Kodak DC280 Zoom review

Kodak's DC280 Zoom is every inch the contender.

With a roll-call of features longer than Tyson's left hook, and a build to match, it's clearly aimed at heavyweight performance.

And heavy weight, so to speak, is what you get. At 342g without batteries, you won't forget this camera is in your pocket. It's similar in size to larger 35mm compacts, and solid - but those robust curves mean it's not a snapper for the chic at heart.

But the size is for a reason: the Kodak houses a 2x optical zoom - not to be confused with digital zooms of cheaper rivals. The latter enlarge the wide-angle shot, without capturing extra detail. Many 'guess' additional detail, but the results are none too clever. The DC280 actually includes an additional 3x digital zoom as well as the optical zoom, but, as expected, it's not worth bothering with.

Detail is this camera's fort? A 2.3-million pixel CCD - the array of light sensors that captures the image - produces a picture 1760x1168 pixels in size. Printed the size of a 5x7in photo, that gives a resolution of over 250dpi. Images in this mag are reproduced at just 150dpi.

In test shots, this meant fine details such as tree branches were faithfully rendered. On indoor test shots, text looked smooth at all but the highest magnification. At the Best setting, images were free of the tell-tale blocks of colour produced by JPEG compression, and the 20Mb CompactFlash storage card can hold 32 such shots. The only problems seemed to be a mild flattening of tones (shadows became less shadowy) and a slight pinkish-blue cast to daylight shots.

Exposure can be tweaked with a simple +/- setting. Add to that an 'Auto ISO' function, so the camera mimics the responses of different conventional film speeds, and Kodak may woo camera buffs.

Given its flexibility, the DC280 is a cinch to use. Shots are reviewed, saved and ditched using a simple scrolling menu. The same system lets users adjust quality, resolution and other features. Getting snaps onto the PC using the cables provided is simplicity itself. A video-out facility even lets you replay holiday snaps on the telly.

But is it worth its high price tag? Ultimately, not quite. It brims with features, but quality, though excellent, still falls short of the best conventional cameras. The average snapper will find our existing Best Buy, the flyweight Fuji MX-1500, delivers most of the goods - and at half the price.