Kodak EasyShare DX4900

Kodak's 4-megapixel addition to its EasyShare line offers a combination of simple operation and good picture quality at an affordable price. The EasyShare DX4900 Zoom is essentially a friendly point-and-shoot camera created for snapshot photographers who don't want to fuss with endless menus and button pushing to get the right shot.Kodak's 4-megapixel addition to its EasyShare line offers a combination of simple operation and good picture quality at an affordable price. The EasyShare DX4900 Zoom is essentially a friendly point-and-shoot camera created for snapshot photographers who don't want to fuss with endless menus and button pushing to get the right shot.

Sleek and simple
Tipping the scales at a little less than 10 ounces with batteries and CompactFlash memory card installed, the DX4900 is relatively lightweight. Its silver, plastic body also has a sleeker design than those of many other EasyShare cameras. A flip of a switch on the camera's left side turns on the unit and slides open its built-in lens cover. After that, the Kodak can be operated easily with one dexterous right hand. Three buttons for controlling flash settings, macro and landscape modes, and the self-timer are laid out next to a small status LCD on top of the camera. Its zoom and menu controls are placed within thumb range, and the LCD menu system is well organized and clear.

Although the DX4900 offers more features than any of the previously released EasyShare cameras, it isn't feature-rich. This model sticks to the EasyShare line's focus on ease of use instead of flexibility. It has a rather paltry 2X zoom lens and a limited number of advanced controls, including exposure compensation; a fast, 1-megapixel burst mode; and selectable shutter speeds up to 16 seconds for shooting in dim light without the flash. You can also adjust white-balance settings, exposure-metering modes, light sensitivity, and sharpness settings, but there are no audio- or MPEG video-recording capabilities. All of the advanced features on the DX4900 are accessible through the LCD menu system, which keeps the camera uncluttered but makes the features tough to get to; having dedicated buttons for these options would be easier.

It's easy to use the 1.5-inch LCD to preview or play back your images under moderate light, but in dim and bright conditions, we ended up using the optical viewfinder to frame shots because the screen became too hard to see. Having a relatively small LCD is good for battery life, though, and Kodak has conveniently made the DX4900 compatible with a variety of widely available battery types. The camera also performed well for a bargain model when it came to shooting speed, with a brief shutter delay and a quick start-up time. You can snap off three high-resolution shots in about six seconds with the DX4900, but after that, shot-to-shot times slow down considerably. Hide Review