control Zoom, Exposure Compensation, White Balance, Shutter speed, aperture opening, and ISO Speed. There are also preset scene modes available through the jog dial. Flash control is dictated through the Flash button on the top of the camera body with settings appearing on the LCD screen.

 

 

Focus
Auto (8.0)
There are two automatic control settings available to the Auto Focus parameters on the Kodak EasyShare LS753. When the user enters the menu control settings, there is the option to highlight the Focus Zone subsection. Once highlighted, the user can choose either the center-weighted Center Zone setting, or the Multi Zone overall frame setting. The LS753 can focus as close as 23.6 inches in normal shooting mode. In macro mode, subjects can be as close as 2 inches.

Manual (0.0)
There is no manual focus mode on the Kodak EasyShare LS753. The user can control the focus zone parameters established through the menu button control.

Metering (7.5)
The user can select the Exposure Metering section of the onscreen Menu to bring up the two metering settings on the Kodak EasyShare LS753. The Multi-pattern setting is the default camera setting and evaluates the lighting conditions throughout the image. Center-weighted evaluates the conditions of lighting in regards to the subject centered in the frame, a tool best used when the subject is backlit. Finally, Center-spot allows the user to select a portion of the potential image to be captured prior to returning the camera to the framing position desired and the image captured. This setting is best used if a specific portion of the frame’s metering is needed for evaluation.

Exposure (7.0)
There is no outright manual exposure control, but there is an Exposure Compensation setting available through the menu settings within the onscreen LCD menu. Exposure Compensation allows the user to select between -2 to +2 with 1/2 EV steps. The exposure setting allows for the user to control the amount of light entering the camera during image capture. The exposure ranges from Wide EV 4.2-15.2, (.5 sec. at f/3.0 to 1/400 sec. at f/5.1) to Telephoto ratings of EV 5.6-16.6 (1/2 sec. at f/4.9 to 1/1400 sec. at f/8.5).

 

White Balance (5.0)
White Balance can also be controlled manually on the Kodak EasyShare LS753. To change the setting, the user must enter the onscreen menu and highlight the White Balance subsection. The white balance controls are all presets, but can be selected by the user between the default Auto mode, Daylight, Tungsten, and Fluorescent mode settings. Although there are options, this is a rather limited number of presets and without a customizable setting, more complicated lighting situations will potentially suffer.

ISO (8.5)
ISO on the Kodak EasyShare LS753 is manually controllable, and is established by entering the onscreen LCD menu and choosing between 80, 100, 200, 400, and 800. ISO 800 is only available when image quality is set at the Good level. When the camera is set with Automatic mode, the range is drastically reduced to between 80 and 160 ISO. The ISO speed settings control the sensitivity of the camera to specific lighting situations.

Shutter Speed (2.0)
The shutter speed is controlled through a setting on the camera referred to as a Long Time Exposure, and allows the user to select either 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 seconds. When in this setting, the Exposure Compensation setting is set to zero and the ISO will be set to Auto. The shutter speed is mechanical, with the CCD being set electrically between 1/1400-16 seconds.

Aperture (0.0)
The aperture settings for the Kodak EasyShare LS753 are automatic and controlled, along with the shutter speed, to give the user of the camera proper exposure ratings. The F-stop ratings for this camera are f/3.0-f/5.1 from a half-second to 1/1400th of a second when the wide angle lens is engaged. When the telephoto portion is engaged, the range is f/4.9-f/8.5 from a ½ second to 1/1400th of a second.

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