My nephew got married last June and we wanted to record the happy event ourselves. My brother said he would get me a camera to take some snaps with, and after the wedding I could keep the camera for my own personal use. I had taken photos with a big Nikon previously. This produced excellent photos. It was not a digital and used expensive film and processing technology, so I was interested to compare to two. The Nikon was at my mum's house so I could not use it on the day.

The Kodak CX7300 came in a smart box which has the orange colour that is usual with Kodak products. The camera looked very small when I opened the box, and I wondered if it would do the job. At 150g it is much lighter than my previous Nikon. I wondered if my brother knew what he was doing. It slipped into my jacket pocket easily, and off to the wedding I went. Compared to another camera I had, a flat one in the early 90's, it seemed fairly large. The picture quality on that camera was terrible. Another cause for concern? The Kodak felt nice with a plastic shiny body. Nothing like the big black Nikon I had used previously. It also seemed a bit flimsy. Not having time to read all the instructions as the wedding had begun, I started to use it.

Using it:

The Kodak CX7300 is easy to use, and it is aimed at beginners. The getting started leaflet provided me with simple picture instructions. I put two small AA batteries in the camera and started clicking away. A more detailed user guide is provided in a lot of different languages.

Taking pictures was easy. The camera has an automatic built-in flash. Using the standard viewfinder or the camera's screen if the picture was not good, I deleted right away, so I still had room for more photo's. There is a "review" button, four arrow buttons, a "delete" button and an "OK" button. The camera's built in memory held 21 pictures on the setting it came with, but since then I have changed the setting and it will now take 67. I did this when transferring the photo's to my PC. Additional memory cards can increase the memory capacity, with up to 64Mb available. I also used the camera to take a 30 second video stream. This does not have sound however.


Quality of Photo's:

Picture quality was excellent, and the pictures are huge when the standard setting is used. The 3.2 mega-pixel resolution is perfect. The resolution prints out perfectly on photographic papers, and it is so good it was a shock. The big Nikon I had been using previously was made to look totally out of date. The photo's actually are that much better.

Software:

The Kodak EasyShare software that comes with the camera allows easy downloads to a PC. I said to my brother "make sure you get one with a USB cable," and it was supplied with the camera. The software makes it simple for me to store my photographs and crop them, and it automatically places them in a dated folder, but you can of course set up your own filing system. It's all very easy.

Power:

As I said, the camera is battery powered by two AA sized batteries. I am careful about switching on/off to save them. Rechargeable batteries will be useful if it is used a lot. Two batteries come with it. They lasted for the wedding and a bit longer. When they go, the camera will just not work properly.

Overall:

As an occasional photographer I was amazed at how good this camera was. This camera is a major advance on any I have used previously. It was what I needed and at a price that is excellent value, considering the Nikon was £500 fifteen years ago, and is not in the same league as far as convenience, ease of use and quality of pictures go. I have since sold the Nikon for £20 on eBay. The buyer thought he got a bargain, but it is now a museum piece. The Kodak can be used by kids, it's that easy. If you take a lot of photo's it can be updated to 64Mb, which would allow for hundreds to be taken. The Kodak CX 7300 is recommend if you have a PC and want a cheap camera for every day snapping. There is no need to worry about film quality, and it even has a timer if you want everyone in on the picture.

The Kodak EasyShare CX7300 camera is a great cheap alternative to most digital cameras. It takes good quality pictures and comes with an easy to set up computer program to view them. However, the price is slightly deceiving. If you want to store a reasonable amount of picture you have to get an SD memory card - about £20. And the battery life is appalling as well, meaning you'll end up spending a fortune on batteries unless you buy a charger - another £10. Once these two problems have been solved the camera's quite good, but don't be fooled by the £70 price tag. However, even after such expenditures this camera is still cheap.