Amazon.co.uk Review
The Kodak DX3500 provides a combination of excellent image quality, ease of use and sturdy construction to make this a superb 2.2 Megapixel digital camera.
The camera comes well packaged with USB cable, four metre power cable, plugs for use in Europe and UK, rechargeable battery pack, software, video cable and the innovative Kodak Camera Dock.
The lack of a paper manual--the manuals are only provided on CD-ROM--does not present a problem as the unit is simple to set up; attach the Dock to your PC via USB and plug in the power cable, drop in the camera and start charging. There are two main programs supplied with the camera--a simple image-editing tool that also enables you to create slideshows and send images to friends via e-mail and the Image Transfer software that runs in the background, waiting to upload pictures via the Dock.
The camera controls are straightforward; there's a wheel to flick between taking pictures and viewing them, a switch to set normal or wide-angle mode, the standard menu navigation buttons, a flash control button and a two-step shutter release. The camera comes supplied with 8 MB of internal memory as well as a compact flash slot. This means that even without buying more memory, you have space for 12 shots at high resolution (1800 x 1200) or 50 shots at low resolution (900 x 600). As the camera stores images to the JPG format (which uses compression) these figures will vary depending upon the complexity of the subject.
The camera performs well in varied conditions, producing crisp, clear images and the colour balance is superb even when faced with a mixture of natural and artificial light. Images are immediately visible on the good-sized LCD panel. Other strong points include the short latency between pressing the shutter release and the taking of a picture, the fast flash refresh time and the ability to take several pictures in quick succession. The obvious omission is the absence of a "movie-mode" for the recording of short MPEG files.
Uploading images is also straightforward. Simply place the camera in its Dock and press the button on the front. This triggers the Image Transfer Software to upload the data from the camera and store it to your hard drive. The software enables you to specify the destination folder and includes the useful ability to create a new subdirectory named by the date of upload. It will also, if specified, delete the images on the camera after a successful upload thus making the camera ready for use once more. --Nick Baxter
Manufacturer's Description
Looking to go digital? Look to the easy-to-use Kodak DX3500 digital camera. Get crisp, vibrant prints up to 8" x 10" (20cm x 25cm) thanks to its 2.2-megapixel resolution and 3x digital zoom. DX3500 is the perfect camera for sharing pictures over e-mail or for producing photo-quality prints. Start shooting right away with 8MB of internal memory. Want to take more pictures? DX3500 comes equipped with a CompactFlash card expansion slot so you can boost your camera's memory capacity. The camera also comes with an LCD screen, which lets you preview and review your shots, so you always know that you got the perfect picture.The EasyShare System is where the convenience of digital and the ease of Kodak come together. One touch. That's all it takes to get pictures from your Kodak DX3500 digital camera to your computer. Take a picture with the Kodak DX3500 digital camera, place your camera in the Kodak Camera Dock, press a button, and you're ready to print and e-mail with ease. Kodak Picture Software lets you instantly view, edit, e-mail, and print your pictures. Now you're ready to share with your world. You'll never miss a picture-taking opportunity since your camera batteries are recharged every time you rest the camera in the dock.
