Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS (Black)
It's always nice when a camera just worksSuch is the case with the fairly ordinary Kodak EasyShare M1093 ISIt's a simple ultracompact with a ton of scene modes, HD movie capture, a modicum of shooting control, but most importantly Kodak's Smart Capture mode, which does all the snapshot heavy lifting if you let itGive the M1093 bright light and you'll be rewarded with sharp photos with great colorHowever, use it handheld in low light and without a flash and you probably won't be happy with the results--which is typical of sub-$200 camerasOtherwise, it's a fine, standard 10-megapixel pocket camera with a 3x zoom lens and image stabilization
Available in black, silver, or red, there's something very basic about the M1093 IS' designIf someone told you to picture a pocket-size digital camera, chances are you'd envision a camera that looks like this KodakButtons for the shutter, power, flash, and mode selections are on top, flush with the body, adding to the camera's streamlined looksThis also means there's little distinguishing one button from the next, so operating by touch is difficultOn back is a 3-inch LCD that's bright enough to remain visible in sunlight
A relatively large rocker zoom switch is well positioned to the top left of the screen; however, the lens itself is a bit slow to move in and outBelow it sits a five-way joystick for navigating menus and for playing images and videoThat's flanked by Delete, Playback, Menu, and Kodak's standard Share button, which lets you tag an image to be printed or e-mailed the next time the camera is connected to a computer
Press the Mode button and you get four options: Smart Capture, Program, Scene, and VideoSmart Capture mode integrates scene and face detection, optimized auto ISO, and a broader dynamic range among other things, so you truly don't have to worry about a setting to take a decent pictureThis mode also applies Kodak's PerfectTouch technology to help improve detail and contrastIn general this system works, producing fine photos no matter what your subject or lighting conditions areThe camera always starts in Smart Capture regardless of your settings when you power off, which can be a little frustrating if you prefer shooting in Program mode where there are controls for exposure, white balance, and ISO
Powering on to first shot takes 2.8 seconds on averageShot-to-shot times were very good at 1.2 seconds without flash and only 1.4 seconds withShutter lag was at the high end for what we consider acceptable: 0.5 second in bright conditions and 1 second in dimBurst mode offers only a three-shot spurt, but it does it quite fast at 2 frames per secondIt's important to note that if you let it--by pressing the shutter button completely rather than halfway and waiting for a focus confirmation--the M1093 will take a picture without locking focusThis does let you capture photos extremely quickly, but they'll frequently be blurry
Photo quality was very good for the M1093 IS' class; it performs best in bright lighting and outdoors, but suffers in low light and indoorsBelow ISO 200, photos were reasonably sharp with good contrast and even exposureThere's a noticeable degradation between ISO 200 and ISO 400; aggressive noise suppression kicks in with serious blurringI don't recommend printing them larger than 4x6 or cropping too muchOverall, colors are bright and naturalI did notice some mottling in large color fields--particularly blues--that seems to be caused by JPEG artifactsThankfully, it's only really visible when viewed at full sizeIf you plan to use your photos for prints below 8x10, online, or in a digital photo frame, chances are you'll never noticeLastly, there is some modest distortion at the camera's widest angle
Kodak gives you the ability to capture 720p high-definition video at 30 frames per secondPlus, you get use of the optical zoom, though you will hear the lens movement picked up by the micThe video quality is very good as long as you keep the camera movement to a minimum
The Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS isn't an extraordinary camera, but overall is very good at what it does and it looks good doing it