Home > Consumer Reviews > Kodak EasyShare LS743 4MP Digital Camera with 2.8x Optical Zoom

This is my first Digital Camera purchase - and BOY am I glad I got the Kodak LS743! I have a husband & 2 daughters and I take pictures all the time-My film developing bill was high! Now I can pick and choose the shots I want to print. I can also create family albums on the computer - to eventually be put onto CD's & set to music!
They have the 5 megapixel camera's out, but I really don't think that I see that much of a difference with this 4 megapixel. I get Great photos-sharp & clear. And the zoom lets me be flexible with my shots. The color is awesome!-These pictures turn out beautiful!!
This is a smaller camera than any I saw. I like the sleek design.
You can also shoot 2 minutes of QVGA video. I haven't done enuf with this feature yet, but I know it's longer than some camera's on the market allow for video time.
I have used the Auto mode quite a bit while getting used to the camera, but it also has portait, close-up, night, sport, snow, & many other modes! It has flash, & red-eye reduction. You can even store email addresses in the camera & hit the "share" button to share special photos with your contacts. It comes with a rechargable lithium-ion battery and a sleek charger that you can plug into an outlet.
This camera is simple to learn & the pictures are amazing! I highly recommend this camera!

1smileycat :-)

I bought this camera through Amazon and received it a day or two before my sister-in-law's wedding. I charged the battery the preceding night, took a ton of wedding shots (in and outside) and many other shots throughout the next month. After nearly 30 days, well over 100 shots, lots of downloading, a wedding and a visit to my daughter at college the battery finally went out. Wow!
Detail? I was in my kayak and had a dragonfly land on my lap. I took the shot and the detail is so good you can see the individual threads in the rip-stop nylon pants I was wearing and the detail of the web in it's wings!
Indoors? I took a shot of my daughter and 2 friends (nighttime, incandescent light) ... she liked the photo so much that we cropped out her friends and edited it and its the photo she's going to use for her senior picture in her yearbook!
Video? My other daughter is in the UMass Marching Band ... so I took 12 short (5-12 sec) videos of the Band and Colorguard at the UMass/Richmond game and the sound, with headphones, is quite good (better than regular TV sound). The video was best if I didn't pan with the camera. The end of that day is when the battery ran out (one month after a full wedding, all the inbetween photos and 12 marching band short videos!).
I did buy an SD card reader at Office Max (...) so now I don't run the battery to download pictures, erase my card, etc.
I like the other reviewer's comment that it's like being married to a handsome prince ... it really IS an attractive camera. After using my daughters Casio Exilim (nearly credit card sized) I knew I wanted a small camera. I'm a high school administrator and it's very convenient to slip it over my head with the neckstrap and wander around "capturing the moment."
I did a lot of internet camera shopping over the summer, waited for just the features I wanted, this camera was released, and I'm very happy with it.
I do have an old, outstanding Canon AE-1Program with the huge telephoto lens, etc, so I did not buy this camera intending for it to do everything. This is my general purpose, get some GREAT shots, have some versatility, digital. Took my (just what I selected, multiples of some, wallets of another) for a little over $5.0little SD card to Wal-Mart today (I carry it and the reader in an old hardshell glasses case!), got 21 prints 0 ... no waste on bad shots and no going back for reprints after seeing how they came out!
I did buy a "Digital Promaster" camera case at my local camera shop and when I dropped the camera (in the case) onto pavement from the 10th or so level of the bleachers at a soccer game, the camera was fine!
As you can see, I'm a very busy person ... and this camera keeps up with me. Way fun!

I recently purchased this Kodak LS743 camera after purchasing 2 other digital cameras and returning them. I started with the Nikon CoolPix 3100 which was a 3-megapixel for $179. I took it to the zoo and took some really good pictures, but wasn't entirely pleased with the zoom quality and it had a purplish tinge to the prints so I decided to try a higher megapixel camera. I found the Gateway D510 which was a 5-megapixel for only $199. I was excited to try it out. I was extremely disappointed. The print quality was worse than my old Olympus 2-megapixel and the camera got so hot in my hand while taking just a few pictures and even just reviewing the pix. I took it back the next day and had an extremely difficult time trying to find a good camera.

