KODAK DC25

The DC25 is the latest of Kodak's budget digital cameras. Based on the minimalist DC20 (reviewed issue 23, p146), the DC25 adds a flash, memory card slot, LCD viewing panel and increased memory. It's about the same size as a typical 35mm point and shoot, and has a fixed focal length lens. This focuses from about 2ft to infinity. Exposure is automatic and equivalent to ISO 800/1600 on a conventional camera. So sensitivity in low light is reasonably good, even without the flash. The camera weighs about 250g (including the two CR123 lithium batteries) and is just about small enough to fit in a suit pocket.

A major limitation of the DC20 was that it only had 1Mb of memory and could hold a maximum of 16 standard resolution or eight high-res images. The DC25 sports 2Mb, giving 29 images at standard resolution (320 x 240 pixels) or 14 at high-res (493 x 373 pixels). Also, the DC25 has a slot for an optional 2Mb flash memory card (about £70), and each card holds another 14 or so high-res images.

There are more improvements. The DC20 could only change resolution under software control from a PC, while the DC25 has a switch on the camera. You can mix resolutions at any time. The DC25 also has a small (about 1.5in diagonally) colour LCD on the back of the camera. This can be used to preview each shot and to see four images at a time. You can turn this off to preserve battery life. The DC25 will let you delete single images from memory at any time, whereas the DC20 only offered the option to delete all images from the camera memory. The increased memory, the built-in flash and the ability to delete images selectively make the DC25 far more versatile and useful than the DC20.

Two main pieces of software are supplied with the DC25. Kodak's Picture Easy is an all-in-one PC control panel for the camera. Images can be captured from the camera and are displayed as simulated rows of negatives. The highlighted negative is previewed full size and can be rotated, printed, saved to disk (as a JPEG) or erased. A TWAIN interface is also provided, so any TWAIN-compatible package (like Paint Shop Pro) can import images straight from the camera.

Picturework's PhotoEnhancer software can also be used to grab images from the camera and provides basic image editing. You have basic tools, like smooth, darken, lighten and sharpen. But the tools are limited, as is the degree of control over each tool. For example, several features just give you the option of 'a little' or 'a lot'. More sophisticated editing will require software like Paint Shop Pro. But there is an option to apply several of the corrections 'by example'. This lets you adjust focus, exposure, brightness/contrast and colour by picking one of nine displayed samples of a zoomed section of the image. Another dialog box lets you adjust for lighting conditions, like heavy shadow or fluorescent light, but again, there's no control over the degree of adjustment.

One of the more interesting features of PhotoEnhancer is the Creative Corner. This lets you embed a photo into one of a range of templates, to create documents like postcards, calendars or For Sale flyers. Kai's PowerGoo is also included with the DC25. This real-time 'liquid' distortion tool can be used to apply all sorts of weird distortions, smudges, smears and similar effects.

The main problem with the DC25 is the battery life. I only managed to get about 50 images out of the batteries, though I did use the flash a fair amount. But bear in mind the batteries aren't widely available outside specialist shops, and cost about £6 each. So the pricey £50 optional AC adaptor would be worth it when downloading images.