I Challenge My Old Kodak Point and Shoot To A HDR...

The Kodak Easyshare CX4230 was my first digital camera, which I got I think about 5 years ago. With a whopping 2 Mega-pixel Sensor, 3 times optical zoom, and a hunger for batteries only seconded by its tiny lcd screen, you could say it's a little out-classed these days.

I wanted to give my old Kodak a run for old times sake, to see if you could produce a half-decent landscape HDR with a 2 mega-pixel sensor, and a little bit of magic from Photomatix and Photoshop.

So what do you think? I only had one go at this, mounting the Kodak on my tripod, then using exposure compensation to capture an under exposed, just right, and over exposed shot. Photomatix then HDR'd and Photo-merged the pictures, and I changed it to Black and White in Photoshop, and added a sepia tint.

The composition isn't great, note how I've managed to get confused with the Tower and the Lamp-Posts, but I think with a little more practice I could make something better. The limitation is the lack of detail, and I don't have enough control to really over and under expose the shots, meaning I can't get dramatic treatments (which may not be a bad thing!)

Will I be using my Kodak when I'm out shooting? No, I'll be sticking with my S5700. My son can carry on using the Kodak, but I will carry on using it to show examples of my set-ups, but this does show you get get good captures with any camera.

I tell you what was good though, was using an optical viewfinder versus the electronic one on my Fuji - it's so much clearer on the Kodak! Ok, you don't get all the settings on the screen, but looking through the clear optical viewfinder, the idea of a dSLR is creeping up on me again...

It was nice to put my first digital camera through its paces again, some nice memories, so, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Kodak CX4230!

Thanks, Rob.