An Entry-Level Digital Camera That's Best Used Outdoors: Kodak EasyShare C310 Digital Camera

These days, a digital camera is an essential tool for life on the internet. Thinking about selling something on eBay? You won’t get too far without a picture of the product. Want to update your myspace page? You’ll have to get your pictures processed on CD or scan your images to do so. Trouble is, if you can spend $300 to $400 on one of the sleek, higher quality cameras with tons of megapixels and features, you may never feel comfortable letting your kids use it.

Digital Cameras and Me
I’ve wanted a digital camera for the past few years, but it’s taken a while for the market to deliver a product that’s inexpensive enough to be truly portable with all of the features I need. I do consider myself to be somewhat technically literate, but I’m also extremely impatient and didn’t want a camera that would go into a “mode” and get stuck, leaving me with low quality images or default settings that make every picture look like it was taken in the 1800’s until my blood pressure lowers to the point where I can spend 45 minutes figuring out how to get the effect to go away. Damn that sienna mode.

I needed something inexpensive and versatile enough for work and pleasure. I often need to take pictures of clients and special events for work to be used in printed publications and on the web. I also live with a teen and a pre-teen who are on the computer almost as much as they are in bed asleep. They’re very responsible, but I knew I’d be stifling a gasp every time they wanted to use the camera if it was too expensive.

I chose the Kodak C310 because it was very inexpensive (under $100) with 4.0 megapixels – which, in human terms, means that I can print the occasional 8”x10” photograph. I have a penchant for photography but I’m no Annie Leibovitz. Still, I wanted the option to take and have a beautiful print, should I be blessed with being in the right place at the right time. I’ve also been inspired by my friends who are professional photographers and have been staunchly against digital for some time, but are now gathering up their vintage medium and large format film cameras for a high end digital, which I couldn’t afford or use well even if I could afford it. I can rarely afford the 110 speed black and white film and the processing for my Mamiya C330, but I’ve been carrying the Kodak C310 digital around to document any and all of the less than mundane moments of family and work life and uploading them to my computer at no cost to me – which is just the right price.

While selecting my camera, I looked at several cameras in the $100 range, including the DXG USA DXG-568 (5 Megapixels) and the Samsung Digimax 4500. The Kodak was initially not a first choice, mostly because it had fewer megapixels for the money and because I was wary of the whole EasyShare system. I’m perfectly capable of editing my photos in Adobe Photoshop and attaching them in an email. After reading reviews and comparing features, however, the Kodak C310 came out on top because of the 5x digital zoom, a slightly larger LCD display, and QVGA video resolution (320 × 240 at 20 fps). All of the cameras I looked at in this class had a fixed focal lens (equivalent to a 35mm), and the Kodak actually had half of the internal memory of the DXG (16 megabytes as opposed to 32). When taking into account the cost and accessibility of accessories and photo processing, I decided to go with the brand name I associate with photography – Kodak.

In the package, I got:
*the camera itself
*the KODAK Non-Rechargeable Digital Camera Battery, which offers medium to long battery life when compared to other battery options (just say “no” to alkaline)
*a USB cable for connecting the camera to my Dell Dimension 4700 PC with Windows XP
*a comfortable wrist strap
*a CD with the KODAK EASYSHARE Software
*the manual, a.k.a. “Getting Started Kit”
*and a piece of clear plastic, which Kodak describes as the “Custom camera insert for optional KODAK EASYSHARE Camera and Printer Docks”

The package itself is one of those impenetrable thick plastic packages made for hanging on a rod at Best Buy. I’d hoped for a pretty little box, but instead I had to begin the inevitable carving with scissors and nearly cut myself. I mention this because I think that this is an affordable low-end entry level camera for kids and seniors alike because of the simplicity of its features, but do your scissors-challenged loved ones a favor and open it up for them so that they don’t impale themselves before getting off the first shot.

Behold, My First Digital Camera
When I held the camera in my hands, it felt so lightweight that I thought it was kind of chintzy. Once I inserted the batteries, it felt a little more substantial, but the plastic casing won’t compare to your brother’s Canon SureShot. It is not small enough to fit in your smaller shirt pockets, but it’s small enough to carry in a large pocket or purse. It doesn’t fit in the palm of my tiny hands, but it is smaller than one hand.

