It sometimes feels like we're all still beta testing various digital imaging technologies, including digital cameras, but I bought a Kodak DC280 two weeks ago. Are the "dark ages" coming to an end? The DC280 appears to be a good mid-range digital camera, good for those who want to capture images for the Web. Biggest plus is image quality: this is the best camera in this price range that I tested, with two-megapixel resolution. Having quite a bit of hands-on experience with various Sony cameras, Donna and I were surprised by how clear the DC280's images were in a variety of lighting conditions.

This is not the perfect camera for all applications. For one thing, there are few manual controls on the camera for focus, aperture or shutter priority, and the optical zoom limited to 2X. This will mean that photo enthusiasts might want to look at something the next step up, such as the wacky-looking Nikon Coolpix 950. As others have reported, low-light shooting is not at the quality that one would hope for from a camera at this level.