Kodak DC 5000 Zoom

Not a light weight. Would prefer larger LCD screen. Bought a second one to accomodate three users here. Shocked at qaulity of images after shooting jewewry close ups. Direct connection to television is very convenient though images were much sharper on the computer. Small lcd screen makes it touchy to get focused in macro. Close up setting a fairly good alternative because you can let camera pre-focus for you as long as you can get what you want in 9 to 18 inches. Flash works in close up! by being reduced somehow. Remarkable. SOo far has handled knocks. Lost a Sony Mavica to a partially broken semi-drop.

Price! What cones close? Direct connection to television. Close up with flash capability. Weather resistance. Menu items intuitive enough.

Bit heavy, like an older slr. Manual to big. Would like something the size of the camera so that it could go in the bag. LCD screen smallish. Would like the easy share connection.

Olmpus, Sony MAvica

Kodak was helpful with software interactions. Very aware of details. A little slow to respond online.

I have taken over 5000 full resolution 1760x1180 photos with this camera. I would consider this a specialty camera. It is probably a poor value for most consumers. However, it is a good choice if you need a rugged water resistant camera. Image quality is average to good but it is occasionally confused with lighting situations creating over exposed images. My DC5000 over the past 8 months would lock up about once per month requiring me to open the battery case to reset the camera. Twice it garbled the CF card memory which required that I use a data recovery program to salvage the images on the card. Today I received a replacement DC5000 as last week it locked up and after I removed the batteries to reset the camera it would not turn on again. The camera is great if you have a need to take your camera with you to locations that would quickly damage or ruin most other digital cameras such as the beach, rafting, camping, construction site work, etc. However, if you do not need a water resistant camera, I would not recommend the DC5000. It is heavy and bulky as the lens does not retract. The macro feature is very poor with most of the macro shots I try coming out blurry. The LCD screen is just too small to tell if the macro shot is in clear focus. Another very annoying characteristic of the camera is that once you snap off 3 photos rapidly, the internal buffer is full and it takes about 15 seconds until the camera is ready for the next shot. If you have several photos you need to take that do not require a pause to compose the photo, 15 seconds between shots adds up to a lot of time or missed shots waiting for the camera to process the images. Lowering the resolution setting does not seem to improve this delay.

Rugged weather resistant design.

Occasional lock ups. Long delay (15 sec.) between shots once buffer fills up (3 photos.) Poor macro autofocus. Bulky.

Kodak DC265

Didn't use. Replacement camera provided by my employer.

I took this camera on a two-month tramp through New Zealand. I was very happy to have a camera that (1) didn't need film and (2) I could trust implicitly NOT to break under abuse. Its heft and solid build inspire confidence. Rocks, rain storms, salt water, sand, heat and cold had absolutely no effect on this camera. My 64MB compact flash card gave me over 100 shots, which I easily downloaded to my laptop once I emerged from the bush. Everything worked as it should, except that the LCD occasionally would not turn off without rebooting the camera. If you use minimal LCD, four non-rechargable lithium AA batteries last for more than 200 pictures. The DC-5000 makes great 5x7 prints, good 8x10 prints and terrific Web images. I use Photoshop for finishing, but auto-layers is rarely needed. Sometimes the camera does a better job than auto layers! (The sample image is from New Zealand, after the school of hard knocks, unretouched, rotated and saved once.) Had occasion to call Kodak once. Minimal hold time and friendly, helpful support. The weaknesses listed are quibbles next to the strengths. There is no camera currently made like it. Love this baby!

Rugged design Solid controls User friendly settings w/LCD Great picture quality

Erratic LCD Burst mode drains batteries No interval timer JPEG only Limited zoom

None comparable.

Excellent

We needed a really solid camera for field work and this one has lived up to our expecations. Photos are good, it'll fit 103 top quality on the 64Mb cards we bought. The camera has got very wet several times already - with no troubles - and has a very solid build. You can get better resolution for the same money, but if a camera that can take abuse is a factor this has to be THE digital camera to go for.

Very Rugged build. The camera got soaked and still works fine.

Some buttons seem a little hard to press. Easy to mistake the sound of the camera focusing for it taking a photo

A range of older, and one newer Olympus Digitals

Not used

I am working on a plant identification guide and also developing a major website, describing a local natural area. I spend 12 to 15 hours in the field most Saturdays. It doesn't matter if it is raining, snowing, blowing, burning. I am there and so is my trusty DC-5000. Since October, I have taken over 1500 photos with the camera. I have used it in diverse and demanding conditions. I bought this camera because it is designed to be rugged and to be easy to use when clothed for cold weather. By and large, it has consistently exceeded my expectations. I call it a rugged compromise because the ruggedization results in a couple of reductions in features / capability. But, it is more important to me that the camera operate and survive than to have the widest zoom range or closest macro focus or highest pixel count. The controls are intuitive and very easy to use, even with gloves on. The menus are obvious. The feel is solid, reminding me of an old Argus viewfinder camera. You do need to be careful that you do not cover the focus sensor when you are taking photos, as it is near to the area where your right hand fingers wrap around the camera. The lcd preview is adequately bright for all but full sun. The intensity knob is convenient. I am currently using the camera with the stock 8MB card. As a result of this, I have taken most of my shots at the low resolution / highest compression settings. You can take around 90 images at low res / high compression. They are still amazing and quite adequate for web publishing purposes. At maximum res / min compression you can take about 10 pictures on an 8 MB card. The collection of attachment cables for transferring or viewing images is a plus. You can even do an impromptu slide show by hooking up the video out cable to an available TV. Be carefull which lense accessories you buy as many will vignette your image if you are not at least partially zoomed. The camera features a 2X optical 30 to 60mm equivalent / 3X digital Zoom. Images at full zoom are still very clear. The flash has a range of about 10 feet under normal conditions and 20 feet in highly reflective conditions, such as in snow. Another feature of the DC-5000 is the ability to lock the focus for scenery shots. When placed in the macro mode, the preview lcd automatically turns on since the viewfinder is a little off axis in this mode. Battery life is adequate. I have taken as many as 100 images on one charge of NIMH batteries. Don't bother with any kind of alkaline! This is a viewcamera, not an SLR. If they made an SLR that was ruggedized like the DC-5000, I would consider buying it, but for the cost of the DC-5000, there is nothing to compare.

RUGGED! RUGGED! RUGGED! Intuitive Menu. Battery Life Exposure Adjustability Water Resistant Repacable Protective Lense Cover

Limited Zoom and macro range Vignetting with some filters and add-on lenses Small size of lcd display

Sharp View Cam with Capture Card Minolta XE7 35mm SLR

Do Not Know