Kodak M341 Review

The Kodak EasyShare M341 combines a twelve megapixel 1/2.3" CCD imager and a Kodak-branded 3x optical zoom lens with a 35 - 105mm equivalent focal range, a rather tight wide angle to a moderate telephoto. For framing images, there's a 2.7-inch LCD display with 230,000 dots of resolution, but no optical viewfinder. They're an increasingly rare option these days, but one that adds a good degree of versatility, letting you get the shot when you can't make out the LCD in bright sunlight, or save battery life by disabling the LCD when accurate framing isn't vital. Images are stored on Secure Digital cards including SDHC types, or in 32MB of internal memory.

The Kodak M341 offers a generous 18 scene modes to help beginners achieve the results they're looking for without the need to understand subtleties like shutter speeds, apertures and the like. The M341 includes Kodak's face detection technology, which locates your subjects' faces and automatically adjusts the focus and exposure. The M341 determines exposures with a multi-pattern, center-weighted, or center spot TTL metering system, and offers 2.0EV of exposure compensation in 1/3EV increments. Five white balance settings are available including an auto mode, and ISO sensitivity ranges from 80 - 200 controlled automatically or from 80 to 1,600 under manual control. The EasyShare M341 also offers a standard-definition movie mode, capturing VGA (640x480) clips at 30 frames-per-second or QVGA (320x240) clips at 30 frames-per-second, in QuickTime Motion JPEG format.

The M341 offers standard-definition NTSC / PAL video output. Images and movies captured on the Kodak M341 are transferred to your computer over a USB 2.0 High Speed connection. Power comes from a proprietary KLIC-7001 lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack, and an AC adapter for in-camera charging is included in the bundle.

Pricing for the Kodak EasyShare M341 is approximately US$150, and the camera is available in body colors including black, silver, red, and "orchid" (pink)..