The construction gets 3 out of 5 stars – utilitarian, with clearly labeled buttons and knobs which include the shutter, a knob that allows to you to navigate between four main modes (Favorites, Off, Auto and Video), separate directional keys for scrolling, and separate smaller buttons for delete, menu, review and share. That’s a lot of buttons, but keeping them all separate helps to avoid inadvertently putting the camera into odd modes. I also like the fact that the buttons and keys can be depressed over and over again without straining your thumbs and that you can hear a small click letting you know that you’ve successfully pressed it. Accuse me of always seeing the glass as half-full, but I find these all to be nice benefits of buying a cheaper digital camera.

As for intuitiveness, without reading the manual, I was able to turn the camera on and start shooting indoors with the default settings giving me the flash and resolution I needed. The camera is set at 4.0 megapixels by default, and I intend to keep it that way. There was enough internal memory to shoot about 10-12 pictures at 4.0 megapixels right off the bat, but you should plan on purchasing a compatible memory card for taking any more than that. The internal memory can handle a maximum of about 30 seconds of video. The manual suggests turning off live view mode (a default Auto setting) to save battery life, but that's no fun. The 2 AA batteries that come with the camera are supposed to last me about 300 exposures, but it won't be long before I have to buy 2 AA lithium batteries, doubling the battery life.

The Favorites mode allowed me to review the lovely sample pictures of cute kids that Kodak included, and I was able to delete them with ease.

I have to say that the LCD screen really fell short of my expectations. I assumed that even on lower end digital cameras nowadays, I would be able to detect some detail in Live View mode. The image is not sharp enough for me, and I’ve taken to using the view finder more often than not and keeping my fingers crossed when it comes to reviewing the pictures I’ve taken on the 1.6 inch screen.

As with most digital cameras, the picture you’ve just taken stays on the screen for about 3 or 4 seconds so you can delete if you wish. This feature interrupts live view, but it’s the easiest way to delete your images and keep your memory free. Deleting via the menu and scroll keys is a little annoying, at best, and I have to give the Kodak C310 another 3 out of 5 stars for overall ease of scrolling and adjusting settings. It’s all there, but it takes some getting used to and the hurried photographer can just as easily delete all of the stored pictures as they can one.

While in live view mode and setting up your shot, you can use the directional keys to zoom in or out. A small slider shows up that’s blue when you’re safe to shoot without compromising resolution and turns red when you’re in the danger zone. You must be close to your subject in order to zoom with any success, because getting even three settings tighter from a normal distance (5 feet) puts you in the red. This was very disappointing, but at least the camera clearly shows you when you’re in the danger zone. That said, I did take a shot to display when I was at least 2 notches too tight to show that the quality won’t be compromised for a 4x6 print (see "sample pictures" below).

The camera also comes with a slide show feature in the Favorites setting, but I don't like that in order to review your pictures, Favorites asks you to press review. Why doesn't Favorites know that I want to review? It's a small extra step that annoys me. While reviewing, you can "tag" pictures for emailing later, but I don't use this feature. I also won't be using the video unless I happen to see one of America's Most Wanted while walking outside on a sunny street. The quality just isn't good enough to use to capture precious memories. I have a video camera for that.

Sample Pictures
First, I took some pictures in bright sunlight in downtown Chicago, which all came out beautifully, though it was difficult to take candid shots of people on the street without being obvious.

A few tourist-y shots follow, first of the Chicago Board of Trade and second of a sculpture in the Financial District:
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/chicagoboardoftrade.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/sculpture.jpg

Candid people shots on the street appear below, without using the zoom:
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/people1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/people2.jpg

Next comes 3 indoor text shots, which were really very disappointing. The flash is out of control, and delivers poor – if not ruined - shots of people as well as text. First is flash, then no flash, then the flash picture corrected with the EasyShare software. The room had some natural sunlight when these were taken, but you can hardly tell:
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/indoorsflashtext.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/indoorsnoflashtext.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/correctedflashtext.jpg

Finally, my sample shots of the same scene (one of my favorite stores in all of Chicago, Central Camera), with the second taken when I was “in the red” or too tight, according to the camera:
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/intheblue.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/meagandowney/inthered.jpg

And now for my scathing review of the software . . .
Ugh.

The CD stopped installing itself twice with no error message or other programs running. It just stopped. I rebooted and finally got it to fully install, after downloading the update at the following link:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/downloads/dln_ekn026079.jhtml?pq-path=4509.

