Kodak Easyshare CX7430 Digital Camera Review by Gary Hendricks

Kodak Easyshare CX7430 Digital Camera Review by Gary Hendricks

The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is an excellent point-and-shoot digital camera that is currently selling very well. Just consider its features: 4 megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom, 16MB of memory, as well as a movie mode. Given its low price (around $190), its an amazing deal. This camera is most suitable for beginnersit has all of the basic functions you need in a simple digital camera. Lets have a look at its various features:

Design and Construction
Like all point-and-shoot digital cameras, the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is designed to be compact enough to fit in your pocket. Its silvery finish will certainly attract lots of attention too. Its dimensions are 4.0 inches by 2.6 inches by 1.25 inches (weight-height-depth), and it weighs only 6.3 ounces. There is a little 1.6 inch LCD screen behind the camera for viewing images. Initially, I found the LCD screen a tad on the small side, but I got used to it after snapping a couple of photos.

Optics and Resolution
The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is equipped with a Kodak Retinar lens and offers with a 4 megapixel resolution. Theres also a 3x optical zoom for taking subjects faraway. What is interesting about this camera is its wide range of scene modes. Most point-and-shoot cameras have a handful (maybe 5) scene modes for photography under different conditions: macro, landscape, night photography, etc. The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 has 9 scene modes to choose from, which is much more than the competition.

I didnt expect much in terms of manual control in the cameras optics. If youre looking to play around with shutter speed, aperture, white balance and other photography options, then this camera is not for you. Sure, there are some basic exposure controls but they are nowhere near the fine settings allowed in advanced digital SLR cameras.

That being said, the quality of photos taken by the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 were nothing short of outstanding. The photos, when printed out, were of extremely high quality. So if youre the type you just whips out a camera and takes quick shots, with a minimum of fuss, then this camera will be great for you.

User Controls
The user controls in the Kodak CX7430 are located on both sides of the LCD and also on mode dial at the top surface of the camera. Those more accustomed to Canon or Sony models will find that the controls take a little getting used to. However, I did not have any problems reaching commonly used functions like flash control or image viewing.

Movie Mode
If you like to shoot some spontaneous movies with your digital camera, then youll be glad to know that the CX7430 comes with a movie mode. You can capture video at 13 frames per second (fps) at VGA size 640 x 480. The movie mode is continuous, meaning that the camera allows you to record movies up to the memory limit of your memory card.

Storage and Transfer
In terms of storage, the Kodak CX7430 comes with internal memory of 16MB. Youll certainly want to purchase a SD or MMC memory card to add on to the amount of memory available. In terms of image transfer, the camera supports USB 1.1 ports. This is enough for fast image transfers between the camera and your computer.

Battery Life
The Kodak CX7430 uses AA batteries. The ones that come in the box are alkaline batteriesId recommend that you get some NiMH rechargables. They will pay for themselves very quickly. The support for AA batteries is a great bonus because AA batteries are easily found in any convenience store, even when youre overseas.

Shortcomings
The bad points about the Kodak EasyShare CX7430? Well, heres a few shortcomings Id point outKodak would sell many more units if they were corrected:

* Videos taken by the camera are at very low frame rate
* The door covering the memory card slot doesnt latch strongly
* The bundled software isnt very impressive

Conclusion
Despite its shortcomings, the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is one heck of a good camera. If youre just starting out in digital photography, this it the camera to buy. Take it with you anywhere you like, snap many photos and immerse yourself in the world of photography. You can always upgrade to a better camera when you grow in your skills.

About the Author
Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your digicam.

Photo Software for Your Digital Images by Gary Hendricks

Photo Software for Your Digital Images by Gary Hendricks

If youre just starting out in digital photography, you may be worrying a lot about which digital camera to get. While that is important, do remember that there is another elementimage editing. After digital photos are taken, they can (and should) be cleaned up using an image editing program. In this article, well take a look at the various types of photo software available in the market.

Beginner Photo Editing Software
If youre new to editing digital photos and images, a basic photo editing software is what you need. These programs tend to have standard image editing features and allow you to perform basic image editing tasks like rotation, sharpening, cropping and the like. You can refer to my list of the top 5 beginner photo editors for more information.

Personally, I rely on a great tool called Ulead PhotoImpact 10. This program allows you to all sorts of image effects to your photos using clean, simple-to-use wizards and menus. Whats more, its one of the cheapest commercial grade photo editing packages I know of.

