GOOD FOR STARTERS (Kodak Easyshare CX6230)

Member Name: MagdaDH

Product:	Kodak Easyshare CX6230
Date:	06/07/04 (318 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very easy to use, good picture quality, 16 MB included

Disadvantages: not so good at closeups , slow auto-focus, annoying software

GENERAL

I bought this as a Christmas present (2003) for my husband and I have been using it ever since!

I was looking for a low priced camera that would still provide quality photographing for everyday use and I can now say that this one definitely does that.

I paid 129 GBP at Argos and a free bag was thrown in; which was the best price at that time.

This camera is extremely easy to use, very intuitive and well designed. I did not use the instruction manual at all when using it; even though this was my first digital camera.

CHARACTER& #73;STICS AND FEATURES

The 2 Megapixels was the main worry when I was buying the camera: despite assurances from reviews I was worrying if this was going to be enough. And yes, it is definitely enough. The quality of 10x15 cm (4x6'') prints is excellent; there is certainly room for some cropping and A5 prints are also very good. Only at A4 level the grain (or, should I say, pixels) are visible to the deteriment of quality; and I had very few cases when I needed anything bigger than A5.

It has several modes of operation, including close-up and landscape as well as night-time mode. I found the auto mode the most usefull, although when doing close-ups (less than 70 cm) you need to use the relevant mode for sharp picture. When outside you might want to switch the flash off; either by using the flash function button, which is separate to the mode selector; or by selecting the landscape mode which does not use flash. Otherwise, I found that the auto mode was a little bit to enthusiatic in its use of flash even under what were seemingly good conditions.

The LCD (as all LCDs) works well inside
and in cloudy weather, especially for medium-distance objects; it is also invaluable as an aid for reviewing pictures. In sunny weather and for long--distance the viewfinder is better.

The colours are excellent.

The optical zoom is very worth having and I am very glad I picked a little bit more expensive camera but with optical zoom. I use it all the time; even though I have never had a camera with a zoom before. The digital zoom was a big disappointment as all it does is cropping while taking the picture - in other words there is loss of resolution; and I tend not to use it at all and do all the cropping later.

The camera comes with 16Mb internal memory and I found it totally sufficient - it takes about 30-32 pictures or 10-15 pictures and 30 secs of video. However, I use a laptop so I can download the photoes onto the computer daily (or even more often), even when on holiday. For a desktop user additional memory card would be probably necessary when taking the device on holiday or for more than a day out. However, the initial 16Mb certainly constitutes a good start.

The camera is quite small and you can chhose to use the proper Kodak bag (it came free with mine, but I believe they are about 10-15GBP) which makes it bulky but very safe and includes a pocket for additional batteries (crucial as you can always delete a picture or two when you run out of memory; but nothing is going to help you when you run out of battery power at the top of this mountain!). Alternatively, you can just keep it undressed or use a bag from your old optical compact camera - for a very handy package to slip in your handbag or pocket.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

When buying my next digital camera (yes, I am addicted now) I would certainly go for more
resolution (for those large prints and detailed crops) and for a bigger optical zoom which I have grown to like on this camera.

SUMMARY

All in all I am very happy with my purchase, I think it offers excelent balance between affordable price and quality and functionality. The best features are picture quality (colours), optical zoom and the 16Mb built-in memory.

The negatives are generally connected to it being a digital camera (delay between the pressing of the button and the picture, voracious consumption of batteries) rather than this particular one.


ADDITIONA& #76;LY: SOFTWARE

The software provided with the camera is also very easy to install and use and the downloading of pictures is very simple. The way the display of pictures is organised is handy at the very basic level, and it is a good first review and basci editing tool.

However, it becomes intensly annoying when you want to do something yourself rather than be guided by the software (for example there are visible thumbnails of pictures you downloaded but subsequently moved somewhere else but you cannot see them). The most annoying feature is the fact that it is impossible (or I still havent managed to find a way to do it) to see the names of the image files and their disc locations - in other words; the software operates a virtual library but doesn't seem to give you and easy accces to the realities of your disk and files.

I use the Kodak software to download, review and crop but for sorting, moving and printing I use the HP Director software provided with a scanner I I also own.

Summary: