Model Design / Appearance (7.5)
The body of the Kodak EasyShare C360 has clean, sharp lines which clearly articulate the various planes and surfaces. The smooth design and silver finish of the C360 gives the camera a clean look, while the enlarged left side (when looking at the lens) provides the user with a thick surface to grip when shooting. The camera is relatively slender and tall with an upright and nearly square body. Although the C360 is not quite suitable for slipping inconspicuously into any pocket, it also isn’t too bulky or thick to exclude the possibility. The camera feels sturdy and durable with a solid build. For presumably aesthetic reasons, Kodak has added a series of LED sensors buried beneath parallel strips of slightly transparent plastic that run along the top left of the camera. The LED sensors light up in a runway-like pattern when the camera is turned on, when images are deleted, or when other control features are altered. Although completely unrelated to performance, some users may find this add-on amusing, and some less patient users might like the reminder that the camera is processing. There are six small dots located on the back of the camera, which are intended to provide a resting point for the thumb when the user is not accessing controls or navigating menus. While it would have been nice to have more gripping options or rubber segments on such a smooth body, the camera is small enough for most users to hold and control without much concern. If potential consumers are worried about hand size or sweaty palms becoming problematic, other point-and-shoot cameras may be better options; however, the C360’s sleek, smooth surfaces may provide enough aesthetic and visual interest to appease others.

Size / Portability (7.5)
The Kodak EasyShare C360, while not large, is not the camera to drop into a pocket before a day of picture taking. The camera is 1.4 inches at its thickest point (the left side of the camera body when looking at the lens) and is 2.5 inches tall and 3.3 inches wide. When these measurements are considered with the 5.3 ounce (without batteries) camera weight, the sturdy design is still far more portable than other less expensive point-and-shoot camera models. Also, if baggy attire fits your personal style, this camera will easily slide down into more spacious pockets.

The EasyShare C360 also contains an eyelet for an optional wrist strap located on the right side of the camera body and it is large enough to thread easily. The strap loop is thick and more solid than most and appears as though it will endure for a long period of time.

Handling Ability (7.0)
The overall camera body is well sized for comfortable control with one or two hands and the lens barrel of the camera is placed far enough off to the right as to position it out of the way of wondering fingers. The microphone in the lower left corner of the front face, just below the lens barrel is however in an unfortunate place on the front of the frame, since fingers can easily mask this feature when shooting. The only gripping texture available when shooting with the C360 is located on the back of the camera and is merely a series of six raised dots located on the camera’s right side. Although this feature is well placed and in proper balance with the camera’s thick right hand gripping protrusion, this might not provide enough support or gripping aid to compensate for the otherwise entirely smooth camera body. Fortunately, the camera’s large right hand grip is well designed and divided into two planes; one of which is angled down towards the lens. This thin, vertical plane is perfectly designed, slopping towards the lens and granting the right hand fingertips ample space to rest comfortably and support the shot.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.5)
The controls on the Kodak EasyShare C360 are well spaced and marked with either universal symbols or full text descriptions. The mode dial on the top of the camera body is sizable if a bit stiff. Although this makes fast mode changes more difficult, the user will be able to clearly hear and feel when a new mode is selected. Also, accidental mode changes are highly unlikely if the dial is accidentally bumped or knocked. While the mode dial is large enough for any user to access, the four-way control located on the back of the camera body is an undersized continuous ring, which makes quick adjustments and navigation a bit tedious.

While the spacing of controls on the compact C360 is generous, the zoom toggle would greatly benefit from an increase in size. But the fact that the wide angle and telephoto aspects are autonomous is helpful for control, and will probably lead to faster and more accurate deployment. If all the controls were like the mode dial, Kodak would really have something; however, the continuous four-way control, and generally undersized buttons may leave some users frustrated by a camera that is supposedly designed for ease of use.

Menu (7.5)
All menu settings are controlled through the Menu button located on the back of the camera body to the right of the LCD screen. When activated, the menu appears with only one display screen. This is simpler than menu systems that use separate menus to list control settings, camera set-up, and tool menus, which is a perfect navigational setup on a camera designed for the point-and-shoot crowd. Menu settings may be navigated by pressing the up and down arrows on the four-way controller. Once a subsection heading is highlighted the user merely presses the OK button to enter the setting. And once the setting is changed, the user must merely press the OK button to register and save this control alteration. The menu entered when the camera is set to auto mode allows the user to control Exposure Bracketing, EV Compensation, Picture Quality settings, White Balance, Metering Patterns, ISO Speed, Focal Zones, AF control, color control, sharpness, long time exposure, album setup, image storage, and the setup menu.

The final submenu listed within the first menu allows the user to shift into the setup menu. The simple and colorful structure continues here. Within this menu, the user can adjust Live View On/Off, Camera Sounds, Volume Levels, Auto Power Off, Date/Time, Video Out, Orientation Sensor, Red Eye PreFlash, Date Stamp, Video Date Display, Blur Warning, Language, Format, and About settings. The setup menu, although less intuitive without obvious labels like White Balance, is still easy to navigate using the up and down arrows on the four-way controller.

The menus use a large, highly readable font with both full text headings for each submenu and universal symbols situated along the left side of the LCD screen. The menus are composed of opaque blue and yellow backgrounds with sizable black fonts which are easy to read.

When the camera is entered into the Scene mode setting, the user is able to access the scene modes listed along the bottom edge of the LCD screen through the activation of the four-way controller. The preset scene modes cut off user access to settings like EV Compensation, Exposure Bracketing, ISO speeds, and white balance when shooting through these presets. The user is still able to access other settings available in auto mode when shooting in preset scene mode, allowing for alterations to picture size, AF control, color mode, set album, image storage and setup menu. The setup menu for the preset scene settings is identical to the setup menu available in both movie and auto modes.

In Movie mode the user is able to access control over the image resolution and size of the video clip, duration of recording, set album, image storage, and setup menu. The setup menu for movie mode is identical to the one accessed when shooting in standard auto mode.

Ease of Use (8.0)
The EasyShare C360 remains in line with the series and Kodak’s current digital stance; the camera is incredibly easy to use through all stages of the process and should not intimidate even the true photographic greenhorns. The camera offers direct external controls that are clearly labeled and easily understandable, a simple menu structure, in-camera help features, and an EasyShare printing system which embodies the concept of ‘basic’. The preset scene modes all offer descriptions of their settings whenever the user scans the onscreen scene bar. The few manual controls appear in-menu with full text labeling. Unfortunately there is no live view available when making adjustments to these settings, even though there is a “live view” submenu setting, which would help less familiar users understand potential adjustments prior to making the selection. Nonetheless, an intimidating camera this is not; the C360 is truly accessible to any level user right out of the box.