Kodak LS420 review

Kodak's latest digital camera is aimed at the lifestyle end of the consumer market, and so is more stylish than professional cameras.

While the picture on its box makes it look long, thin and rather cumbersome, the actual model is best described as dinky and attractive. It measures just 109mm x 28.5mm x 45.5mm, so it's small enough to fit in your pocket.

The camera has an LS monicker, which stands for 'lifestyle'. This sets it apart from the rest of Kodak's cameras, which have DX monickers and are less than stunning to look at.

However, in common with the company's other products, the LS420 is part of the EasyShare range, which Kodak designed to take the complication out of digital photography. All the cameras are supplied with a dock. When the camera is seated in the dock, the Lithium-ion battery automatically recharges. Pressing the button on the front of the dock launches the necessary software on the Desktop, allowing you to download your pictures with minimal fuss.

The weakest link in the EasyShare system is the software, at least where Macs are concerned. The Picture Software supplied with the camera works on Mac OS 8.6 or Mac OS 9, or in Classic mode in Mac OS X, but it's not very good. It allows you to view images, email them, create slide shows and so on, but in a clumsy, un-Mac-like environment.

Back to lifestyle

If you're running OS X, the LS420 is compatible with iPhoto, and we recommend you use that instead. The good news, though, is Kodak is working on a new software release, which will be fully OS X native and available to download for free from its Web site by early August.

The camera is relatively well specified for an entry-level product. It has a 2.1-megapixel CCD, which is pretty much the norm these days in consumer cameras. The lens has a focal length of 38mm (equivalent to a 35mm film camera) and a fixed aperture of f/3.9. It has an optical viewfinder, as well as a high-quality 1.6in LCD screen.

In other words, it has pretty much everything you'd ever want, with the exception of an optical zoom. This is perhaps too much to expect on such a compact device, but its omission limits the camera's usefulness. As with all digital cameras, the built-in 3x digital zoom mode just enlarges the image and makes it look fuzzy instead of focusing closer on the image.

Pictures are stored on the 8Mb of built-in memory, but the LS420 has an expansion slot for adding more memory. Kodak has finally done away with bulky Compact Flash cards, and opts instead for the increasingly popular MMC/SD (MultiMediaCard/Secure Digital) slot. You can pick up a 32Mb MMC, which will hold up to 48 images at the LS420's high-resolution mode, for as little as £20.

The camera has only two resolution settings: Best (1752 x 1168 pixels) and Good (876 x 584 pixels). With the latter, you can store up to 49 images on the internal memory.

As well as taking impressive still images, the LS420 can be used to capture digital video with sound. Up to 90 seconds of footage can be captured on the internal memory, and be played back on the built-in screen (although the camera doesn't have a speaker so you won't hear the sound) or on a TV through the AV Out port and supplied video cable. Video footage can also be downloaded to your Mac as a QuickTime movie.

Surprisingly, the AV port is the only external connector on the camera - all the other connections are made through the dock. While this isn't a serious problem, it could prove to be a pain if you're on the move and don't want to take the dock with you. The dock is very small and light, but it would be nice to have the option to plug a USB or a power cable straight into the camera.