LS443- anyone satisfied?

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this forum.

Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review, especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers, entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.

Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC? The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

ive had mine for 2 weeks and have some great shots, but many no good shots. The main thing is the lack of consistency. I just cant seem to rely on it for a good shot. If it takes one then great, thats why I bought it, but there are far too many blurry, over exposed or grainy low light shots for my liking. I am hoping I am not that bad a photgrapher that I can take that many bad shots with a so called 'camera that rocks'. But my complaints are not alone and that is the thing to think about. Weigh it up and make your decision. JUST MAKE SURE YOU BUY FROM SOMEONE WHO YOU CAN RETURN THE CAMERA TO IF YOUR NOT HAPPY AND YOUVE NOTHING TO LOSE.

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

--

jonny G. i took mine back-lcd is lower res. than others in same class,movie mode is lower res. than others,pix are not as crisp as other 3.2 mp dc's the easy share is too easy/simple. up-side well built,looks good,ease of use. well hope i dont regret it. gonna get sony dsc7 or p .

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

BTW Dennis, I e-mailed the reviewer at MSN (which Brian provided the link for) and there was some acknowledgement the camera was not as good as reviewed, particularly because it wasn't compared against competitors.

Just FYI

• Raist

Go ahead and buy the camera from a retailer that is willing to accept a return with a full refund. You will have at least a couple of days to test drive the camera yourself and make a decision- if the camera makes you happy or not.

If you live in the USA, you should try Good Guys (they will charge you retail though), Circuit City (they will also charge you retail) and Frys (they will also charge you near retail).

It already seems you are on the edge of getting one even after seeing pictures posted... it sounds to me (and I say this with uttermost respect) that it might be a good idea to go ahead and buy it, test drive it yourself and decide if you are happy with it.

If you like what you see when you use it, whatever anyone says is irrelevant at that point, as far as your purchasing decision is concerned.

Imho of course

• Raist

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Raist- I'll go to Staple's- have some coupons, and they accept returns if not satisfied.
Ill post my opinions in a day or two, after charging it up and trying it out.

You're right about "whatever makes one happy"- my tastes are not that discerning. I currently have a DX4330, which takes pretty good shots,is easy to use, and, for the money, is a pretty good deal.

Im just baffled that the LS443 can be not as good as the DX4330, and have to see it for my self.
dg

Raist3d said:

If you live in the USA, you should try Good Guys (they will charge
you retail though), Circuit City (they will also charge you retail)
and Frys (they will also charge you near retail).

It already seems you are on the edge of getting one even after
seeing pictures posted... it sounds to me (and I say this with
uttermost respect) that it might be a good idea to go ahead and buy
it, test drive it yourself and decide if you are happy with it.

If you like what you see when you use it, whatever anyone says is
irrelevant at that point, as far as your purchasing decision is
concerned.

Imho of course

• Raist

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

JB- thanks for your advice.- Ill let this forum know in a day or two how I feel about it. Interestingly enough, my request to hear from someone with a positive experience, thus far, has yielded only the opposite. Maybe the one with the positive things to say are all at work here on the East Coast
dg

jimmyblue67 said:

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Hi Dennis,

Some of us on the East coast are at home, sick but still stay connected to work and this forum. At the university where I work, our multimedia lab decided to buy a few LS443's as loaners. The overriding issue was ease of use, since most of the people borrowing them would not be photo experts or overly familiar with digital cameras. They take them out into the field or use them for various other research projects. They're very recent purchases, but I'm not aware of any misgivings over their performance. We do have some professional phtographers on staff, and their equipment is far above the consumer category, but I'll check for some opinions when I'm back in the saddle next week. I myself, am happy enough with mine, but my point of comparison is my 30 year old Nikkormat slr - a great camera, but bulky and without such amenities as built-in flash. It just became too much effort to schlepp it around.

== Steve R. ==

Dennis Greenstein said:

jimmyblue67 said:

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Dennis Greenstein said:

Ill post my opinions in a day or two, after charging it up and
trying it out.
You're right about "whatever makes one happy"- my tastes are not
that discerning. > > >

Click to expand...

