Kodak DC215

First decent 1 mega pixel camera that came down in cost at the time I purchased. Had it for about 3 years now. Have a 32 and 64 Mbyte CF card for it and can take lots of pictures on holidays. Yes this camera does not require the voltage that ordinary alkaline batteries can supply, but needs the current that rechargeable NiMh or Nicad high capacity cells can supply. Buy 1600 mAh and you will love it.

Nice metal case, easy to use

While I know others complain of a broken battery tray, my tray is fine, its the catch on the camera body that broke its tiny little lugs. The battery tray is now held in by a rubber band (doubled up), the tray still sits out slightly, but its usable. I also seem to have a lot of photos, except very close ones that are out of focus now. Perhaps the lens(es) have been bumped.

DC240 DC40 (very old)

In regards the battery tray retaining latch Kodak mentioned sending them $50 and the camera and they would have a look. I figured I would put the money towards my next camera (dimishing returns : )

I've has this camera for almost three years and it is still going strong. My DC 215 has been all over the world and banged around in carry on luggage. It takes clear photos and the fixed focus is great for a point and shoot. The 4 meg memory is small, so I replaced it with a 256 meg that will holds over 900 pictures. I only use the maximum resolution, which is excellent. Get a CF to PC Card adapter for your laptop and a SanDisk CF card reader for your PC and you're set. I've taken well over 2000 photos and only one did not come out. I think I tried to switch it off before the picture fully loaded. The only problem I had was with the battery compartment, which a German cop broke opening it because he thought it was a bomb (long story). Batery life not an issue if you do not use the LCD at all. All Color LCD's are battery hogs! I've ordered prints as large as 5x7 and they look like 35mm. Believe it or not, I like the fixed focus for general use over a autofocus. I've had more pictures ruined from a miscentered reticle on my Yashica T4.

Case is metal and very strong. Easy to use Fixed focus best for general use Files written to CF card in Windows format NOW: Price ($100)

Battery tray broke once LCD drains batery Heavy and big by today's standard

Minolta, Other Kodaks, Canon

I needed a battery tray. Kodak sent me one free of charge. A+ service in my case.

I have been using this camera for 2.5 years, and I love it. This is one of the easiest digital cameras I have ever used. It is solidly built, with simple to understand controls. One thing that amazed me with this camera was that up until a few months ago, it was still available in many electronic stores (CompUSA, Best Buy, etc...) which is almost unheard of in the computer industry. There have been higher resolution cameras out for a while, but this one still sold enough to keep it around. The only thing I ever needed to do is buy a larger CF card (48 Mb) to replace the smaller 4 Mb card. The only reason I am replacing this camera is to get one with a higher density picture for 8x10's, otherwise this would fine.

Solid camera Easy to use/understand buttons With my 48 Mb CF card I get 174 shots at highest quality.

None.

Olympus C 3030 Sony Mavica Kodak EasyShare DX3900 Canon G2 (The replacement for my DC-215)

Haven't needed to use.

When this camera first came out I thought it was so easy to use and I wanted it but wasn''t willing to pay the price. Now with Kodak''s On-line Store, I bought this camera with the Kodak Personal Picture Maker printer by Lexmark (their Z11) for a total of $180 (both refurbished) with a 30 day money back and standard one year warranty. So I figured I had nothing to lose. It is a terrific camera that produces wonderful pictures in all modes. The macro feature is excellent and I can not tell the difference in prints from the best resolution at lowest compression to the good resolution at highest compression. I used glossy photo paper. Some distant pictures are not as detailed as with an autofocus camera, but it is still very acceptable since the color rendering is terrific. The self-timer works fine. The red-eye reduction is a preflash which works better than similar preflash systems on my 35 mm cameras. The battery holder is a neat idea. I can see how it could get broken since the gauge of the plastic is not very thick. However with care, I don''t think it will be a problem. I usually don''t like a lense cap but this one is good. It has a little notch which can be connected to the wrist strap so it won''t dangle all over the place. The camera comes with Kodak''s Photo AA alkiline batteries. The battery indicator registered full, after taking about 25 pictures (some with the display on, deleting pictures, setting parameters, etc.) and all functions worked except the view screen, when in macro mode or wanting to use the screen as a viewfinder, would not display. I tested the batteries with my meter and they checked out at 1.3 volts. So even at that, the camera does work fine but can''t use the 1.8" screen to view at that point. I replaced the batteries with NiMH and all was back to normal. I don''t know if this is typical with all digital cameras, but I thought it was of interest. With the printer, you can insert the Compact Flash, which a 4MB one comes with the camera, and print directly without the use of a computer. You can set up various setting via the LCD screen. Very impressive. Not a fast printer, but very acceptable. For B&W, you have to buy the ink cartridge, take out the color one, and insert the B&W. It''s not a two ink cartridge printer.

Great picture quality Good size & weight for the camera Included accessories Preflash Intuitive screen icons Macro feature

Battery drain

JamCam2 (not really similar but was my first digital which can not compare to the DC215 in any way. I bought that one because of the software that came with it)

Haven''t needed it so far

While it was working, it seemed to do very well. I used the DC210 plus prior to this camera with great success. But the DC210 plus was a little large for my needs. The DC215 was smaller and used less battery power, thus saving me money.

Unfortunately, the DC215 broke after just 3 months of use. It would freeze up on me and I couldn't turn it off. Even when I took the batteries out, the screen (LCD on top of camera) displayed information that wouldn't go away for 1-2 days.

The biggest benefit for me is the wide angle lens (29mm) versus most 35mm minimum focal length. Also, it is lighter and uses less power than the older DC210 plus.

IT BROKE IN 3 MONTHS!!!

DC210 plus

Forget about trying to talk with someone at Kodak. Customer service is non-existent. I finally looked in the yellow pages for a Kodak authorized store. Once I took the DC215 to that store, they told me that "if" Kodak fixes my camera, it will take "many months" before I get it back. I guess I'll tell my clients to hold off on their loans until Kodak decides to fix (or not fix) my camera.