Kodak Easyshare M1093 IS

Kodak has in the past struggled to match the sleek, stylish cameras from Canon and Sony, but the metallic-finish M1093 is an excellent contender.

A back plate almost entirely given over to a 3in screen for picture composition and review means external controls are kept at a minimum, the buttons that are present mostly recessed into the body.

The manufacturer has also taken a leaf out of Panasonic’s book, borrowing its concept of Intelligent Auto mode – the camera registers the subject you’re pointing it at and selects an optimal setting – here rechristening it Smart Capture.

Press the power button – illuminated with a comforting blue light when active – and within two seconds the 3x optical zoom lens barrel extends from its stored position flush to the body, the back screen blinking into life accompanied by a brief musical flourish.

However, the camera is not as fast to respond in other ways: saving its 10-megapixel shots to the memory card was slower than on competing models and we had to wait around four seconds to turn it off after pressing the power button before it responded.

Examining the M1093’s images on a computer, results were variable. While there’s plenty of detail and critical sharpness on its so-called smart auto setting, the colours occasionally looked unnatural – the camera reproducing deep blue skies as turquoise – with fringing visible between areas of high contrast.

Fortunately, fiddling with the various dedicated scene modes, such as snow, portrait and so on, made for more accurate colours. For those who do want more control, a Program mode is among the ones on offer.

While the widescreen 720p high-definition video clips also suffered from varying colour, the full extent of the optical zoom can be used when filming, plus the camera gradually adjusts focus as necessary when the user zooms in or out.

Though you can replay movie files on the PC, an HD dock for hooking the camera up to a television costs extra.

Given that Kodak’s M1093 IS retails for a little more than £100, most of our gripes can be forgiven, and, should you be looking for a beginner-friendly point-and-shoot, it certainly fits the bill.