Bought a Kodak DC4800... have questions.

[Eug]

OK, I posted this on usenet but perhaps you guys can help me out.

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On a whim I bought a Kodak DC4800 and 96 Mb card (cheap - business bankruptcy) and it should be here tomorrow.

I haven't looked into digital cameras recently because I've been waiting for a relatively affordable 3 to 6 Megapixel SLR with swappable lenses (ie. sub CAD$1000), but that's a few years off. (I have a Canon EOS and a Nikon manual camera and would like a digital camera to support lenses from one of the two.)

I am aware of the Kodak's problems with low-light focusing, macro photography, and inability to use the IBM Microdrive. Otherwise, the camera looks great and highly configurable (for a point-and-shoot). Are there any other issues I should be aware of? Where can I get good quality add-on lenses and filters for it?

Is there a difference in CompactFlash (I) brands or are they pretty much all the same? I mainly interested in speed.

The camera has USB. Is there any point in buying a CF reader? If so, what
type (I'd prefer USB)?

Is there a site, users' group or mailing list focusing on the Kodak?

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

My wife and I recently bought a Kodak DC240. I know yours is a lot better than ours, but I must say that the imaging on these cameras are amaizing.

My wife uses it a lot for her fleabay sales.

We went ahead and bought the USB CF reader. Haven't had any problems at all.

Here is Kodak's website for digital cameras.

Kodak Digital Cameras

 

[Eug]

Chuff, I must agree. Tested it briefly... I like it.

The thing I like most about this model is the fact that it's so configurable. It has an aperture priority setting (f/2.8, f/5.6, f/8), as well as full manual, with depth-of-field preview, multiple colour settings, and stuff like that. It also has a sync connector for an external flash - I'll use my Vivitar 285HV with it. The LCD is much better than the few I've tried on older cameras.

Central sharpness is good, but the lens is soft at the edges (no surprise for a point and shoot zoom), at least at the focal length I tested. Overall if maximum sharpness is important, I can stop down to f/8 and use my external flash if required. I havent tried the sharpness setting on the camera. I figure it just does a Photoshop sharpness filter thing so I'll probably stay away from it.

My favourite part is that Windows just reads the thing as a plug-n-play disk drive. And because the the USB is so fast, I don't need a card reader (for now). It seems to work fine on my overclocked system (unlike my not-so-old Quantum hard drive ). The camera says this 96 Mb CompactFlash card can hold 97 3.1 Megapixel (2160x1440) JPEGs in the best quality setting :Q and 194 if I use a higher compression. It holds 286 pix at 1080x720. It only holds 10 TIFF files though.

Kodak DC4800 Review

Now what I'm I gonna do with my other 3 cameras?!?!?