I posted this thread about the LS443 earlier in the week --- my opinion...here it is again, and then I will add a few more things: " As far as the camera goes, there seems to be a lot of controversy about its performance, but overall I like the camera. I purchased it because it had many features, the dock makes uploading super easy, internal memory, and video with sound. I didn't expect the video to be great...it's not a video camera, but found the video to be better than expected. I was expecting sharper pics from a 4 meg dc, but overall the pics are pretty decent for my needs. I do find that indoor night pics seem to have a pink cast on the walls or background areas, but skin tones are good, and the blue sky sometimes is more saturated than I would like on outdoor pics, but no camera is perfect. "

I have had the camera since mid November...None of the indoor shots are washed out....I rarely change the settings, and have been using the camera as a point and shoot. I think the macros are good, too, but will add just one more problem, and that is the shutter lag; when taking pics of pets, the delay is so long, you sometimes lose the shot you wanted...a little annoying, but you can delete and try again. I had purchased my camera online through J&R (authorized dealer, very reputable, and based in NYC. Perhaps some of the people who are not happy with the camera are not getting them from authorized dealers, and are ending up with grey market or inferior products...

Do the LS443 users out there realize that when you take a photo with this camera, you need to be pressing the shutter HALF-WAY down ONLY, at first, to allow the camera to set the focus, and then press all the way to snap the shot. This technique doesn't take long to master, and makes a huge difference in the results.

No one seems to ever mention what type of printer they use when printing their photos. Perhaps this makes a difference, or are the camera-users dissatisfied with the images on screen, alone? I mentioned in the rest of that earlier thread that I use an HP 930; a few years old, classified as a desk jet, not a photo printer, but very good prints at max resolution of 2400. In any case, if I had the problems or experiences I have been reading about here, I too would have returned the camera. Besides a few minor things, the photos (haven't printed anything larger than 4x6, but have cropped and enlarged areas of the photo) seem detailed and clear enough for me. Am I the only one to like the camera beside Brian Slayer? And Brian, why aren't you participating here, lately?

Steve's Digicam's, Imaging Resource, and PC Magazine gave the camera a decent rating. While Imaging Resource did say the image quality was closer to a high-end 3 mexapixel that what you expect from a high-end 4MP, they still liked the camera and included it in the year's Top 10. The rating on MSN was okay, and in fact, the only negative review was from here, I think. Someone had written (in this forum) that PC World gave the camera a good review, but I could not find that one.

Dennis, get the camera from a reputable dealer/store where the return won't be a hassle. Can't wait to hear your feedback.

I must go to work, now..I am late... so any follow up from me won't be for at least 12 hours or more.

Hey, it wouldn't hurt if you comparison shop a bit

Why not an S230 or Sony DSC-P7? Does it really have to be Kodak?

But anywho, I don't mean to put down my own advice.

• Raist

PS: Didn't know Staples did full refunds.... good to know!

Dennis Greenstein said:

Raist3d said:

If you live in the USA, you should try Good Guys (they will charge
you retail though), Circuit City (they will also charge you retail)
and Frys (they will also charge you near retail).

It already seems you are on the edge of getting one even after
seeing pictures posted... it sounds to me (and I say this with
uttermost respect) that it might be a good idea to go ahead and buy
it, test drive it yourself and decide if you are happy with it.

If you like what you see when you use it, whatever anyone says is
irrelevant at that point, as far as your purchasing decision is
concerned.

Imho of course

• Raist

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Thank you, Cindy- extremely informative, and to the point.

I read a review in PC Mag- not the online version, but the paper version, the one about 2-3 wks ago.
dg

Cindy333 said:

Dennis Greenstein said:

Ill post my opinions in a day or two, after charging it up and
trying it out.
You're right about "whatever makes one happy"- my tastes are not
that discerning. > > >

Click to expand...

I posted this thread about the LS443 earlier in the week --- my
opinion...here it is again, and then I will add a few more things:
" As far as the camera goes, there seems to be a lot of controversy
about its performance, but overall I like the camera. I purchased
it because it had many features, the dock makes uploading super
easy, internal memory, and video with sound. I didn't expect the
video to be great...it's not a video camera, but found the video to
be better than expected. I was expecting sharper pics from a 4 meg
dc, but overall the pics are pretty decent for my needs. I do find
that indoor night pics seem to have a pink cast on the walls or
background areas, but skin tones are good, and the blue sky
sometimes is more saturated than I would like on outdoor pics, but
no camera is perfect. "

I have had the camera since mid November...None of the indoor shots
are washed out....I rarely change the settings, and have been using
the camera as a point and shoot. I think the macros are good, too,
but will add just one more problem, and that is the shutter lag;
when taking pics of pets, the delay is so long, you sometimes lose
the shot you wanted...a little annoying, but you can delete and try
again. I had purchased my camera online through J&R (authorized
dealer, very reputable, and based in NYC. Perhaps some of the
people who are not happy with the camera are not getting them from
authorized dealers, and are ending up with grey market or inferior
products...

Do the LS443 users out there realize that when you take a photo
with this camera, you need to be pressing the shutter HALF-WAY down
ONLY, at first, to allow the camera to set the focus, and then
press all the way to snap the shot. This technique doesn't take
long to master, and makes a huge difference in the results.

