Labs

While most of the cameras in our tests produced remarkably consistent photos, the LS753's output was more uneven. Indoor shots taken using natural light suffered a little more noise and compression artefacts than those of other cameras, resulting in a slight loss of detail. However, the Kodak's flash photography produced the most natural skin tones of all the cameras on test. In very low light with the flash suppressed, the Kodak suffered the same fate as the Canon, producing dark pictures. The long exposure option (up to 16 seconds) allowed us to overcome this problem. In our high contrast tests it performed admirably, with excellent exposure in all areas of the photo.

We appreciate the fact that Kodak has included twice as much memory in the LS753 as any other camera on test, but 32MB is still not enough for a five-megapixel camera, although it's a step in the right direction. Video quality is above average, if rather jerky at just 13 frames a second, but it uses MPEG-4 format to pack more than two minutes of video into the 32MB memory. The camera's continuous shooting mode is disappointing, though - it can capture four shots in two seconds,

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but then requires 30 seconds to recover.

There's little manual control available, and dedicated physical controls only for zooming, flash and shutter release. There's not even a proper setting for image resolution: you simply choose a quality setting from Best to Good, which varies resolution and compression ratio but doesn't tell you which resolution it has selected. Anyone looking for a greater degree of control will be disappointed. Still, exposure compensation, white balance presets and more unusual options such as exposure metering pattern and focus zone are available via the menu.

Kodak seems to have shrugged off its habit of producing frumpy-looking cameras - the LS753's metallic blue body manages to look both classy and friendly. However, as with the Canon, there isn't much to get a firm grasp on, and the zoom control isn't very easy to adjust.

Illuminated icons to the right of the screen show which mode you're in, from a choice of Auto, Portrait, Macro, Scene (with 13 sub-categories available), Video and Favorites (for quick access to your favourite snaps). A wheel beside the shutter button scrolls through these options, and a short description of each one appears on the screen.

All in all, it's a great system for helping beginners get to grips with the camera quickly. However, the buttons on the left aren't so good. They're sensibly labelled and the menus they give access to are easy enough to comprehend, but their labels are just etched rather than printed onto the metal body, making them impossible to read in anything but strong light.

There's plenty to like about the LS753, but there are a few things not to like too. As a beginner-friendly camera, it's not up to the standard set by Canon.