By Joshua Goldman
24/04/2009
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/digitalcameras/0,39005881,44694343p,00.htm

It's always nice when a camera just works. Such is the case with the fairly ordinary Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS. It's a simple compact shooter with loads of scene modes, HD movie capture function and a modicum of shooting control. But most importantly, Kodak's Smart Capture mode does all the snapshot heavy lifting if you let it. Give the M1093 IS bright light and you'll be rewarded with sharp photos featuring great color. However, use it handheld in low light and without a flash, and you probably won't be happy with the results--which is typical of sub-US$200 cameras. Otherwise, it's a fine, standard 10-megapixel pocket camera with a 3x zoom lens and optical image stabilization.

Design

Available in black, silver, or red (depending on your region so check with your local retailer), there's something very basic about the M1093 IS' design. If someone told you to picture a pocket-sized digital camera, chances are you'd envision a camera that looks like this Kodak. Buttons for the shutter, power, flash, and mode selections are on top flush with the body and this adds to the camera's streamlined looks. But this also means there's little distinguishing one button from the next, so operating them by touch is difficult. On the back is a 3-inch LCD that's bright enough to remain visible in sunlight.

A relatively large rocker zoom switch is well-positioned to the top left of the screen. However, the lens itself is a bit slow to move in and out. Below the zoom rocker sits a five-way joystick for navigating menus and playing images and videos. That is flanked by Delete, Playback, Menu, and Kodak's Share button which lets you tag an image to be printed or emailed the next time the camera is connected to a computer.

Features And Performance

As the M1093 IS is more of an entry-level model, don't expect it to perform wonders. However, its suite of basic features should appeal to beginners.

Press the Mode button and you get four options: Smart Capture, Program, Scene, and Video. Smart Capture mode integrates scene and face detection, optimized auto ISO, and a broader dynamic range, among other things. The result is you truly don't have to worry about adjusting any settings to take a decent picture. This mode also applies Kodak's PerfectTouch technology to help improve detail and contrast. In general this system works to produce fine photos no matter what your subject or lighting conditions are. The camera always starts in Smart Capture regardless of your settings when you power off. This can be a little frustrating if you prefer shooting in Program mode where there are controls for exposure compensation, white balance and ISO.

Powering on to first shot took 2.8 seconds on average. Shot-to-shot times were very good at 1.2 seconds without flash and only 1.4 seconds with. Shutter lag was on the high end for what we would consider acceptable: 0.5 second in bright conditions and 1 second in dim. Burst mode offered only a three-shot spurt, but it did this quite fast at 2 frames per second when tested. It's important to note that if you let it--by pressing the shutter button completely rather than halfway and waiting for a focus confirmation--the M1093 will take a picture without locking focus. This does let you capture photos extremely quickly, but they tend to be blurry.

Image Quality

Photo quality was very good for the M1093 IS' class. It performed best in bright lighting and outdoors, but suffered in low light and indoors. Below ISO 200, photos were reasonably sharp with good contrast and even exposure. There's a noticeable degradation between ISO 200 and ISO 400: Aggressive noise suppression kicks in with serious blurring. We don't recommend printing them larger than 4 x 6 or cropping too much. Overall, colors are bright and natural. But we did notice some mottling in large color fields--particularly blues--that seemed to be caused by JPEG artifacts. Thankfully, it's only really visible when viewed at full size. If you plan to use your photos for prints below 8 x 10, online, or in a digital photo frame, chances are you'll never notice. Lastly, there is some modest distortion at the camera's widest angle.

Kodak gives you the ability to capture 720p-quality video at 30 frames per second. Plus, you can zoom while recording clips, though you will hear the lens zooming picked up by the microphone. The video quality is very good as long as you keep the camera movement to a minimum.

The Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS isn't an extraordinary camera, but overall it is very good at what it does and it looks good doing it.