Kodak LS633

Digital cameras of the 3.1 megapixel variety are three-a-penny nowadays, so Kodak's new LS633 might not seem like the most exciting bit of kit. But is has one feature that makes it stand out from the crowd - an OLED screen at the rear. It actually stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, which means that you get a brighter, larger screen with an amazing 165-degree viewing angle and no extra drain on battery life.

It makes taking pictures more flexible and we found that we could still clearly see the 2.2in screen even when we looked at it almost side-on. Combined with the bright image, it made photography a pleasure.

Fortunately, the rest of the camera lives up to the promise of the screen and Kodak has fitted a professional 3x optical zoom lens manufactured by Schneider-Kreuznach. The quality of the lens can often be overlooked, so it's good to see an offering like this on the LS633.

The automatic picture mode will suit most people but the camera can be switched manually to a specific mode, such as for shooting fast-moving objects.

The only other settings likely to be touched are for the quality mode. At the maximum quality setting you can happily get 11in x 14in prints and store 17 images on the camera's internal memory. For long trips, you will want to splash out on a new SD memory card.

Getting pictures onto your PC couldn't be easier. The camera is used to mark pictures to be printed and copied and then the operation is automatically performed once the camera is connected to a PC. The excellent software can even be used to send pictures to professional printers or to email to friends. Simply transferring your pictures to the PC can also be done in the normal way.

For an extra £50 you can buy a special EasyShare docking station that connects your camera to the PC and also acts as a fast charger.

We were very happy with the quality of the camera and its prints but its biggest problem is the part of the market it is in. With a better screen as its main selling point, the LS633 may find itself losing out to models with more megapixels or features at a similar price.

Contact: Kodak 0870 243 0270
www.kodak.co.uk