Capture Exceptional Digital Pictures with Ease… (Kodak DC 210 Plus Zoom)

Member Name: CrimsonAvenger

Product:	Kodak DC 210 Plus Zoom
Date:	13/10/00 (196 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy Point and Shoot, no wasted film or expensive development costs.

Disadvantages: Only an 8MB memory card, slow serial transfer to pc.

I bought my Kodak DC210+ digital camera in July 1999. It replaced a conventional camera that I hardly used. I have taken over 600 pictures in the time since I have had it and would never go back to conventional film.

For those not familiar with digital photography I can give a brief run down on how it works. Film is replaced with an 8Mb CompactFlash memory card. This allows you to take up to 120 pictures at any one time, although this is at the lowest setting – this was quite acceptable until I started to use the better settings. I bought a 16Mb CompactFlash card to make sure I never ran out of pictures in the end. This allows you take pictures and transfer them to your PC at a later time. This is one of the best bits, you can transfer them all to the PC and choose which ones to keep. No cost to develop bad pictures or just taking pictures to use up the film, in order to develop.

The camera works on 4AA batteries (supplied) but can be swapped for a set of rechargeable ones, preferably the NiMH type which are designed to work with such items as digital cameras. These also last a lot longer than the standard ones. If you are inside you can also use the supplied AC adaptor to provide power to the camera.

The camera is very simple in it’s design. Two simple buttons on the top of the camera, one for power and one to take the pictures allow you to get started very quickly. At the back of the camera there is a dial selector. Choosing capture allows you to just “point and shoot”. The zoom is controlled by a rocker switch which can be operated by the thumb of your right hand while looking through the lens. Other options from the dial are review – this allows you to look at the pictures taken so far on the memory card. Connect – allows you to set the camera ready for transferring pictures to the pc. Preferences – this allows you to set the various picture resolutions, time + date stamp selection and comput
er picture format. There are a few other buttons for negotiating the very simple menu structures. Connectors to the left allow you to connect the camera to a television to view the pictures, transfer to the pc (serial) and power connection. There is also a 1.8” view screen at the back of the camera. This allows you to preview what a picture will look like. I have found this useful for taking close up pictures of things that I cannot get close enough to without stretching my arms. The last thing is an LCD display on the top of the camera that gives you an idea of the settings for picture quality, battery condition, pictures left, timer, flash setting and whether you have a memory card inserted.

Software supplied with the camera includes Kodak Picture Easy. This allows you to transfer the pictures from the camera to pc and then do basic editing of them. Also included are Photodeluxe and PageMill. After installing the software and connecting the serial cable to your PC (95/98/98SE/ME/2000) clicking on transfer pictures and choosing the right camera transfers the pictures to the computer. This is my main gripe with this camera. The connection is serial and therefore extremely slow, transferring 27 pictures at the highest resolution takes up to forty minutes. Newer cameras have a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection which is far quicker.

Okay some specifications for you techies out there;

1152x864 pixel resolution, 2x zoom lens, auto exposure, 8Mb Compact Flash card, built in flash, RS232 transfer, IrDA transfer, video out (NTSC/PAL), self timer.

Included in the box you get;

DC210+ Digital Camera, 8MB Compact Flash Memory Card, 4 AA batteries, AC Adaptor, RS232 Serial Cable, Video Out Cable, Software bundle and manuals.

I have tried the software on the following systems and have had no problems;

Windows 95,98,98SE, NT4 and Windows ME.

I have had intermittent problems with Windows 2000 and it d
ropping the connection when transferring pictures from the camera to the pc.

Overall I am very pleased with my first digital camera. I use it far more than I ever used my conventional camera – because it is sooooo easy to use! I do not have the expense of film or development, I can also delete a picture immediately after I have taken it if I am not happy with it – No wasted film!. I have only done two things to improve it – buy a 16Mb CompactFlash memory card so I can take up 52 pictures at it’s highest resolution and a set of rechargeable batteries/charger. As an introduction to digital photography I could not recommend it highly enough.

Summary: