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Kodak DC4800 Zoom Kodak's first true 3 megapixel consumer camera has excellent color and *amazing* low-light capability! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet DC4800 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 DC4800 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 7/31/2000

Optics
A 3x optical zoom, 6.8 to 18 mm lens (equivalent to a 28 to 84 mm lens on a 35 mm camera) is built into the DC4800, featuring adjustable apertures from f/2.8 to f/8. The lens does not have threads for mounting filters on, but we suspect Kodak and/or third parties will offer adapter that press-fit onto the large body flange surrounding the lens, as they did for the DC260 and DC290-series cameras. Focusing distance ranges from 1.6 feet (0.5 m) to infinity in normal mode and from 7.8 inches to 1.6 feet (0.2 to 0.5 m) in macro mode. Macro mode is accessed through the Macro / Landscape button on the back panel. Pressing the button once sets focus for the macro range. A second press sets focus at infinity, for capturing far away subjects. A 2x digital telephoto can be enabled through the camera's Setup menu, and you have the option of setting it to Pause or Continuous. Pause means that the camera will hesitate before passing into digital telephoto once the end of the optical zoom range is reached. Alternatively, the Continuous setting allows you to pass straight into digital telephoto at the end of the optical zoom range. We appreciated the way the amount of digital zoom is reported in the information display on the LCD monitor. This lets you easily control the amount of digital zoom, which otherwise would be a bit of a guessing game. Keep in mind that since digital telephoto is simply enlarging the center of the CCD image, quality is compromised in the form of a softer resolution and higher noise level.

Optical distortion on the DC4800 is moderate to high on the wide-angle end, as we measured a 1.01 percent barrel distortion at that focal length. Distortion is lower at the telephoto end, with a very slight 0.2 percent pincushion effect present. Chromatic aberration is also very low, showing about one and a half pixels of coloration on each side of the black target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.)