Kodak EasyShare C340 First Impressions Review

Auto Mode
The automatic mode will select the optimal settings for the situation without restricting users from other options. The white balance, exposure compensation, ISO, and other menu options in the main menu are still accessible to users in the Auto mode; however, the C340 assumes all control of settings unless specified and manually altered by the user. A green camera represents the Auto mode on the main mode dial on top of the digital camera.

Movie Mode
The movie mode on the Kodak EasyShare C340 is subpar. Its Fine mode shoots 13 frames per second at 640 x 480 pixels. The Standard mode shoots faster at 20 frames per second, but with less resolution: 320 x 240 pixels. Most digital cameras, even compact ones, have 30-frame-per-second frame rates now, so the C340 is trailing a bit behind in this regard. This is unfortunate, considering point-and-shoot users are the most likely to utilize the movie clip function. As with most digital cameras, the zoom controls are not operable in movie mode. While the video recording rate lags, the movie mode does have some redeeming qualities; it records and plays back audio and is only limited by the capacity of the memory card.

Drive / Burst Mode
The C340 is the digital camera equivalent of a sprinter — in burst mode, the C340 moves at a quick 3 frames per second, which is quite rapid for a point-and-shoot model. The drawback is that the camera can only persist for 3 consecutive images before it has to stop and write to the memory, meaning that the C340 users won't have to worry about the camera's recording capabilities, but will have to develop good timing. If users can develop their skills around the camera, the C340’s burst mode should offer a significant advantage over other similarly priced models.

Playback Mode
The Playback mode can be accessed by pushing the Review button at the bottom right corner of the LCD screen. In Playback mode, images are automatically rotated by the camera. Users can crop pictures, protect them, or file them in their Favorites Album. Images can be zoomed in up to 8x and can be viewed as a single frame or in the multi-up mode. Slide shows can also be played. These features are all quite common. The C340 does include a unique Fast Scroll option that enters into mach speed to scroll through large amounts of photographs quickly, although this will be a bit of overkill with only 16 MB worth of pictures — yet, still a nice touch.

Custom Image Presets
The Kodak EasyShare C340 has 12 scene modes, some practically positioned on the main mode dial for instant access, with others more concealed within the menu. Portrait, Sports, and Landscape modes are conveniently located on the dial with accompanying icons for easy identification. The other scenes can be found in the menu under the SCN designation on the mode dial. The following modes are available in the SCN menu: Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sport, Movie, Night Portrait, Snow, Beach, Self Portrait, Party, Fireworks, Backlight, and Children. When scrolling through scene modes, users can view an explanation of the best situation in which to use the selected mode. All in all, the intuitive graphics and accessible location of the more pertinent scene modes contribute to a user-friendly interface.