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Kodak EasyShare DX3900 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

Kodak EasyShare DX3900 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

List Price: $350.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My best camera yet, the Kodak DX3900
Review: This is my 4th and best camera yet. I own a Minolta, a 35mm Kodak, an Aiptek, and the Kodak DX3900. I'm a camera [fan].

PROS
1. Priced better than the DX4900 per performance and features.
2. AA alkalines batteries are cheaper and easier to buy unlike my 35mm that uses lithium. dont need no docks or rechargeables.
3. 6x zoom with autofocus and macro so I dont have to stand at the edge of a cliff to get a great shot.
4. Special effects...sephia. great for art work experiments.
5. Burst picture taking.
6. LCD great for viewing saved pics.
7. Most of all, digital saves on photo paper.

CONS
1. 8MB CompactFlash... I'm found some work arounds. Since "ALL" digital cameras have difficulty SEEING in darker settings, there is no point using the optimum setting. This saves valuable memory space on the CompacFlash memory. Also depends on how you print the pics. If you plan to do high detail, big prints, use 3MP setting. But for websites, email, 5x3 prints, even close ups, use the 2MP setting. anyway, i found a 128mb viking cf ... good enough.

2. Cant take moving pictures. I have a Hi8mm camcorder anyway. Also, digital camcorders with still pics dont have the same quality...

3. max operating temp is only 104F. it's a blistering 117F out here in phoenix.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great camera for a great price
Review: This is my second digital camera coming from an Epson PC700 1.2 MP that I bought about three years ago and I have been using this camera for the last two weeks while I have been on vacation.

For the starting out photo taker, this camera is a full auto camera. Just point and shoot. After the shot is taken, the very small LCD lights up showing you the picture that you just took, the F-stop and shutter speed on the top, and if you would like to delete the picture. After about 3 seconds, the LCD shuts off and you are ready for another picture.

For those who want more control about F-stop, shutter speed, and ISO speed it has all of these features also and because of this I am now taking better pictures then ever.

I only have a few issues with the camera. One is LCD. It is very small compared with other cameras that I have used. This is not much of an issue for me since it is big enough to do the job needed as an LCD, but it would have been nicer to have a larger one since you can't see much detail on the small screen. Also the pictures taken tend to be bigger then was is shown in the LCD and viewfinder

Another issue is the camera door. When it is held shut with only a very light spring, which does not offer very much protection for the camera lens. Because of this, I would suggest that you have a good camera bag to protect the camera and lens.

The last issue that I have is the need for the docking station. I currently do not own one because of the price, but since I can not plug in a AC adapter into the camera I am using the batteries at all times, but at this point I have taken about 100 pictures using both the LCD and viewfinder and the batteries are still going strong.

Overall, this is a great camera and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to take great pictures. I may not need film again.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: didn't like it one bit
Review: Did not like this product takes to long to take a picture so the picture comes out fuzzy. Eats batterys like no tommorow Im returning this product cuase it didnt meet my requirments possibly better for a first timer camera.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: You will think it's great if this is your first DC
Review: Apparently this camera receives lots of user compliments ... But browse it carefully you will find that a great percentage of these positive comments are from first time digital camera buyers or users. I wonder whether their opinions will hold true after they have tried other digital cameras on the market. The truth is that there are better choices out there, even at similar prices.

First let's look at a myth floating around among first time digital camera buyers:

1. Mega Pixel is everything.

Since a 3MP camera delivers a higher resolution than a 2MP camera, the picture it takes should be sharper. Sounds right? Not necessarily so. The quality of the output mainly depends on the quality of the lens and grains. A grainy 3MP photo taken with a lower quality lens is not necessarily better sharper than a low noise 2MP photo taken with a high quality lens. It happens that the photo taken with DX3900 contains lots of noise, and the 7 element in 6 group lens might not be as sharp as lens on digital cameras from other vendors in the same class.

Ok, now let's talk about the camera:

Design and built:

DX3900 is very compact. It has a slim plastic body and is suprisingly light even with two AA batteries inserted. It has a sliding door style lens cover and you can only find a few buttons on the camera. (Everything is designed for simplicity).

However, this design also brings out the issue of quality of construction. The battery door hatch and compact flash door hatch are extremely fragile. The first time I accidently dropped my DX3900 it broke the battery hatch door and the bottom of the case became cracked. Kodak initially asked $150 for fixing the battery door saying this is a flat fee. After my complaint about the high cost of fixing Kodak suddenly said somehow they calculated it wrong and I was charged $36 instead. I have to admit that their service is pretty fast though. (Two days after the phone call I got the fixed camera back.)

The LCD is only 1.5 inch and it is not bright so you might have some problem reading it under bright sunlight. However I like the LCD menu very much, it is so easy to operate even a monkey can find all the options and settings and make the adjustment.

