Kodak EasyShare C813

Pros: Low cost, faster than expected, point and click

Cons: Dismal in low light; hard to force "correct" focus point; no optical view finder; cannot see screen in sunlight

Summary: I bought this camera as a disposable. I am a sailor and expect it to last a year or so (read this: "Hope I get a year or so!").

A few things that I like:

* Low cost. I got this for $88 plus $19 for an Ultra Speed 2GB SD card. Being low cost, it starts looking a little disposable.

* Faster than expected. This camera takes a picture in fair light in less than half second, which seems reasonable for a point and shoot. Startup seems to be fair as well.

* Point and click. Well, I wanted a point an click, and this camera definitely fits the bill.

* Great battery life! I took three hundred pictures with rechargeable AA 2500mAh batteries before the indicator even suggested I needed to replace the batteries!

A few negatives:

* No optical view finder. Sometimes it would be nice to have an optical view finder, such as in high light areas.

* View screen cannot be seen in sunlight. If it had an optical view finder, there would be no issue, but there is no optical.

* Speed to slow in low light. This camera takes forever if there is not significant light.

* Hard to focus. There is no indication for focus area (Canon, for example, casts a red light to help on focus). This camera just has trouble finding the correct area to focus.

* Uses that goofy micro-USB connection. This is the only device I own that uses a micro-USB connection, and therefore I have to carry around a cable just for this device.


--Mark

http://www.marksatterfield.com