Rating: Summary: indoor image problems call customer support. Review: I also had problems with poor quality indoors images until I talked to Kodak's customer support (5 stars to them also). Now that I know how to handle the camera its takes great pictures indoors or out.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely great camera Review: First off--I'm spoiled, photographically: for years I've loved using good 35mm Minolta, Nikons and large format film cameras, mainly as an amateur photographer, but also as a freelance from time to time. When I took the digital plunge, I thought this camera would be more of a supplement to my other cameras. I was wrong--now I usually take the Kodak with me and leave the others behind. In short, this is just a great camera, which I've had for about two months now. It can be a bit complex to set up, and on "Program" the results are predictably just OK, but once you use it like a film camera the results are incredible. The control over many photographic settings--and the way Kodak has translated digital controls into "35mm film" settings(like ISO settings, effective focal lengths and such)--is simply fantastic. It's small enough to take with me when a full-blown 35mm Nikon setup is just too bulky (like when I'm biking); it also produces pictures that rival the 35mm. At first, I thought the indoor flash was a bit weak; you can hook up another set of flashes, however, for serious lighting. More importantly, I also found that when I set the camera properly for flash (fill works well, for instance), and proper ISO settings, that I got much better results. The macro and distance settings are effective as well, though I'm not sure why you need the distance setting with an autofocus camera. Flaws? Only in packaging--I wish that Kodak had included a case and neutral lens filter, but that's a very small complaint.
Rating: Summary: Pictures have great balance and color Review: Very convenient controls. Any photographer will gert used to this camera in a few minutes, because it is designed as conventional cameras.But most important is that the pictures really outshine others. I have compared this camera to the best 3+Mpixel cameras, and although in some areas it was not the best, the overall picture quality was consistantly the best....
Rating: Summary: Excellent camera Review: After reading some of the negative reveiws, I felt I had to respond. Having used and tried many digital cameras including the Canon 3030 and Nikon 990, I can tell you that for the price you cannot buy a better camera. The problems with focusing that people complain about is that they probably did not have the focus set properly. There is a macro and infinity setting that has to be set correctly. I know because I had that problem at first but it was my fault. I use the camera in the OR all the time and NEVER have a problem with the focus. As far as the batteries, Kodak did it right. I can easily take 40 high quality pictures using the LED without recharging and the batteries are less than half the weight of 4 AA batteries. The Canon doesn't even include rechargeable batteries for $999. The controls are so user friendly that I can show the nurses how to take great pictures for me in 2 minutes. Try that with the Canon which is way too confusing or even the bulky Nikon 990. I don't understand the "problem" with the flash - it works well to 10 ft which is all it was meant for. The best part about the flash is that I can take pictures from 1 ft away and not overexpose the picture. All in all, it is a great compact 3 megapixel camera at a great price.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Camera Review: I recently acquired a DC4800. This is truly a great camera and compared to other digital cameras I used it is really good. The camera look and feel is much the same as a normal "old" camera, but with the feature a full fledge digital camera. It's always fun when people as you 'when are you going to change the film?' The viewfinder sits slightly on an awkward position but I don't find it irritating and one can still use the back panel display to preview the image. Picture quality is great at 3 MP and even good when working at lower resolution -yes sometimes we have to go there-. The lition-ion battery is a great feature, and makes the whole camera lighter, easier to use (you can recharge when ever you want) and one gets a lot more battery life out of these babies, than normal nickel metal hydrates. Just for interest sake on one occasion I took 90 picture, with the flash on, with one battery. All an all it is truly a great camera for people who are starting with digital imagery and like some advance feature to play around with. It also has the work and feel of a normal camera. Hope you enjoy yours.
Rating: Summary: Awesome Camera but take a power converter with you to Europe Review: I bought the DC4800 just prior to a trip to Europe. The pictures were excellent until I went to recharge the batteries. Unfortunately, the camera's charger was only 110v. I ignorantly assumed the camera had a 110/220v recharger just like my computer, razor, video camera, alarm clock, and cell phone charger. Since MOST high end electronics have a 110/220 transformer built in, I assumed as much from this camera. To make a long story short, my batteries ran down by the 5th day of a 17 day trip and I was unable to find a transformer in Europe to step the voltage down to 110v. Therefore, I had to resort to the good old 35mm. I blame myself for this mistake, but I think that Kodak should provide a universal 110/220 charger for [this] camera.
Rating: Summary: Best Kodak yet Review: I have owned a Kodak DC260, 280 and 290 and have enjoyed all of them, each being a little better in picture quality as the model number increased, but were lacking manual controls for when a great picture setting required it. That problem is gone with the DC4800. Sure, you can still take an automatic picture, but expect similar results that of its predecesors. Flip it to manual and experiment a little, this camera can deliver a picture that will rival the best that 35mm can offer. Simply awesome! Also in regards to batteries, standard AA would certainly have been cheaper but can not provide the same longevity or power capabilty that a lithium can provide (How many laptops do you see running AA batteries?)With lithium batteries, this camera can process three times as fast as my DC290. Bottom line, the difference between this camera and other Kodak cameras is that this one will take a little longer to figure out and seems to be geared for the serious amateur, but is definitely worth the extra time and money. I simply love it! If you are looking for an automated DC, I prefer the DC290, it seems to provide a better overall consistent shot for this mode.