Because I like high contrast photo and saturated color I always prefer Kodak color. The DX3900 does take photo with good color. But when I start to compare these with pictures I took with Kodak DC280 and DC290 a while ago I was hugely disappointed:The color of the photos taken with DX3900 looked very plain and dull. And then comes the worst part, the photos also have more noise than those taken with DC280 and DC290s.

DC280 and DC290 are old generation 2MP kodak digital cameras. DX3900 is a 3MP digital camera of a new generation. But everyone who has seen my photos can tell that the 2MP photos I took with the DC280 and DC290 are better than those taken with DX3900. I don't know what Kodak has done to the DX series, they did fix the DC280 and DC290s'low shtter speed problem but they failed to produce a camera that could take better pictures than their old geneation of cameras. And the build quality of Kodak DX series is definately inferior to those "like a brick" feeling DC280 and DC290s. I think this is really sad.

Do I have anything to recommend with even lower price tag than the DX3900? Sure, Canon A40 and Fuji 2600Z. They are both 2MP, and I think they can compete well with DX3900.

Some suggestion for first time digital camera buyers: try and compare several digital camers before you make the final decision. What others are saying might not make sense to you. Try, compare and make decision for yourself.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Kodak coming back to life
Review: I was surprised at the quality of picture I got from this camera... The menu system is a bit cumbersome but it is clear. You just have to push a lot of buttons. All menu items are easy to understand. The manual is small and efficient. The one disappointment I have is the editing software. The croping feature does not allow you complete control. You are confined to a predetermined box. I have used it with and without the dock and like both ways for different uses. It's worth the money.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: If you want good pictures, skip this camera!
Review: I just purchased the Kodak DX3900 for my father and mother-in-law. The top selling points were the megapixels, price, and the convenience of the docking station. Unfortunately, non of these things matter if the pictures the camera takes stink!

The pictures are grainy, have no detail and are not sharp. In fact, it is diffucult to get a subject in focus, but this fact does not matter since even the in-focus pictures have no detail. A red flower surrounded by green foliage shows up as a red blob. NOT what I was expecting. I suspect an inferior lens. I have an Olympus C-3030 which takes excellent sharp, clear, very detailed, beautiful photos.

Amazon's price for the DX3900 was the best I found on the net. Amazon's no hassle return policy is fantastic, we got a return authorization and printed up a shipping label already and will be sending this pathetic camera + docking station next business day.

We replaced the DX3900 with a Nikon Coolpix 885, a great camera with a great Nikon lens!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dx3900 for the kids.
Review: Just bought this camera knowing nothing about them, worried that it was soo plastic, but wanted something the children 9yrs, 13 and 14 years could use on an extended overseas holiday that is easy to use, can hold lots of photos until they return, and would be able to be used for powerpoint or other presentations if needed.
So far they have practised using the 8 mb card thing and they will take the 128 mb card thing with them. Was going to get them a card each so they could have their own collection but decided that it would be better to keep the same one in otherwise the plastic might get broken if they are changing the card over.Glad to have read the reviews as I have learnt a lot about the use of it from them, still downloading the manual and haven't read it yet. Was worried that I have paid a lot when I compared digital prices to the non digital of which we have a Pentax that is very old. It still takes fantastic pictures but you have to focus and check the light meter etc, too hard for the little ones to use. Also there will be savings in that we will only print the photo's that are needed. The software supplied needed upgrading . As the hubby is the expert in that area he is downloading this. The 9 year old feels happy that if she messes up the photo she can erase and shoot again. So far, happy with this product and will let you know how the kids handled it when they return.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good Camera but Poor Battery life
Review: The camera is easy to use and takes great photos. I use the dock for one touch downloading. Batteries are a problem you cannot use the preview screen more than once. The battery pack from Kodak need to be constantly charged, I have had a little better luck with good quality Ni-Mh batteries over the counter. The Kodak on line help page is absolutely useless.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't Buy the DX3900
Review: We bought this camera because we had purchased a Kodak DC215 about 2 years ago and have taken over 3000 wonderful pictures with it. We wanted to upgrade from our 1 megapixel to this 3 megapixel to have better quality enlarged prints. Boy were we disappointed! Unless you're in bright light - outside, the pictures are blurry and grainy. We tested shots with our old camera and this new one and our old Kodak took great pictures. We were able to return the DX3900 by showing the store prints from each camera. We purchased a Minolta S404 and took it on vacation to Colorado. We now have beautiful mountain prints and even the low light pictures are clear - not grainy and blurry. If you want to upgrade - I would recommend the Minolta very highly.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good Camera, but short life of battery ruins the fun
Review: Excellent Camera, but short life rechargable battery has ruined the fun of using this camera. The battery does not last 5 minutes after recharge, recharge & recharge. The green lite turns on right after two minutes charge. It was charged according to the menu. It is quite frastrate. I love the camera feature and easy to use. Without battery the camera is useless.


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