Kodak Easyshare C340 Digital Camera

We bought this camera for our 7 year old daughter's birthday.

She loves it, has found it very easy to use - likes taking portraits, landscapes and flower photos. Has managed to take colour and monochrome photos and videos, all by herself. Even digital scared Grandma has been converted by this camera.

As Digital SLR user, I have also been know to get this camera out for quick snaps. Print quality on our photo printer very acceptable.

Particularly wanted the direct connection to the TV to do photo slide shows while on holiday - which was hard to find on other cameras around this price.

A great little camera - I'd recommend to anyone looking for an entry level camera for themselves or a child.

A reasonable camera for the £89 ($150???) I paid for it. In general it produces a good image and there's plenty of scene modes to keep most people happy. Colour rendition is quite good and quite rich, which some people will find pleasing.

One hidden feature on this camera (and others in the Kodak range) is the LT (Long Time) exposure setting, which allows the shutter on the camera to be held open for up to 4 seconds. This allows the user to take night time shots (ensure the camera is stationary for this) that are better than the night scene mode elsewhere on the camera. I have made heavy use of this.

ISO goes up to 400 and the sensor allows photos to be taken up to ISO 400 with surprisingly little noise. However, use of the scene modes blocks the ISO setting from being used.

For what is a point and click camera, the macro mode (which is useable with the ISO setting) is exceptionally good and beats that of my main camera (a Fuji S5600 which is known for it's poor macro mode) and other more expensive cameras hands down. Of the cameras I've used, only the macro modes of the S7000 and the F30 (both Fuji) beat it.

Two major complaints are firstly the battery life and secondly poor rendition of environments where lighting varies significantly within the frame of the shot.

You should always carry at least one set of spare batteries with you and ensure they are of the rechargable type. Although I've seen the battery indicator show after only say 20 shots, the camera can go on alot longer than this and the battery life is still better than say some of the Pentax cameras. Nevertheless, the camera will give out at around 100 shots (though I can strangle another 30 to 40 shots using higher rated rechargables - also, I have known after flash and heavy LCD screen use the camera lose charge after 50 to 60 shots) and I'd rate it's battery capacity at below average.

The poor light rendition problem will only RARELY occur to be fair and only where part of the shot is in darkness and another part of the shot is in bright light. Basically, the camera will have difficulty distinguishing features in the bright light part of the picture, with everything appearing pasty and indistinct. Aiming at the light part of the picture will cure this, although features in the dark part of the picture will then become indistinct.

A voice memo feature would also have been nice.

That said, this is a cheap and cheerful camera and the buyer should not expect it to perform wonders (note also video mode is adequate for the price and a litte jerky - but it is a cheap camera - and if you want video, you should buy a video camera). To summarise, a good little camera that does a little more than you'd expect for your money and ideal as a starter or second use carry-round if using your main camera isn't practical.

This was my first digital camera and i found it very easy to use and could not be more impressed with the results Despite not having the steadiest of hands. Also found the automatic showing of all pictures the right way up therefore no need to correct pictures taken lenghthways amazing