Kodak DC5000Familiar 2 megapixel electronics in a super-rugged case make a *true* take-anywhere camera!<<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:OpticsReview First Posted: 09/10/2000 |
Optics
Kodak rates the DC5000 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 DC5000 less well suited to low light shooting than some units. The DC5000 includes an optical-glass lens that automatically focuses to provide the best capture of your subject. Depressing and holding the shutter button half-way after framing your subject 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 a relatively close distance 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. The lens was also very responsive to the controls, making it easy to get exactly the focal length we wanted. We did find the zoom control lever to be a little stiff to operate though, doubtless due to the O-ring seals around its shaft that provide water resistance.
The 2X zoom lens capability has a focal length range equivalent to 30 mm to 60 mm on a conventional 35 mm camera. 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 the more the image is magnified.) Some digital zooms simply crop the image to a smaller size, but the DC5000 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 final image does appear somewhat "softer," 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 the subject of your shot 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 complaint we have about the DC5000'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.
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