Kodak Easyshare C330 Digital Camera Review

Review:  

This camera uses a 3X zoom Retinar Lens, rated f/2.7 to f/4.6. Pretty good for a “point and shoot” inexpensive camera, although low light really kills this lens. More than acceptable results when good lighting is present, though. The camera also comes with a 5X digital zoom.

The EasyShare C330 digital camera has few manual adjustments. However, the easy to explore menus will attract some users, provided that those users do not intend to become professional al all. This may be a very digital camera for a person who wants to buy a camera for the first time; but, if once you have understood and mastered all the very basics of digital photography you want to gain more experience as a photographer, you will need to get a new digicam, as the EasyShare C330 does not offer you more than just that: the basics.

The C330 is extremely easy to use. The four buttons located along the side of the (small) LCD really simplify tasks such as deleting unneeded pictures, entering and using the integrated menus, turning the LCD display on or off, and, of course, picture browsing. But, if all those functions can be accessed from those buttons, then… What is the dial for?, basically, it’s for turning the camera on and off, although it actually provides a few useful functions (including the fairly good “burst mode”, which allows you to shoot 3 times in a row, capturing three high resolution images in the not so short time of 2,60 seconds). Note that the camera takes up to twenty seconds (yes, 20 seconds) to recover from a burst-shoot. Even when the burst mode is not used, the camera spends that time getting ready for next capture after three quick shots have been made. So, forget about action shooting.

The Kodak EasyShare C330 digital camera provides only essential manual adjustments, like ISO settings, exposure compensation and focus. This camera has the usual auto-exposure compensation presets, available through the dial.
The focus capability is lame: focusing closer than two feet is nearly impossible, except by using the Macro mode, which allows focusing down to 5 inches.

As any EasyShare camera, it features a button on the back just to designate pictures as favorites, or for easy printing or e-mailing.

The Kodak EasyShare C330 has a slow warm up time, up to 5 seconds. However, interval between shots can be as short as 1.8 seconds; not so bad for a “point and shoot” camera. Keep in mind that shot to shot times increase greatly when the flash is turned on, as in most digital cameras. In the C330’s case, it was almost 2.6 seconds.

Although it could be improved (after all, it is a Kodak), the shutter response times are relatively short.

The optical viewfinder is poorly implemented: it did not only mismatch the LCD screen, but also the captured picture.

Of course, this camera implements the Kodak color correction feature. This helps create bright, intense pictures.

Noise reduction is not good: at ISO 160, noise levels become very noticeable.

The C330 is able to record clips (with sound) while in video mode. The only available resolution is 320 x 240 pixels, and the only available frame rate is 20 frames per second. Video quality is fine when you are not moving, but jerkiness appears as soon as you start panning. Good enough for a funny clip, but forget about recording your baby’s first steps.

Recommendation:

If you never used a digital camera before, then the C330 is probably a great choice, because it is inexpensive and results are pretty good when good environmental light is present. However, I do not recommend this camera for those people who are really interested on learning about digital photography. This is a really easy to use camera, but do not expect to take prize-winning pictures with it.

Features:

• 4 megapixel CCD resolution.
• 3X Optical Zoom Kodak Retinar lens, (34mm-102mm) (inter-changeable).
• 5X Digital Zoom.
• Autofocus.
• Pictures saved in JPEG format.
• 320 x 240 (QVGA) Video Resolution, at 20 fps, MPEG-4/Quicktime format.
• Three automatic white balance presets.
• 16 Mb built-in memory. SD card/MMC card compatible.
• 1.5 inches LCD display.
• USB interface.
• Kodak’s EasyShare capability.

Accessories:

• 2x AA alkaline batteries (or 1x CR-V3 proprietary non-rechargeable battery).
• USB cable.
• Custom dock insert.
• Software, drivers and manuals CD-ROM.
• Wrist strap.