Kodak V603 Performance

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Kodak EasyShare V603 Performance

Timing and Performance

Good to average speed for a consumer camera.

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, we routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras we test, using a test system Dave designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers we collected for the Kodak EasyShare V603:

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	1.8 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy
Shutdown	1.8 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens
Buffer clearing time	22 seconds	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.8 seconds	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	1.0 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	0.3 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	0.30 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.85 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.081 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Continuous AF	0.68 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	1.03 second 4 frames total; 15 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	1.02 second 4 frames total; 16 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras won't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	0.45 second (2.22 frames per second); 4 frames total; 22 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG	0.45 second (2.22 frames per second); 4 frames total; 19 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Flash recycling	4 seconds	Flash at maximum output
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	521 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-770=USB 2.0 Low; 771-4000=USB 2.0 High

The V603's performance ranges from quite fast to just average, depending on what you're trying to do. It starts up fairly quickly, and has a very fast shutter response when the lens is set to its wide angle position. At the telephoto end of the lens' range though, the lag time of 0.85 second is average. On the other hand though, if you "prefocus" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure, it's blazingly fast, with a shutter delay of only 0.081 second, among the fastest on the market. Shot-to-shot cycle times are average, at about 1.03 seconds for large/fine JPEGs. Continuous-mode speed is quite good, at just under three frames/second, for up to four shots in succession. The flash takes about four seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, about average for this class of camera. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast enough that you probably won't feel a need for a separate card reader, but nonetheless aren't as fast as many cameras currently on the market. Bottom line, while not a first choice for sports or other fast-paced action, the V603 is responsive enough (particular at wide angle lens settings) to handle most family photo opportunities.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Short battery life with the LCD on.

Operating Mode	Battery Life
Still-image capture mode	150 pictures

The Kodak EasyShare V603 uses a custom rechargeable 3.7V LiIon battery for power. Battery life is measured according to CIPA standards, and achieves around 150 pictures per charge using a 128MB SD card.

Storage
No card is included with the Kodak EasyShare V603, although it accepts SD/MMC cards; 32MB RAM is built into the camera.

Image Capacity with 32MB Internal Memory		Fine
2,832 x 2,128	Images	16
2,832 x 2,128	File Size	1.9MB
2,304 x 1,728	Images	24
2,304 x 1,728	File Size	1.3MB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	30
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	1.1MB
1,568 x 1,168	Images	48
1,568 x 1,168	File Size	660K