David: The 6440 is still on my short list but, in the States, the upcoming 7440 will sell for $50 more ($349 compared with sell-out price here of $299 for the 6440), and I'm dying to see that - see Kodak U.S. website for detailed description, even an owner's manual download.What's holding me back on the 6440 is the grip (tends to slip out of the hand), and the overcompression. There is only one choice - and it compresses to about 1mb. Heck, my 2.0 Canon compresses to that. From what I gather, this really limits your options to crop. The upcoming 7440 has a "fine" mode option, compressing to about 2mb. The other concern, about both cameras, is that the CCD is a 1/2.5 rather than the 1/1.8 used in Sony and others. So, for example, the A80 is one of my top considerations, partly for feature set (those two Custom dial modes, and the rotating LCD), and partly because it has the 1/1.8 CCD, which is larger than the A75's and Kodaks.
Here's the page on the 7440 -
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQueri...equestid=64730
The 7630 (6mp) is already in our stores, and has the same body shape as the 7440. It fits beautifully in the hand, and yet is small enough to be pocketable in large pockets. In addition to the obvious (2.2 LCD), the 7440 has some terrific direct button selections, and only 2 quick steps to a bunch of scene modes. One button on top, for example, will allow direct selection of exposure bracketing (taking 3 pictures at different exposures), something I would like to be able to do simply, without fussing with a menu.
Bottom line: Like you, I need to try these cameras out, and will wait for the W1, which still hasn't arrived, and the 7440. I also am anxious to see more reviews of both. Looking at the P100, as well. My budget is around $350, which opens up some interesting options. I'm down to: Kodak 7440, Canon A80, Sony W1 and P100 - in about that order. Good grief, it's harder than buying a washing machine! Let's keep in touch on the next step...
Dave