I really wanted the digital camera to take action photos of my son and pets at home. Since I didn't want to make another mistake purchasing a bad camera and having to pay a 15% restocking fee, I took my time playing around with all the cameras at the store. I had the camera associate move around so I could practice taking shots using the sport/action mode. I tested a few Fujis and also a few Canons and they were blurry. I tested the Kodaks and they came out great! I didn't want to pay too much for the camera (I paid $299), but I didn't want to risk buying another cheap one, so I bought the LS743. Right out of the box, it was so easy to use! It did not come with a SecureDigital card, but lucklily I had bought one for the Gateway camera.

I practiced taking action shots on the way home by pointing the camera out the window while I was driving and randomly taking pictures. I reveiwd them later and was amazed at the quality. Homes in the background were super crisp and the detail on the cars which were moving at over 30mph were as if they were not moving at all. I couldn't believe it! Little did I know that this camera also has video with audio capability with no time limit (only limited to your SD card memory). The quality of the video is as good as my digital camcorder if not better! I am so happy I went with Kodak.

This camera is nicely sized and takes great pix! The ONLY flaw I have found so far is taking pictures in low light - the LCD display is very dark and I can't seem to adjust the brightness. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting an easy-to-use point-and-shoot digital camera with great picture quality. The camera also comes with Kodak software which lets you create digital photo albums and burn them to CDs as slide shows.

If you are a DP Pro, then please dont read this review. But, if you are like the majority who wants an easy, reliable Digital camera and 'MOST OF THE TIME USE BASIC FEATURES ONLY' person you must read on.

I bought this camera after doing lot of research in the net and feedback from my peers. When I got this, I was amazed to see the picture quality and easiness in using it. I was shooting with in 3 hrs after the Fedex guy left. (You've to charge the battery for ~3 hours before first use). I still have to invent all the advanced features and modes of the camera. But, if all DEFAULT and AUTO modes are this good, then I am sure it will be BETTER with advanced features. The battery life time is pretty good too.
Only concern is, the door for the output terminals (USB/Adapter),that looks bit shaky!

After my initial research, things got filterd in to just three items: One Sony model and two Kodak model, CX7430 and LS743. Sony may be great but it was not good for me because
1)Seen pathetic remarks about their customer service
2)It has only 90 days warranty.
If you combine both(1) and (2) above, its risky to buy their product. I dont beleive in buying extended waranty for electronic stuff because the technology changes rapidly and, in another 2 years, you'll find yourself in a situation to buy a new camera than paying for Extended warranty. Since Kodak has one year warranty and my 'platinum' credit card has another one year free extended warranty, I had to decide between CX7430 and LS743. It was a tough decison, because both cameras are good. But the LS743 is the one that got PCMAG's Editors choice award (...) Looks like, it was a perfect decision.

I decided to purchase this camera for my daughter for Christmas. I have been encouraging her to take pictures since she was five, and I was, frankly, tired of buying disposables. Since she is 10, I felt she was old enough to appreciate a camera that she wouldn't abuse, yet would let her share her vision of her world with me. At a little over $200, I wasn't worried if she dropped it in a pool or a toilet; I gave her the camera with the caveat: it's yours, treat it with care and make it last.
If you have children (8-15), you know that they are more technically competent than we were at their age; just as we were more technically competent than our parents during our formative years (think TRS-80, Commodore 64...).
My daughter opened the camera, charged the battery, and took digipics within the first 4 hours. Combined with the printer dock, she was printing digipics of Cliff, our cat, Toby, our dog, and a great group digipic (using the timer function and tripod) with no help from me or the instruction manual.
Online services certainly offer more inexpensive per print costs, but how can you compare instant Kodak-quality prints with wait-a-week-save-fifty-cents for slumber parties and last minute science projects.
The LS743 certainly is not the most advanced camera in the world, which is why I rate it 4 stars. However, Kodak has made a camera that is as simple to use as a disposable, and coupled with the printer dock, is a rock-solid introduction to digital photography for your 10 year old daughter or your 70 year old mother.