While only narrowly missing out on the
Labs Winner and
Recommended awards, the Kodak EasyShare DX7440 is a damn good camera on all fronts so it's a pity there's no third place. This 4-megapixel camera is a good point-and-shooter with a generous 2.2in preview LCD on the back and good one-handed operation. Its auto shooting modes work well, and the menus are extremely user-friendly with large icons and simple choices.
In our tests the Kodak showed some good, natural colours with a reasonably full colour gamut. The subtler, softer colours and tones were present in a nice range, but the Kodak showed some minor problems with misregistration. That was really the only detraction with the performance, as the camera captured an extremely sharp and clear image with good auto white balancing.
It's not as compact as the other models here, but the size of the DX7440 lends the camera a semi-enthusiast feel, and to our mind you're not as likely to take a blurred shot thanks to the sculpted grip on the front (like the
Canon's).This camera is aimed at the beginner and photo enthusiast, and is good value for those looking to swap to digital and get their feet wet.