No one seems to ever mention what type of printer they use when
printing their photos. Perhaps this makes a difference, or are the
camera-users dissatisfied with the images on screen, alone? I
mentioned in the rest of that earlier thread that I use an HP 930;
a few years old, classified as a desk jet, not a photo printer, but
very good prints at max resolution of 2400. In any case, if I had
the problems or experiences I have been reading about here, I too
would have returned the camera. Besides a few minor things, the
photos (haven't printed anything larger than 4x6, but have cropped
and enlarged areas of the photo) seem detailed and clear enough for
me. Am I the only one to like the camera beside Brian Slayer? And
Brian, why aren't you participating here, lately?

Steve's Digicam's, Imaging Resource, and PC Magazine gave the
camera a decent rating. While Imaging Resource did say the image
quality was closer to a high-end 3 mexapixel that what you expect
from a high-end 4MP, they still liked the camera and included it in
the year's Top 10. The rating on MSN was okay, and in fact, the
only negative review was from here, I think. Someone had written
(in this forum) that PC World gave the camera a good review, but I
could not find that one.

Dennis, get the camera from a reputable dealer/store where the
return won't be a hassle. Can't wait to hear your feedback.
I must go to work, now..I am late... so any follow up from me won't
be for at least 12 hours or more.

Click to expand...

re: Staples- The stores may give some "attitude", but Staples.com gives full refunds for non-satisfaction. I've bought printers through them, not been satisfied, and returned for full credit within a few days. Of course, once recent purchase, the printer had been used!!
dg

Raist3d said:

Why not an S230 or Sony DSC-P7? Does it really have to be Kodak?

But anywho, I don't mean to put down my own advice.

• Raist

PS: Didn't know Staples did full refunds.... good to know!

Dennis Greenstein said:

Raist3d said:

If you live in the USA, you should try Good Guys (they will charge
you retail though), Circuit City (they will also charge you retail)
and Frys (they will also charge you near retail).

It already seems you are on the edge of getting one even after
seeing pictures posted... it sounds to me (and I say this with
uttermost respect) that it might be a good idea to go ahead and buy
it, test drive it yourself and decide if you are happy with it.

If you like what you see when you use it, whatever anyone says is
irrelevant at that point, as far as your purchasing decision is
concerned.

Imho of course

• Raist

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Raist3d said:

Hey, it wouldn't hurt if you comparison shop a bit

Why not an S230 or Sony DSC-P7? Does it really have to be Kodak?

But anywho, I don't mean to put down my own advice.

• Raist

Click to expand...

Raist, while this may have been directed towards Dennis and not me, I wanted to say that I did do some comparrison shopping. While some may find it laughable, at prices in the area of $400 for a DC, the "must have" features for me was the movie with audio, as I thought it convenient to have this in the camera since I have no intention of getting a camcoder/video cam. So while not expecting the best quality movie, and realizing limited to zero controls for the movie clips, I still would have the option to take mini-movies with sound. This limited the selection of DCs. I also wanted a minimum of 3 MP.

I did not like the "feel" and/or construction and/or controls, and/or build of the fuji models with this feature; had been warned to stay away from Sony (by sales people at two different retailers and a camera shop; also Sony had a very bad reputation regarding the software), that pretty much left the Cannon S30 or S40. I was so very close to buying the Canon S30, but after taking into consideration the costs of the proprietary battery ($70+ in local stores and around $60 online), a card reader, a rapid charger, and a 128 memory card, this was going to cost close to $600 for the S30 and even more for the S40. When the Kodak DX4330 was released, I considered buying it (my friend has a DX3700;few features but decent pics), but I held off waiting for price drops, and then the LS443 was announced. It had all the features I wanted, and many of the same manual controls included with the Cannons. I had also read user comments on some other sites, and while most were good, there did seem to be some very consistent problems from different users on different sites. The LS443 came with the dock, some internal memory (good for emergency situations when the external memory card is full), and the Kodak home site/store had a rapid charger with a spare battery included listed for $35.00. The price began to drop slightly at the online stores, and while I new getting nearer to X-mas they would have better prices, I could no longer wait, and wanted the camera before Thanksgiving. At the time I ordered the camera (a day or 2 before Halloween--it took about ten days to arrive), about 98% of the user comments (here, Circuit City, CNet, and others) were very positive. All the "professional reviews (that I mentioned in another thread earlier today) were also pretty good with the exception of Jeff Keller's (DCRP) mixed review. None of them are ever perfect, so purchase the Kodak, I did. And I am happy with it and my "test shots", while I haven't really had the opportunity to do much of the outdoor photography I really enjoy, yet. After I had the camera, I discovered this forum, and was so surprised at the range of problems and the debate....it has become addicting to read about, and we are now....

