Kodak DC3400Kodak updates the popular DC280 with a new sensor, lower power consumption, and a new color scheme...<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 10/5/2000 |
Exposure
The DC3400 offers two metering modes, to help produce good exposures under different lighting conditions. The Multi-Pattern option examines the entire image area to determine the best exposure. This setting will generally be the best choice for everyday picture taking, under fairly uniform lighting. The Center-Weighted metering option bases its exposure decision primarily on the central portion of the frame, de-emphasizing the surroundings. The Center-Weighted mode will be most useful for shooting portraits shots, or for dealing with subjects significantly brighter or darker than their surroundings. ("Backlit" portraits are an example of this, where the main light is behind your subject's face into shadow.)
A Sharpness feature provides three options: Sharp, Standard, and Soft. The Sharp option emphasizes the edges of objects, making them stand out; the Standard option is the camera's default setting, making no further sharpness adjustment; and the Soft option blurs the edges in your picture so that they blend in with the background. (This is a little different than most digital cameras we've tested with "sharpness" options: Most seem to simply turn off the sharpening function in the "soft" mode, while the DC3400 appears to actually blur the image somewhat when this option is selected.) Contrary to some cameras we've tested though, we found the sharpness variations on the DC3400 fairly subtle. (In our opinion, some cameras really overdo the sharpening a bit in the "sharp" mode, reducing its utility. Kodak's more subtle approach strikes us as more useful.)
The White Balance feature of the DC3400 lets you capture images under special lighting conditions (fluorescent, evening, or tungsten light, for example), or create special color effects. Normally, the Auto option would be used for everyday pictures, and in most cases produces images of more than acceptable quality. Under some circumstances, when taking pictures outdoors, or under daylight lighting conditions, the Daylight option may be preferable: The difference between the two is pretty subtle when shooting normal subjects, but the "daylight" option would avoid color shifts due to a preponderance of a particular color in the subject.) When capturing images indoors, two white balance options are available: Fluorescent, to correct for the green cast caused by most household fluorescent lights, or Tungsten, to correct for the orange cast frequently seen when capturing images under tungsten lighting. We were particularly impressed with how well the DC3400's white balance system did at removing the strong yellowish cast from the tungsten lighting used in our "indoor portrait" test shot.
Through an LCD menu option, you can dial in exposure compensation from -2EV to +2EV in 0.5EV increments. Exposure compensation lets you adjust the exposure chosen by the camera to allow for unusual situations. (For example, cameras tend to underexpose bright beach and snow scenes: A 1.0 EV exposure boost will brighten the image to match the original scene.) While the 0.5 EV adjustment increments are good for casual users, we ourselves prefer to see 1/3 EV steps, as the 0.5 EV adjustments are sometimes a little large for making precise adjustments. The DC3400 also has a special exposure-lock optoin available via its LCD menu system that locks the exposure and white balance settings when the shutter is tripped for the first shot in a series, or when the Shutter button is half-pressed for the first time after selecting the option. This Exposure Lock feature works especially well for capturing a series of images that require consistent exposure and color balance between them. (For instance, images that will later be combined together to create a panorama.)
Besides the normal exposure modes, the DC3400 sports two special modes, to capture either black & white or sepia-toned images. The black & white option produces smaller file sizes for a given quality level than is possible for color pictures. The "sepia" option recreates the look of old-time photos, rendered in shades of brown.
Like the DC280 and DC5000 before it, the DC3400 offers an "Auto-ISO" function. When enabled (via an LCD menu selection), this option allows the camera to increase its effective ISO rating in low-light conditions from its normal value of 70 to an effective value of ~140. (A guess on our part, based on the approximately one-stop increase in shutter speed that we observed with it enabled.) We were surprised though, that this option doesn't appear to improve the absolute low-light limit of the camera at all: Whether it is engaged or not, the camera is only capable of good exposure down to a limit of about EV 10 (8 foot-candles or 88 lux). Since this sort of ISO increase is achieved by simply boosting the amplification of the signal from the CCD sensor, the noise level of the image is increased also. It's likely then, that Kodak chose not to create a camera that would take obviously noisy pictures in lower light conditions, preferring instead to maintain their image-quality standard, while settling for a less-aggressive low-light capability. Regardless, under typical room lighting conditions, the 1-stop shutter speed increase provided by the Auto-ISO function is very welcome when shooting people-pictures indoors.
Lastly, after an image is captured, the QuickView feature displays the image on the LCD. At this point, you can choose to delete the image immediately and re-shoot, or, if you do nothing, the image will be stored to the cameras picture card. (The QuickView feature can be turned off to conserve battery life.)
Flash
The built-in flash of the DC3400 has a specified working range 1.6 feet to 9.8 feet in wide-angle mode, and 1.6 feet to 7.9 feet in telephoto mode. In our tests though, we found that the flash worked just fine out to at least 10 feet, even in telephoto mode, and so regard Kodak's rated spec as a little conservative. The "customizable" flash settings include auto flash, red-eye reduction flash, fill-in flash, and off. The flash settings are fairly flexible in that you can choose a different setting for each shot, or you can set a default flash setting in Camera Setup mode. The default setting holds through camera power cycles and can be helpful if you regularly shoot images requiring a specific flash option. In common usage, changing a flash setting on the run is so simple, it's not a problem, but the selectable default setting is nonetheless a convenience.Reader Comments! --> Visit our discussion forum for the Kodak DC3400!
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