Kodak DC5000Familiar 2 megapixel electronics in a super-rugged case make a *true* take-anywhere camera!<<Image Storage & Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Test Results & Conclusion>> Page 11:Video, Power, SoftwareReview First Posted: 09/10/2000 |
Video OutThe DC5000 supports display of images to a television set through a video out cable supplied with the camera. The video out port is located on the left-hand side of the camera, hidden beneath a latching o-ring sealed protective hatch. Both the NTSC signal format for U.S. and Canadian use, and the PAL signal format for European use are supported. A menu option is available on the camera to switch between these signal formats if needed.
PowerThe DC5000 is powered by a set of four AA batteries, either 1.2v nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries or 1.5v Alkaline batteries, both of which are included with the package so that you can start using the camera as soon as you take it out of the box. Also included is a NiMH battery charger and a set of 4 NiMH batteries (1450 mAh capacity). NiMH batteries require at least 8 hours to fully charge in the provided charger, after which the charger drops the current level to a "trickle," to keep the batteries topped-off. We heartily applaud Kodak's inclusion of the rechargeable batteries and charger in the box with the DC5000: High-capacity rechargeable batteries are really a necessity with any digital camera, and Kodak saves users a good $30-50 by including the charger and batteries with the camera.
When the camera is placed in Capture, Review, or Camera Set-Up Mode, the Battery Status Symbol is displayed on the Control Panel on the top of the camera to tell you how much battery power is remaining. The battery compartment on the right, bottom side of the camera is easily accessible for battery changing, but requires the camera to be removed from a tripod in order to access it.
Besides battery power, the DC5000 uses an optional AC adapter to power the camera from a standard AC wall outlet. Simply plug the AC adapter into the AC adapter connector under the connector cover on the left-hand side of the camera and you're ready to snap some pictures.
Use the Power Save feature on the camera to shorten the amount of time that the camera stays on when not in use to save battery power. Kodak also recommends that when you use the LCD on the camera, you should limit usage to less than 10 continuous minutes. More continuous usage will surely drain the battery power. If more than 10 minutes is required, purchase the optional AC Adapter.
We've just recently begun measuring actual power consumption of digicams, to try to introduce some objectivity to the topic. Now, rather than vague impressions of how long a camera can run on a set of batteries, we'll be able to see just how much power the cameras use in each operating mode. Overall, the DC5000 had slightly lower power consumption in non-LCD and image-playback modes than other cameras we've checked recently, but higher consumption when the LCD was operating, or when the camera was readied for a shot by half-pressing the shutter button. Other operating modes appear fairly typical, but we couldn't get the camera to "sleep" when connected to our test-station power supply, so couldn't report on power use in that mode. (We've tested several of the recent 2-megapixel digicams, but haven't reported on them as yet, wanting to develop a consistent approach first. From this point on though, we should be featuring power consumption figures pretty regularly.) Here's a table showing power consumption in various modes ("mA" means "milliamps", or 1/1000 of an ampere of current):
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| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, w/o LCD |
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| Half-pressed shutter, no LCD |
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| Memory Write (Transient) |
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| Flash Recharge (Transient) |
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| Image Playback |
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| "Sleep" Mode (Auto power-down) |
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In looking at these figures, it seems that the DC5000 should be able to run for many hours in capture mode with the LCD left off, and for an hour or more with continuous LCD usage, when operating from high-power NiMH batteries. (Note though, that at high power levels such as with the LCD on, you can't just divide the power drain into the batteries' mAh capacity to get run time: Battery capacities are rated for drain at the "0.1C" rate, or a drain of 1/10th of the batteries stated capacity, over 10 hours. Higher drains can greatly decrease the effective capacity.)
Included Software
The DC5000 is packaged with a variety of different software packages for you to use on your home PC, whether it's a Windows-based system or a Macintosh. The software is bundled on two Installer CDs: One for the Kodak and one for the ArcSoft applications.
The following applications are included for both Mac and Windows systems:
- Mounter Software: Lets you view pictures on the picture card and copy selected pictures to your computer. (Picture Transfer application instead, for the Mac.)
- TWAIN Acquire Software:(For Windows applications.) Lets you copy images from the picture card into TWAIN-compliant software programs such as Adobe PhotoDeluxe and Adobe Photoshop.
- Camera Controls Software: Lets you further customize your camera's capture and communications settings using your computer.
- Border Transfer Application Software: Lets you change bitmap (BMP) files into border (BDR) format so that you can copy the borders to your picture card and use them when capturing images.
- PhotoImpression: By ArcSoft - Lets you copy, edit and enhance, organize, and print pictures from the camera. Includes humorous templates from ArcSoft's PhotoFantasy application, and includes all the printing functions of ArcSoft's PhotoPrinter application as well.
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