Rating: Summary: Everything I thought I wanted and more. Review: I wouldn't write a review except I read some of the negative reviews below. All I can say is these people must have gotten a lemon from the first day of the assembly line or something. I bought the 4800 and it is awesome. The autofocus on mine was the first thing that impressed me when I looked at the output. It has not occured to me it has ever made a mistake. The depth of field is impressive. The thing is laid out perfectly and fits my hand like a glove. The low light capability is like a spy camera out of a movie. The pictures, the most important thing, which come out of this camera are very very nice. The default color choice out of the box I guess is suppose to emulate kodachrome. Sometimes it is a little too much, but the camera has a easy override which takes neutral coloration pictures when you want them. I think people and their clothes look better with the saturated color on but when you need accurate color it can be yours immediately. The zoom has a stop before it gets to the digital, it isn't that hard to detect it for me. The flash works with the auxiliary lenses which block the nikon 990. I will say that while the flash is not physically blocked with any of the auxiliary lenses, the professional quality wide angle lense is very large and does cast a shadow on wide angle shots of art work in the lower right corner from a distance of three or four feet. How many times you use wide angle lenses in a dark room from four feet with the flash will determine how big a problems this is. The camera has such good low light capability you can, I feel, get around this. The batteries are suppose to be expensive. Why? because they allow you to shoot, with the LCD ON, 40 pictures or so without a problem. The cheap AA batteries belong on a cheap camera. This is suppose to be a nice camera and have a power system that has some oomph. It does. This camera should be about 1100 dollars with the other top prosumer cameras. That it costs only what it does is the achievement to fixate on.
Rating: Summary: Great expectations 95 % fulfilled... Review: I've read several reviews of the Kodak DC4800 and agree with most of the positive reviews and very little of the negative ones... Now, prospective wise, this is my very first digital camera so I can offer my opinion with no previous digital camera experience. I have used several upper high end 35mm cameras in my life and do know a little more than your average shooter; with that in mind, I will continue with my review. First of all, I got much more than I actually expected. All of my enlargments and prints have been done on my HP Deskjet 970CXI printer with Kodak Glossy Inkjet 45 pound paper...some were enlarged and printed from the lowest megapixel level (.8) and others were done with the highest megapixel (3.1) The results have been much better than expected...the color was terrific and the detail was excellent. The only pictures I took which I considered below excellent quality were, for the most part, due to my mistakes regarding settings, movement when shooting in low light and perhaps greater expectations from the flash than you would normally get with a good 35mm camera...now, a couple of the reviews have mentioned that the flash and focus when taking pictures inside or with low light were far below the quality they were expecting. They may well have a point, however, I attributed these lower quality shots more to my inexperience with the camera and wrong settings than I actually was willing to blame on the camera....when I became more familiar with the limits of the camera, I was able to overcome 95 % of my original poorer quality shots...in other words, when I actually understood the limitations of the camera, I was able to take much better photos with clearly focused shots and excellent color... Now, a word about expectations; I never really counted on any camera giving me 100 % of everything I expected...it just isn't reality. Different cameras within different price ranges simply are not going to hit our needs 100 % of the time. With my zero level experience with digital cameras and years of amateur level 35mm work, I simply was willing to forgive a few shortcomings if I got what I consider excellent pictures 95 % of the time. Some have commented on the lame flash which is built into the camera...I never actually expected a lot from it so I was not disappointed when the shots taken from more than ten feet were not as good as one might expect. On the other hand, the camera does have a connection to attach a higher end external flash unit so I would tend to think that even this objection might be overcome if one were to use a good external flash unit. I would be interested in hearing some reports. Like any other camera shooting in low light, if it drops to a longer shutter speed, you had better keep it still or go to a tripod for more stability. I actually attributed a couple of my poor shots to this rather than a focus problem. Having said the above, I do consider myself a novice digital photograpy buff, however, I can tell you, if you want a camera which is a whole lot of fun and gives you excellent options to venture more into creative control, I would consider getting one. If, however, you are expecting an end all, do all, camera, I seriously doubt if you can find one on the market. Perhaps the extremely high end professional cameras can give you lots of what your looking for, however, I tend to think that even they have limitations...
Rating: Summary: Battery Drain on Your Pocket Review: Kodak should have stayed with standardized batteries on this one. If you need an extra or eventually will need to replace the Lithium Ion Battery Pack, plan to spend BIG bucks. If the Battery Pack runs low, you have to either stop what you are doing for an hour while you charge up the battery while in the camera. Or pay a LOT extra for an external charger and extra battery. If Kodak used standardized batteries, I'd give it 3 more stars. Paul
|