I am not a pro photographer or even close to it, but I have been taking pictures all my life. Going back to the early $80's all the 35mm cameras I've owned except one, were in the $250-$350 range and included Canon, Pentax, and Ricoh, and Minolta. My best pics and 3x10's were from the Canon and the Pentax. Everyone has loved my photos in the past, would request enlargements(8x10) for framing, and some would use my shots for their X-mas cards, too. (used to take fall landscapes/parks/lakes/beaches photos back east, and flowers......friends, family pets too, but outdoor photography was my passion.) Haven't been at it avidly in the last few years due to higher priority demands, but have wanted to be back into it this year. So this is my photography background...not very technical, just do what you feel and be happy if your really love, love, love 4 special shots per roll, and like some of the rest.

Just out of curiousity, I saw and liked these photos, taken with a LS443, and I wanted to know if you had seen them, and what you thought of them.

http://www.pbase.com/nobuwu/my_favorite

-- Cindy

Cindy333 said:

Raist3d said:

Hey, it wouldn't hurt if you comparison shop a bit

Why not an S230 or Sony DSC-P7? Does it really have to be Kodak?

But anywho, I don't mean to put down my own advice.

• Raist

Click to expand...

Raist, while this may have been directed towards Dennis and not me,
I wanted to say that I did do some comparrison shopping.

Click to expand...

Allright... my comments follow...

Cindy333 said:

While
some may find it laughable, at prices in the area of $400 for a DC,
the "must have" features for me was the movie with audio, as I
thought it convenient to have this in the camera since I have no
intention of getting a camcoder/video cam. So while not expecting
the best quality movie, and realizing limited to zero controls for
the movie clips, I still would have the option to take mini-movies
with sound. This limited the selection of DCs. I also wanted a
minimum of 3 MP.

Click to expand...

That's nice, but I don't see how that changes looking at the S230 or Sony DSC-P7 - for one both have much better movie quality. Also the S230 can capture in 640x480 although only 30 seconds, but it is still very impressive what you can capture with clips of such resolution.

If that was your main feature, I would honestly have stayed away from the LS443 because the movie quality simply can't compare vs the S230 or P7.

Cindy333 said:

I did not like the "feel" and/or construction and/or controls,
and/or build of the fuji models with this feature; had been warned
to stay away from Sony (by sales people at two different retailers
and a camera shop; also Sony had a very bad reputation regarding
the software), that pretty much left the Cannon S30 or S40. I was

Click to expand...

Why not the S230? Was it because it wasn't out at that time?

About Sony- the P7 is actually pretty decent. I agree the software bundle might not be as good as Canon's or Kodak's.

Cindy333 said:

so very close to buying the Canon S30, but after taking into
consideration the costs of the proprietary battery ($70+ in local
stores and around $60 online), a card reader, a rapid charger, and
a 128 memory card, this was going to cost close to $600 for the S30
and even more for the S40. When the Kodak DX4330 was released, I
considered buying it (my friend has a DX3700;few features but
decent pics), but I held off waiting for price drops, and then the
LS443 was announced. It had all the features I wanted, and many of
the same manual controls included with the Cannons. I had also read
user comments on some other sites, and while most were good, there
did seem to be some very consistent problems from different users
on different sites. The LS443 came with the dock, some internal
memory (good for emergency situations when the external memory card
is full), and the Kodak home site/store had a rapid charger with a

Click to expand...

I agree built in memory is a good feature becuase basically makes the camera functional at all times if you say forget the memory card.

Cindy333 said:

spare battery included listed for $35.00. The price began to drop
slightly at the online stores, and while I new getting nearer to
X-mas they would have better prices, I could no longer wait, and
wanted the camera before Thanksgiving. At the time I ordered the
camera (a day or 2 before Halloween--it took about ten days to
arrive), about 98% of the user comments (here, Circuit City, CNet,
and others) were very positive. All the "professional reviews
(that I mentioned in another thread earlier today) were also pretty
good with the exception of Jeff Keller's (DCRP) mixed review. None
of them are ever perfect, so purchase the Kodak, I did. And I am
happy with it and my "test shots", while I haven't really had the
opportunity to do much of the outdoor photography I really enjoy,
yet. After I had the camera, I discovered this forum, and was so
surprised at the range of problems and the debate....it has become
addicting to read about, and we are now....

Click to expand...

Well I am very glad to hear you are happy with your purchase.

