The Kodak EasyShare LS743 is one of the new generation of mid-range digital cameras hitting the market. At its core is a 4 megapixel CCD, capable of 2,304 x 1,728 resolution, which sits behind a Schneider-Kreuznach C-Variogon lens with 2.8x optical zoom.

Image quality is very good, and the autofocus can be set to centre or multi-zone. The autofocus is not the fastest around though, and it can cause you to miss-shoot action shots or fast moving subjects.

There are a number of preset modes, such as portrait, close-up, night or landscape, but we found the auto mode managed to pick the right settings most of the time. The main setting you'll find yourself changing manually is the flash, although the night modes do need a very steady hand to avoid blurring. The flash is solid, though, and thankfully charges quite fast.

One of the main areas where you can tell a quality camera apart from cheaper versions is in the time it takes to process and store a photo after capture. This is an area where the LS743 does well, with it managing around 1.6 seconds between shots, and there's a 3fps burst mode as well.

The interface to the camera is via a five-way button on the back, a wheel on the top and four dedicated buttons. This allows you to access plenty of functions with the touch of a button, but it can get a little confusing as to which button you should hit first. Arguably, Kodak could have dispensed with the wheel and only used the five-way button.
One new feature is the Favourites, where you can tag an image so when it's uploaded to your PC, a smaller JPG is saved back to the camera. This makes the camera somewhat of a portable album carrying your favourite snaps around.

Internal memory is a basic 16MB, which doesn't leave much room for shots though, especially at top quality. The LS743 is equipped with an SD/MMC slot, and we'd strongly recommend purchasing a 128MB card or two so you don't have to keep purging the camera.

Overall the LS743 is a great little package that combines good image quality and plenty of features. It does pack a relatively high price for a 4 megapixel camera, and you'll also have to add $100 or so to the price tag for a 128MB SD card.