Advanced Photo Editing Software
If you need more power in your photo editor, you need to turn to advanced photo editing software. Examples include Adobe Photoshop CS and Corel Painter. These programs have high-end features not found in typical lower-end packages and are used by professional photographers. Their prices are also much higherso do your research first if youre thinking of buying one.

Free Photo Editing Software
There are, in fact, many photo editors available for free download on the Internet. These programs offer basic image editing features and are usually written by individuals. If you want to have a feel of how to edit your photos, try one of these programs out. You can refer to my list of free photo editors for more information.

One of the best programs I know of is the GIMP. Its a nice, clean image editor originally used under the UNIX operating system but has now been distributed for Windows. You can download it here.

Photo Management Software
This class of photo software has been gaining importance in the last year or so. As a digital photographer, youll certainly take many, many photos. How do you go about organizing and maintaining your photo collection? Thats where photo management software comes in.

One of the best programs for this purpose is Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0. Its my program of choice and I really like the easy to use drag-and-drop capabilities, as well as attractive, clean user interface. Other good options include Ulead Photo Explorer 8.5 and Googles Picasa.

Conclusion
I hope this article has helped you understand what types of photo software are available in the market. Personally, I like to combine a good photo editing program like Ulead PhotoImpact with organizing software like Adobe Photoshop Album. This way, I have extreme flexibility when its comes to editing or organizing my digital photos.

About the Author
Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

Photography Tips While Traveling by Robert Bezman

Photography Tips While Traveling by Robert Bezman

Whether youre embarking on a family vacation or your family reunion, its going to be a special time. When we think of trips weve taken, we tend to remember them best with photographs. Heres some ideas to enhance your vacation as well as your memories of them.

Location Preparation

1) Since you know where youre going (that's a minimum requirement), doesnt it make sense to check out the location before you get there? Create a list of attractions, accommodations, special points of interest, amusement areas, shopping, etc. A good source to help you do this is: the Places and Travel section of msn.com ( http://groups.msn.com/Browse?CatId=179)

2) Figure out the photo opportunities for each appropriate venue. Anyone can take a thats nice picture of the kids at an amusement park. Wouldnt you rather capture a WOW photo that could be hung over the mantle?

3) Depending on the location youre traveling to, you can see what books are written about them that highlight the best photo opportunities for the entire area

4) If youre cyber-savvy, start at www.google.com and search using different combinations of: your destination, best photography locations, for images of the location, scenic spots, etc. The options are endless.

5) If youre off to a non-big city area, scout out the national parks in the area. The great thing about national parks is that the scenery is usually so breathtaking, that a so-so shot looks outstanding, just because of the subject. Once in www.nps.gov, do a search on photos and you will be presented with terrific shots of all the parks

Photography Preparation

OK, youre either traveling through or youre at a wonderful location full of photo opportunities. You began this leg of your trip at the crack of dawn and as youre pulling into the most scenic overlook for 400 miles, the sun is just starting to crack the horizon.

You instinctively pull the car over, grab your camera and your tripod, and look for the best spot to set up. Just one tiny little problem YOU FORGOT YOUR TRIPOD! Rather than smack yourself on the forehead then, why not plan these things now, before you leave?

Your list should include AT LEAST the following consideration

1) Do I need to repeatBRING YOUR TRIPOD? It doesnt take up much room, and as explained at www.best-family-photography-tips.com/tripod-photography.html, tripods allow you to capture entirely new categories of photographs that wont be possible without one

2) Memory. Of course, bring all the memory you have, but also pack your portable storage device (explained at http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/digital-photography-tutorial.html)

3) If your camera has a hot shoe, bring your external flash, and any additional equipment that can be used to help with bounce flash

4) Remember your external shutter release cable for those long exposures. How else are you going to get that angel-hair look of the waterfalls?

5) Dont forget the basics like: batteries, battery charger, camera bag, and additional lenses and filters (if applicable on your camera)

6) And just in case you need it, bring the manuals for your equipment.

Finally, dont get so wrapped up in taking perfect shots that you dont enjoy the trip. Remember to use the tripod so that you'll be in at least some of the photos.

Article courtesy of www.best-family-photography-tips.com, where you can see some sample pictures including more photography tips. Copyright 2005 Robert Bezman. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Robert Bezman is a professional photographer and owner of Custom Photographic Expressions. Robert has created www.best-family-photography-tips.com to help the digital photography users create better photographs. Robert has a blog at
http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/family-photography-news.html