Cindy333 said:

I am not a pro photographer or even close to it, but I have been
taking pictures all my life. Going back to the early $80's all the
35mm cameras I've owned except one, were in the $250-$350 range and
included Canon, Pentax, and Ricoh, and Minolta. My best pics and
3x10's were from the Canon and the Pentax. Everyone has loved my
photos in the past, would request enlargements(8x10) for framing,
and some would use my shots for their X-mas cards, too. (used to
take fall landscapes/parks/lakes/beaches photos back east, and
flowers......friends, family pets too, but outdoor photography was
my passion.) Haven't been at it avidly in the last few years due
to higher priority demands, but have wanted to be back into it this
year. So this is my photography background...not very technical,
just do what you feel and be happy if your really love, love, love
4 special shots per roll, and like some of the rest.

Just out of curiousity, I saw and liked these photos, taken with a
LS443, and I wanted to know if you had seen them, and what you
thought of them.

Click to expand...

I'll check them out right now.

• Raist

Cindy333 said:

http://www.pbase.com/nobuwu/my_favorite

-- Cindy

Click to expand...

[in reply to Cindy33]

I have already seen them. I would say they rank in my book as some of the best pictures I have seen on the Ls443.

I still see problems with them but not as bad as some others I have seen. The cat'ws bow tie for example is lacking tonal range. It seems to me the LS443 seems to lack tonal range for pure reds (or close colors) and blues.

• Raist

First 15 pictures have been taken with the LS443- all indoors, of my office, all with flash.

All have come out quite nicely, if you let the deafult features do their thing, and let the AF work correctly (hold down shutter half way till the AF kicks in, then depress for the shot)
Will take "people shots" later on, as soon as the battery charges.
The first 15 pictures were taken within 3 minutes of opening the box.

Still have not opened the manual, except to figure out if battery is charging. So, it is indeed EASY and intuitive.

Pictures are on a par with my 3.0MP Canon S30 (since sold as it was too complicated for this engineer/accountant to be able to take quick shots) and the DX4330, so I agree with everyone's observation about the camera not being up to par with a 4.0 MP. I don't know what a good 4.0 MP can do, as I have never used one. I have 2 3.0 MP DC's, and this is in that range.

So, my thought is that it's about $80-90 overpirced, considering that the DX4330 and the dock is about $360, street price. The proprietary battery is an issue, of course, as you need to purchase a spare.

The writing to the SD card takes longer than the DX4330- I presume this is because of the 4.0 MP vs the 3.0MP (larger file). But, you can still shoot while it's writing, so this so-called problem is just a fact, not necessarily a problem.
More thoughts later on.
Dennis

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Hi,

I have a DX4330 and have compared the file sizes and image quality posted on Kodak's samples pages in response to Nobu's observation between image quality between these two dc's. We both agreed the DX4330 sample pics were better than the LS443 sample pics posted by Kodak. The average file sizes of the DX4330 were also larger.

Please, if you have the time, make side by side shots between these two dc's at best quality to compare file sizes and image quality.
Napjun

Dennis Greenstein said:

Dennis Greenstein said:

I've been reading all of the neg. feedback on this camera in this
forum.
Most other articles that Ive read , typically by reviewers, both
oin the Web and in magazines, give this camera a decent review,
especially for hobbyists, point and shoot photographers,
entry-level, in short, every type of photographer except for the
professional, type, or even semi-pro, or pro-sumer.
Is there anyone out there who is genuinely satisfied with this DC?
The disparity of opinions really amazes me, and I just would like
to hear from folks who are satisfied with their purchase, before I
do mine (possibly)
Thank You.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Dennis, congratulations on trying out a decision for yourself... I can imagine if I was in your shoes my touch of OCD would get in the way!

Enjoy your new camera.

• Raist

ok, Raist- seems you are quite possibly correct on the LS443.

I just took some outside night shots of Xmas trees. Used the night settings. All shots were somewhat blurry- I guess, as I held the camera, I was not as steady as I should have been (I was actually shivering in the cold!).

Some in the home shots of family members came out very nice, tho- pictures right on the money, ALMOST AS GOOD AS MY DX4330!

Ill try some outside shots with AF to get a feel for those, but, the more I shoot, the less enthused I am- again, not any better than the 4330, thus far. btw- what is OCD??
DG

Raist3d said:

Dennis, congratulations on trying out a decision for yourself... I
can imagine if I was in your shoes my touch of OCD would get in the
way!

Enjoy your new camera.

• Raist

Click to expand...

Dennis Barak said:

than the 4330, thus far. btw- what is OCD??

Click to expand...

I believe it stands for "obsessive-complusive disorder"



--
Linda