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Kodak DC3400 Kodak updates the popular DC280 with a new sensor, lower power consumption, and a new color scheme... Select a topic Reference: Datasheet DC3400 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on DC3400 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 10/5/2000

Optics
Kodak rates the DC3400 at an equivalent ISO speed of 70 with a maximum aperture setting of F/3 in wide angle mode, and F/3.8 in telephoto mode. This is somewhat lower sensitivity than is common among digicams these days, making the DC3400 less suited to low light shooting than some models. The DC3400 includes an optical-glass lens that automatically focuses on your subject. Depressing and holding the shutter button half-way after framing your subject sets and locks in the auto focus prior to capture, allowing accurate focus for off-center subjects. (Center the subject, lock the focus, then re-frame the shot while still holding the shutter button down, before taking the picture.)

The zoom control toggle on the top of the camera lets you quickly zoom in on your subjects with a standard working range for image capture between 20 inches (0.5 m) and infinity. A macro (close-up) feature adds the flexibility of allowing you to clearly focus on small subjects at relatively close distances from between 9.8 and 20 inches (0.25 to 0.5 m). Selecting close-up mode automatically zooms the lens to the telephoto end of its range, and adjusts the focusing to handle closer objects. We found operation of the zoom lens to be very smooth, with no "preferred" focal-length settings as we've sometimes encountered. (The zoom lenses on some cameras seem to gravitate toward specific focal length settings, producing a set of discrete steps rather than a smooth zoom range. By contrast, zoom operation on the DC3400 is quite smooth.) The lens was also very responsive to the controls, making it easy to get exactly the focal length we wanted.

The 2X zoom lens has a focal length range equivalent to 30 mm to 60 mm on a conventional 35 mm camera. This amounts to a range from fairly wide angle to a rather short telephoto. The additional 3x digital zoom capability can get you closer to your subject by magnifying the center of your image an additional three times, cropping-down to progressively smaller portions of the CCD area as the magnification ratio increases. (As with all digital zooms though, the more the image is magnified, the more blurry it becomes, since it is working with progressively less data.) Some digital zooms simply crop the image to a smaller size, but the DC3400 resamples the image in-camera, so the final images always have the pixel dimensions you've selected via the menu system. Also as with other cameras, the digital zoom only works when the LCD is turned on, because you'd have no way to tell what portion of the image was being viewed otherwise. The camera interpolates the image in real time on the LCD when zooming digitally. The resulting LCD image does appear quite a bit softer (less sharp) than the normal images, but overall, the digital zoom capability of the camera is fairly smooth and viewing the zoom as it happens on the LCD is very helpful in keeping your subject correctly centered. (We have to say though, that at high digital zoom magnifications, the LCD display goes from "soft" to very blurry, making precise framing difficult at the maximum 3x setting.) Another nice touch is the fine gradations available on the digital zoom, varying in 0.1x increments from 1.0 to 3.0x. Other than our general lack of fondness for digital zooms, the one specific complaint we have about the DC3400's digital zoom is that it can't be used in conjunction with the close-up mode: Entering close-up mode disables the digital zoom if it's active, or prevents it from being enabled if it isn't.