"Picky Details" for the Kodak LS743 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)
Timing
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Kodak EasyShare LS743:
|
|
||
|
|
(secs) |
|
| Power On -> First shot |
|
LCD turns on and lens extends forward. Average to a bit slower than average.
|
| Shutdown |
|
First time is time to retract lens, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time. A little slow for the lens retraction, very slow for buffer clearing.
|
| Play to Record, first shot |
|
Time until first shot is captured. Average to a bit faster than average.
|
| Record to play |
|
First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card. Fairly fast.
|
| Shutter lag, full autofocus |
|
First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. Faster than average. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus |
|
Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Very fast.
|
| Cycle Time, max/min resolution |
2.00 / |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. In large/fine mode, shoots 7 shots this fast, then slows to about 6 seconds per shot, and clears the buffer in 33 seconds. In TV mode, shoots 7 shots this fast, then slows to about 5 seconds per shot, and takes 28 seconds to clear the buffer. Reasonable shot to shot speed, good buffer depth. Slow buffer clearing, but that's not likely to affect most users. |
| Cycle Time, Burst mode, max/min resolution | 0.31 (3.2 fps) |
Times are averages. In either mode, shoots a burst of 6 shots, takes about 37 seconds to clear the buffer, and is ready for 6 more. Quite fast, but very slow buffer clearing. |
With a shutter delay that ranged from 0.55 - 0.87 second, the LS743 is definitely on the fast side of average, among competing digicams. Its prefocus lag time of 0.099 second is better yet. At 2.0 seconds between shots in its highest-quality capture mode, its cycle time is reasonably good too, and it can snap as many as seven shots that quickly, before slowing to write to the memory card. In continuous mode, it can grab six frames at intervals of only 0.31 second, very fast indeed.
Power
The Kodak LS743 uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power. Here are some figures for its power consumption in various operating modes, and the corresponding estimated run times in each mode, based on the capacity of its battery.
|
|
(@5 volts on the external power terminal) |
(3.7v, 1050 mAh battery pack) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
|
|
| Capture Mode, no LCD |
|
|
| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
|
|
| Half-pressed w/o LCD |
|
|
| Memory Write (transient) |
|
|
| Flash Recharge (transient) |
|
|
| Image Playback |
|
|
With a worst-case run time of 101 minutes, the LS743's battery life is a little on the short side, but actually good for a camera that's as compact as it is. The real bonus though, is the more than 10 hours of battery life you can get with the LCD turned off. (This would be even better news if the optical viewfinder were more accurate, making the LCD less of a necessity.)
Storage Capacity
The Kodak stores its photos in internal memory or on SD memory cards. No
memory card is provided with the camera, but approximately 13.2 MB of internal
memory is available for photo storage. (I strongly recommend buying at
least a 128 MB card, preferably a 256 MB one, to give yourself extra space for
extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored in internal
memory at each size setting.
|
Resolution 13.2 MB Internal Memory |
(No separate options for image compression, so only one column here.) | |
| 2,304 x 1,728 | Images (Avg size) |
10 1.3 MB |
| Approx. Compression |
9:1 | |
| 1,656 x 1,242 | Images (Avg size) |
18 727 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
9:1 | |
| 1,200 x 900 | Images (Avg size) |
30 435 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
8:1 | |
Download Speed
The Kodak connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 919 KBytes/second. This is quite a bit faster than cameras with version 1.1 USB connections can manage, but on the slow end of the range for cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces. Regardless, you're not likely to feel a need for an external card reader. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)
LS743 Test Images
LS743 Specifications
LS743 "Picky Details"
Up to Imaging Resource digital cameras area
Follow Imaging Resource: