"Picky Details" for the Kodak EasyShare DX7440 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)
Timing
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or
delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required
for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can
amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely
reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly
affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay
and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed
and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.)
Here are the numbers I collected for the Kodak EasyShare DX7440:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot |
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LCD turns on and lens extends forward. About average.
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| Shutdown |
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First time is time to retract lens, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time. First time is about average, second time is long, but corresponds to emptying a fairly large buffer, so not as bad as it might seem otherwise.
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| Play to Record, first shot |
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Time until first shot is captured. Quite fast.
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| Record to play |
1.9 / 0.25 |
First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card. Fairly fast.
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| Shutter lag, full autofocus |
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First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. Quite a bit faster than average. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus |
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Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Somewhat faster than average.
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| Cycle Time, max/min resolution |
1.18 |
Shoots at the same rate for large/fine images or "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. In both modes, shoots this fast for 6 shots, then slows to 6.6 seconds per shot for large/fine files, 6.8 seconds per shot for TV mode files. Buffer takes about 48 seconds to clear for either size image. Faster than average from shot to shot. |
| Cycle Time, Burst mode, max/min resolution | 0.31 (3.2 fps) |
Shoots a 6 shot burst at the same rate for large/fine images or "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. Buffer takes about 49 seconds to clear for either size image. Quite fast. (Kodak only claims 2 frames/second, but I consistently measured it at 3 fps in my own tests.) |
I found the DX7440 to be quite a bit better than average, both in terms of shutter response and shot to shot cycle times. Its full-autofocus shutter lag ranged from 0.38 to 0.54 seconds, quite a bit better than average. Its lag when prefocused was 0.13 seconds, also quite good. Shot to shot cycle times are likewise a good bit better than average, at 1.18 seconds for up to six frames.
Power
The Kodak EasyShare DX7440 uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power.
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(@5 volts on the external power terminal) |
(1050 mAh LiIon) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, no LCD |
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| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Half-pressed w/o 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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With worst-case runtime of 96 minutes in capture mode with the rear panel LCD illuminated, the DX7440 has only average battery life. BUT, with the LCD turned off, record-mode run time stretches to well over five hours, a very good performance indeed. Playback-mode battery life is also pretty good, at a little under 3 hours.
Storage Capacity
The Kodak EasyShare stores its photos on Secure Digital memory cards, and has 32 MB of memory built into the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the internal 32 MB memory at each size/quality setting.
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Resolution/Quality 32 MB Memory Card |
Fine | Normal | |
| 2304 x 1728 | Images (Avg size) |
15 2.1 MB |
24 1.3 MB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 9:1 | |
| 2048 x 1536 | Images (Avg size) |
19 1.7 MB |
30 1.1 MB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 9:1 | |
| 1656 x 1242 | Images (Avg size) |
28 1.1 MB |
43 728 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
5:1 | 9:1 | |
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Images (Avg size) |
49 651 KB |
73 435 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
5:1 | 7:1 | |
Download Speed
The Kodak EasyShare connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 731 KBytes/second. This is faster than cameras with USB v1.1 interfaces can manage, but on the slow side of the range for cameras with USB 2.0 connections. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.) Still, it's fast enough that most users will find no need for an external card reader.
DX7440 Test Images
DX7440 Specifications
DX7440 "Picky Details"
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