Photos: Hands-on with the Kodak EasyShare V1073 and C613
The 10-megapixel Kodak EasyShare V1073 is styled after Jason Bourne, with a combat-black frame and touchscreen, while the C613 is a curvy bargain
As ambivalent as we are about touchscreens, the Kodak EasyShare V1073 and C613 caught our eye at the Focus On Imaging 2008 conference in sunny Birmingham. In fact, the V1073 caught us between the eyes like a stealth brick. This camera looks good the way two people beating seven shades of Shynola out of each other looks good, if one of them is Jason Bourne.
The first thing we noticed is that the V1073 looks like it's modelled on one of those rubber bricks you had to rescue while wearing pyjamas on life-saving courses at the municipal swimming pool. The manufacturer's logo and buttons match the matte black of the camera body, while the lens sports a quirky squared surround.
It looks like the sort of camera an SAS trooper would use to take pictures of terrorist installations while skydiving in under radar, and possibly use to brain a henchman when he landed.
Specs-wise, it's a 10-megapixel compact with a 3x optical zoom lens and a great big 76mm (3-inch) touchscreen. Optical image stabilisation, face detection and 16:9 MPEG-4 video round out this package. Click through the links for more of the V1073, and if the £199 price tag isn't your bag, get set for a bargain that could have your eye out. -Rich Trenholm
Update: Read our full Kodak EasyShare V1073 review.
Fans of the Rocky Horror Show have known how important touching is for years, and Sony has been doggedly sticking touchscreens into anything that will pick up fingerprints for a while. Now it seems Kodak is getting into the touchscreen action.
Oh, and while we're on the Kodak tip: the Kodak C613 also boasts a 3x zoom, along with a mere 6.2 megapixels and a titchy 61mm (2.4-inch) screen. Why are we discerning Cravers even drawing your attention to such a meagrely specced camera? We'll tell you for why: it's less than sixty blinkin' quid.