Besides its more classic characteristics, the Kodak EasyShare V1003 reserves a few surprises for us like a 10 million pixel sensor and technology that is supposed to improve images. There is electronic stabilization, sensitivity up until 1600 ISO and even a mode for making panoramic shots. The most impressive however, is the price. At less than 200 Euros, is the V1003 really a good deal?

In hand

The EasyShare V1003 looks rather attractive. Contrary to the cool angles of the new Canon Ixus (Ixus 70a), this small Kodak brick went with a more rounded design. Handling is particularly nice, even if the interface’s minuscule buttons are sometimes difficult to use. The 2.5 inch LCD screen display images with good fluidity and precision even in low light.  In back lit scenes, the V1003’s screen is less at ease and images can be saturated by artifacts. Startup takes a little less than 4 seconds, a relatively long amount of time to charge the flash. Unfortunately, the V1003 is somewhat lethargic with focusing requiring (even on a contrasted subject) a good second as well as its time to record onto the memory card.  The most handicapping, however, is the trigger latency at 0.13 s. Make sure you don’t move too much while snapping the shot or photos will be blurry. In burst mode, the V1003 is hardly fast with 4 images in 2 seconds.  The optical zoom features a classic focal range of 36-108, however, it is relatively bright.

Quality of images

The 10 million pixel sensor combined with Kodak’s lens results in well detailed images, which are very good in low sensitivities. Colors have good fidelity and are flattering without excess. There is especially a less noticeable red dominance than on other cameras from this brand. These are all good points, but unfortunately, they don’t entirely make up for its poor noise control. With a 10 million pixel sensor, noise processing is an essential factor, and on this point the V1003 isn’t the best. Color pixels start to show up at 200 ISO and rapidly appear at higher sensitivities. 400 ISO clearly marks the limits for this camera, and beyond this, images are difficult to salvage.    Flash photos on the other hand are very satisfactory.