Kodak EasyShare C340 Digital Camera Review

by James Murray
Published on October 07, 2005

Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance
Physical Tour	Components
Design / Layout	Modes
Control Options	Image Parameters
Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions
Conclusion	Specs / Ratings

 

The C340’s front face is split into two halves. The left side is covered with a reflective silver finish with a pattern of horizontal lines. The right half is covered with a matte silver finish. A small raised Kodak insignia is on the edge of the scalloped right side, which should provide users with a comfortable grip. The most prominent feature on the front is the retractable 34-102mm (equivalent) Kodak Retinar zoom lens on the left side of the camera body. This lens has a cover which opens or retracts when the camera is turned on or off. The lens barrel is surrounded by a polished metallic silver ring, which is aesthetic rather than functional. Above and to the left of the lens barrel is the viewfinder, unfortunately positioned so that it can be easily obstructed by left hand fingers and provide inaccurate framing. Above and to the right of the lens is the microphone; this at least is out of the way of the user's fingers. Above the microphone and the right half of the lens is a horizontal flash near the top edge of the camera body. This flash should produce even coverage, although there will be a shadow cast from right to left because the flash is not centered over the lens. To the right of the flash, users will find the self-timer lamp.

 

The 1.6-inch, 72,000 pixel LCD takes up a fair portion of the left side of the camera’s back. It's rare to find a camera display with fewer than 110,000 pixels these days, which is poor as it is, but Kodak has supplied one. A large black frame surrounds the small screen, which is raised from the surface of the camera body. Also raised from the camera body and located above the LCD in the left-hand corner of the back face is the optical viewfinder. Although a great option for extending battery life, the viewfinder really is exceptionally small and nearly unusable.  Since both it and the LCD are slightly raised up from the camera’s back, users will probably leave greasy nose prints on the LCD when they use the optical viewfinder.

 

To the right of the viewfinder is the ready light for the camera, which will alert users when the camera is processing and when it is ready to capture. Running along the right side of the LCD screen are a number of buttons positioned vertically. Next to the top right corner of the LCD is the Delete button. Like all the buttons along this edge, the Delete button is raised from the camera body and large enough to activate accidentally. Beneath the Delete button is the camera’s LCD On/Off/Status button. This button is the only one out of the four positioned here that has two icons in lieu of a full text label. Beneath the LCD status button is the Menu button, and last is the review button, which allows users to enter and exit the playback mode without having to enter a menu or spin mode dials. To the right of these four controls and placed on the body of the camera is a four-way controller.

 

The four-way controller is a continuous ring which is large enough to be easy to use, although separate controls for the cardinal directions would seem easier and more accurate. In the center of the four-way controller is the OK button. In the lower right-hand corner is Kodak’s famous red Share button, a jewel-like button that is clearly labeled. In the upper right-hand corner on the back of the camera is the zoom control, which is comprised of two separate controls for wide angle and telephoto. These controls are raised slightly from the camera body on a slight plateau, and each has its own labels for both regular and playback mode. When in playback mode these controls act as zoom in and zoom out controls for single images. Beneath the zoom controls is a patch of 10 raised dots in a triangle, which attempt to act as a finger grip. Although a nice thought, it would be better to have more grip or rubber on the right side instead. The triangle of dots found here is hardly going to stop the Kodak EasyShare C340 from falling into a river gorge when hands get damp from rising mist.

 

The left side of the camera body is devoid of controls and buttons, though not completely empty. There is a DC in 3V jack in the lower back corner. Running along the center of this side and wrapping up to the camera top is a strip of metal with textured horizontal lines similar to those on the front of the camera for a more unified aesthetic. 

 Right Side (5.5)

The right side of the C340 has a rounded surface to help users hold the camera more comfortably with one hand, and this surface ends with a scalloped edge positioned more towards the front of the camera. In the center of the right side and wrapping around from the front is a polished, large eyelet for a wrist strap. Behind the eyelet is a port door which sits flush with the camera surface. The tab for this cover is on the back edge of the right side. This door flips open easily and does not have any locking mechanism, meaning that it could open accidentally when thrown haphazardly into a bag. It's attached to the camera body by a pair of durable hinges. Under the cover is the slot for SD/MMC memory cards as well as the USB / A/V out for transferring data to computer/printer or television. This side is devoid of any sort of textured surface, so shooting with one hand may be unwise.  

Top (6.0)  

A textured strip runs across the top of the C340 and leads to the Mode Dial on the right. The mode dial is impressively large and raised significantly from the camera body. The shutter release sits in the center. The dial snaps nicely from mode to mode, though its durability is questionable. The mode dial allows users to navigate through a number of modes: Auto, Scene, Portrait, Sport, Landscape, Close-up, and Video, along with an Off setting and a Favorite mode. The dial unfortunately does not turn 360 degrees, so if users want to go from the first mode to the last, they will need to spin the dial completely around. To the left of the mode dial is a raised flash button which displays the flash settings on the LCD screen. To the left of the flash button is the Self-Timer/Burst mode. This button allows for cycling between two second and ten shutter delays along with burst mode. On the left side of the top is the playback speaker for the camera, a feature which is visually notable by a grid of nine small holes.