Kodak EasyShare C433 Digital Camera Review

by James Murray
Published on December 08, 2006

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

 

 

Likes

- Low noise levels (for camera styling) at lower ISO settings - Simple interface - Easy to use - Share mode enables fast printing - Budget-friendly price - Intuitive menu structure

Dislikes

- Small LCD has terrible live view - Sticky four-way control - Inaccurate color reproduction - Poor quality lens - Limited detail captured - Noisy focus - Uninformative user manual

 

For consumers looking to enter the digital camera market without spending several hundred dollars and being overwhelmed by controls, dials, buttons and features, the Kodak EasyShare C433 provides a compelling argument for the budget-conscious photographer.  Employing a 1/2.5-inch, 4-megapixel CCD, 3x optical zoom lens, 1.8-inch LCD, preset still shooting modes and manual influence over longer shutter speed, exposure compensation, white balance presets and ISO, this camera does the job with competence.  The design isn’t stunning and it isn’t a glamorous camera. The C433 is unfettered in appearance and Kodak has wisely stripped the external controls down to the essential minimum.  Menu structures continue this reduced interface with a simple design emphasized over a plethora of options.  It would be nice to have live views of manual controls like exposure compensation, shutter speed, white balance and ISO and this seems to be one of the major areas where Kodak just simply missed the bus. 

 

Problems weren’t non-existent with this camera: The aforementioned lack of live view being one point of contention, while the terribly slow focal times, shutter to shot times, noisy internal mechanical workings, requirement to refresh the LCD manually by pressing the shutter after capture (unless you are content to wait five seconds for the LCD to do this on its own) are all setbacks for this budget model.  Auto focus was an area where Kodak could definitely improve this camera with the center-zone setting rarely producing an in-focus subject and taking up to four or five seconds to notify the photographer of this inability. Delays in focus should be expected when shooting with this camera and patience was often required to produce accurate focus. Additionally, the simple interface design is hampered by the poor construction of controls with features like the four-way controller sounding as though it was three clicks away from either breaking apart or sticking permanently in one position.  While it’s true that you get what you pay for, it doesn’t seem like too much additional cost would be added to this camera if more care was taken in construction and selection of physical parts. 

 

Overall, the 4-megapixel Kodak EasyShare C433 is a very basic camera with easy to use features and basic functionality. For point-and-shooters on a tight budget, its well worth the $99.