The biggest plus for the Kodak line of digital cameras, is the
vibrant color, and this is borne out in the example pictures as well. The one
main detractor image-quality wise with this camera is the fixed focus lens,
which limits the practical distances you can shoot beyond and get really sharp
pictures. Example2, the picture of my kids in that "teacup thingy", also bears
out problems with shutter speed, and ISO rating. Keep in mind that no matter
what digital camera you may decide to buy, this particular problem (taking fast
motion shots) is currently endemic to the way digital cameras function at this
time. Still, it's not horrible by any stretch of the imagination.
When it comes to printing out your pictures, there are issues to be considered
that are unique to digital cameras. The nay Sayers are going to point out,
correctly, that there is NO digital camera available that can match the grain
quality of film. Good quality 35MM film can have 2-4,000 lines of detail per
inch, which is just way more than any digital camera can approach, and I mean
ANY. Even though the above statement is true, all is not gloom and doom. You
must keep in mind that the weakness in standard 35mm film processing is not the
film, it's the paper. Your average photo lab paper chemical process can resolve
~300lpi (lines per inch), considerably less than the detail available from the
original film. With this in mind, digital cameras are back in the saddle again.
With a camera such as the DC215, 4x6 prints are about your max without image
processing, although a little bit of bicubic interpolation with Adobe Photoshop
can get acceptable quality 8x10's out of this camera. I've done several.
Printing costs are fairly reasonable if you print them yourself, and not too bad
if you use one of the many online processing services, but it WILL cost more
than 35mm film. The advantage to keep in mind with a digital camera, is that you
don't waste $6 developing 24 pictures, where 21 of them are crap. Digital
cameras let you pick and choose. Discarding images on the fly between shots is
easy too.
Let's wrap things up here. For what I've used this camera for (vacation
pictures, web site pictures, review pictures) it's been outstanding in
everything I've asked of it. It doesn't (and no digital camera will) compare
well to a 35mm camera in it's price range in many areas, but it's convenience
factor overshadows all of those issues in my eyes. Owning a digital camera puts
all the power of the picture taking process from beginning to end, into your own
hands. For me, getting a digital camera was a necessity. But I feel anyone
looking to get a first time inexpensive digital camera, ought to give the Kodak
DC215 serious consideration.
The Good:
Decent price for it's range and features
Vibrant color. It's HARD to take a picture and have poor color with this camera.
Convenience. This, and truly any digital camera, just blows away 35mm in the convenience dept.
Sturdy: All metal body. this isnt a plastic toy.
Features: Controls are intuitive and easy to use.
The Bad:
Slow: the standard model's serial interface is painfully slow. Get the Millennium Edition or a separate USB CF card reader. It will save your sanity.
4mb CF Card: the standard 4mb card is just too small. Again the Millennium at least has an 8mb card, but I would consider a 16meg CF card the minimum you'd be happy with.
Battery Life: A common problem among digicams. The Kodak appears no worse than others. Just keep in mind that rechargeables will be NECESSARY if you value your budget.
Rating: 8/10.