Simple and Easy to use Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera
Written: Dec 11 '03 (Updated Dec 11 '03)
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Pros: Straightforward, Easy To Use, Simple to Understand, Does what it does well
Cons: No optical zoom, not for anyone looking for more than point and shoot
The Bottom Line: A camera that takes quality pictures for people who are interested in pointing the camera and shooting, no more and no less
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| jps246's Full Review: Kodak EasyShare CX4300 Digital Camera |
Looking for a simple to use digital camera for someone who may not be all that familiar with digital cameras? The Kodak CX4300 is a great choice.
The Kodak CX4300 is a 3.3 megapixel camera that is a great introductory camera for people new to the digital realm. Solely a point and shoot camera and lacking an optical zoom, the CX4300 is made for one thing and one thing only, and that is taking quick snapshots and pictures. This camera is not made for amateurs or pros, it is really geared towards people who don’t want to be bothered with the details of a camera – you take it out, turn it on, take some pictures and put it back away.
The Details
Like I said, the CX4300 is a 3.3 megapixel camera, which is more than enough for prints up to 5 x 7. Likely you’d be able to get acceptable prints at 8 x 10, but any larger than that, and the pixelization will start to show up in the photographs and the prints would be unacceptable. Kodak claims you can print images up to 11 x 14, but I’m fairly sure that most people would not be happy with the results on those larger prints. To get prints that large and larger, you need at least a 4 to 5 megapixel camera.
The camera lacks an optical zoom, so the image you see in the viewfinder, is the image you are going to get. You will not be able to zoom in and make parts of the image any larger. This is not really a limitation if you are more interested in just taking snapshots and quick photos with this camera. Like I said, it’s not for master photographers and not for people who are more interested in detailed compositions or setup than in just taking a picture of their Uncle Joey standing next to Niagara Falls.
The camera weighs in at just under a ½ pound and is sized (roughly 1.5 by 2.5) to be comfortable enough to carry around and hold. Those looking for a digital camera that can fit in their shirt pocket will have to continue on, the CX4300, while fairly easy to pack and carry, is definitely not an ultra-small or ultra-light kind of digital camera.
The camera comes with 16 megabytes of built in memory, which is expandable using MMC and SD memory cards. At full resolution, the 16 megabytes of built in memory can hold about 14 images (about 60 in the lowest resolution). Multiplying on up, a 128 megabyte expansion card will hold about an additional 112 images in the fine mode and 480 images at the lowest resolution. Having two 128 megabytes cards on hand should be more than enough for most people, even on a fairly long vacation trip.
The lag between pressing the shutter button is quite small, abouta second or so at the most and the write time to memory is quite short. There is no burst mode in the camera, so you must wait for the image to be written to memory before the next shot is made.
To get the images to your computer, you have several options. The CX4300 comes with a built in USB interface to download images to the computer. You can also purchase a memory card adapter to download the images directly from the memory cards. Another option is Kodak’s easyshare dock. The camera sits on the dock, which is connected to your computer and can automatically download all the images from your camera directly to the computer.
How is it?
As a full-proof introductory digital camera, the CX4300 does an admirable job. My parents were looking for a digital camera last year and this was the one that they ended up getting. Now I’m not saying my parents don’t know anything, but new technology, is probably not their greatest strong point. I still have to fix gadgets when I come home and visit. After an initial “oh my god, this thing is too complicated phase,” where neither my mother nor my father would touch it, they gave in and now bring the camera with them wherever they are going. They even went to Nova Scotia this past summer and only had the digital camera with them. I would consider that a huge step for them. It also helped that my younger brother is still living at home and was pushing them to use the camera more and more.
Since my parents have jumped into using it for everything, my father takes it hiking with him and my Mom carries it around while she is going to various places on vacation and on trips. The CX4300 has survived cold, rainy and wet overnight trips in the woods, and high temperatures and lots of bumping around on trips to Vegas. All of the time, it comes out just as fine as before and they have not yet had a problem with it, and that’s after a year or so of fairly intensive use.
I’ve also been able to use the CX4300 several times when I have been visiting with my folks (or should I say forced to use it because they want “their pictures”). I’ve been quite happy with the camera. It is comfortable to hold, quick to take a picture and the end result images are very good.
So…?
In general, the CX4300 is a simple to use and easy to understand point and shoot digital camera that is a great first step for someone who just wants to take pictures and wants to get into digital.
You won’t find the bells and whistles of newer cameras, or more amateur and pro orientated cameras, but what you will find is a camera that does what it sets out to do and that is take quality pictures for people who are interested in pointing the camera and shooting, no more and no less.
So if you are looking for a straightforward digital camera to make the jump from a point and shoot film camera, the CX4300 is a worthy camera to consider using. The lack of an optical zoom might steer off some people, but in general, for those of us who just want to take pictures and not worry about the details, the CX4300 is a great all around digital camera.
Photography Reviews:
Books and Magazines:
Shutterbug Magazine / Popular Photography Magazine / PC Photo / Outdoor Photography / Photography Outdoors
Cameras:
Olympus C-4000 Digital Camera / Olympus D-460 Zoom Digital Camera / Minolta Maxxum 300si (35mm SLR) / Polaroid PDC 640 Digital Camera
Printers, Scanners & Memory
SanDisk 128MB SmartMedia Card / Memorex 128MB SmartMedia Card / HP Photosmart 1115 / Microtek Scanmaker 4800
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Fool-Proof for Absolute Beginners
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