It took about 10 full minutes with a DSL connection, so bless you, my friend, if you are still using dial up.

After connecting the camera to my PC via the USB cable, I had to “tell” the software to automatically import the pictures and set up a one-touch transfer for later transfers. During installation, you also select what file format your pictures are stored as. I selected .jpgs and .psds, but you also have the option of checking one or more several file types, including .bmp (why?), .gif (for the web) and .tif. The software will import all of your photos for you and add them to your “collection” of albums, which look like cartoon notebooks that wouldn’t appeal to anyone over the age of 9.

In short, KodakEasyShare must be the worst photo software I’ve ever used. It uses transparent flash menus that disappear unless you scroll over where they once were and the icons and text are small and bunched together. It also appears to be very buggy, having crashed unexpectedly several times with such complicated functions as right-clicking on a photo to hit “save as” and scrolling through my collection.

With the software, you can automatically keep about 24 email addresses for sharing with friends and family. You can also use fun effects like cartoon and spotlight that don’t easily undo unless you cancel out on your entire fun effect adventure. Typical editing features like cropping and brightness/contrast/highlighting can be used, but you probably won’t want to stop using any other photo editing software you’re already familiar with. When it comes to archiving, editing, and sharing photos, the software barely gets 1 star from me.

Detailed Specs
Image resolution - 4.0 megapixels (2313 × 1727 pixels)
Picture quality - 4.0 MP—best (prints up to 20 x 30 in. prints); 3.5 MP—best 3:2 (optimized ratio for 4 x 6 in. prints); 3.1 MP—better (prints up to 11 x 14 in.); 2.1 MP—good (small prints); 1.1 MP—e-mail
Still format - JPEG/EXIF v 2.22
Lens - fixed focal length, 35mm f/4.5 (35mm equivalent)
Zoom - Advanced digital zoom 5X continuous with LCD preview
Aperture - f/4.5
Shutter speed - 1/2/2000 sec.
Viewfinder - reverse Galilean
LCD - 1.6 in. (4.1 cm) color display, (220 × 279 pixels)
Color modes - color, sepia, black and white
Click to capture - 0.32 sec. (preview on)
Shot to shot - 0.90 sec. (wide preview ON, buffer not full)
Video mode - continuous motion JPEG compressed video
Video resolution - QVGA (320 × 240 pixels) at 20 fps
Video format - QUICKTIME MOV (motion JPEG) no sound
Focus range - 2.8 ft (0.85 m) to infinity
Built-in flash - auto, red-eye, fill, off
Flash range - 2.6.9 ft (0.8מ.4 m) at ISO 140
Self-timer - 10 seconds
Dock compatibility - Works with optional KODAK EASYSHARE Printer Dock Series 3 and KODAK EASYSHARE Camera Dock Series 3*
IMAGELINK Print System compatible
PICTBRIDGE enabled
Storage - 16 MB internal memory, SD/MMC card expansion slot
Power options - optional KODAK EASYSHARE Docks with 1 KODAK Ni-MH Rechargeable Digital Camera Battery KAA2HR; 2 KODAK Oxy-Alkaline Digital Camera Batteries AA; 2 KODAK Ni-MH Rechargeable Digital Camera Batteries AA; 1 KODAK Lithium Digital Camera Battery CRV3; 2 lithium batteries AA
Weight - without batteries: 4.7 oz (134 g)
Dimensions - 4.1 x 2.6 x 1.4 in.
One Year Warranty

System Requirements
Of course you'll need an available USB port, with a WINDOWS 98 or better operating system on a PC or a 10.2.3 or better on a MAC. You also need a whopping 200 megabytes of hard drive space for the clunky EasyShare software, which requires a CD-ROM drive to install.

Overall
This is a fine little inexpensive point-and-shoot for outdoor pictures on sunny days, but I was very disappointed with everything from indoor shots to the menus to the software, setting my overall rating for the Kodak C310 squarely at two stars. It’s a fine knock around camera that I don’t mind letting the kids use, but it isn’t reliable or versatile enough for indoor work shots.

I’m so grateful to have gotten my first digital camera for free through a write off contest on epinions.com, but I’m already wishing I would have saved my $100 gift card to www.jandr.com for a better camera.