The auto mode actually achieves the most manual control over the camera functions. That said, the Kodak EasyShare C433 can be left in a fully automatic setup without any changes being made to its defaults. Manual control options that are available in auto mode allow for manipulation of the full ISO range, exposure compensation, adjustment of preset white balance modes and selection of shutter speeds in the 0.5 to 4.0 second range. Other alterable settings include image size, color effects, auto focus zones and self-timer/burst mode. Focus and other image adjustments take awhile with this camera whether shooting with full auto, manually adjusted auto or scene modes. Users should expect in many situations a delay of several seconds until the camera has made the selected changes to the settings. This became tedious with longer shooting sessions especially when it is necessary to press the shutter halfway to get the LCD back into live view. Patience with this camera is key.

 

The movie mode can be quickly entered without opening a menu through the mode dial located on the top of the Kodak EasyShare C433. The movie mode is able to capture video at resolutions of either 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels with lengths of continuous, 5 seconds, 15 seconds or 30 seconds. Video capture at the higher resolution comes with an underwhelming frame rate of 13 fps that resulted in a stuttering playback comparable to the worst web cams available on the market today.  At the lower resolution of 320 x 240, the frame rate improves to 20 fps but is still far short of the standard 30 fps found with U.S. video systems. 

 

Captured with video footage is a monaural audio recording that can unfortunately only be heard when the camera is connected to a computer or alternate playback system due to the lack of an in-camera speaker. The microphone is located centrally on the front face of the camera above the lens ring, and its placement enables it to record handling noise. 

 

Video footage without audio can be viewed in playback mode, although editing of footage will have to be done once the footage has been exported from the camera. The crop feature located in playback cannot be applied to video footage.

The Kodak EasyShare C433 falls short of the mark with its lack of a burst mode. Users will find in the shooting menu the opportunity to select between single shot capture, self-timer with a delay of 10 seconds, two shot self timer with a delay of 10 seconds and a delay shutter time of 2 seconds. While these self-timer modes are helpful in certain situations, it would have been better for Kodak to provide at least one burst mode that could help combat the lumbering shutter to shot speed found when shooting without flash.  With a reported time of 2.5 seconds, we can assure you that Kodak was being generous in this specification and results with flash and auto focus adjustment times included, it hovered easily above 5 seconds. Fast shooting and quick cat-like reaction times are not where the C433 excels and if interested in capturing action events like Kung Fu fighting or the aftermath of a pie eating contest, a different point-and-shoot with a better burst mode would be required.

The playback on the Kodak EasyShare C433 is entered by pressing the review button on the back of the camera regardless of the current mode being used by the photographer. Review of still and video images can be accomplished with this mode, although,  it should be noted that sound cannot be played back with videos in the camera: there is no built-in speaker.

 

The review mode for the C433 provides the same simple menu structure and control options found throughout the entire camera design. While some image alteration is possible in this mode, most users will have to rely on a software application to make appropriate adjustments to image size, color and other post-production parameters.  A helpful control that is included in review mode is the crop tool, which allows users to select an image and then adjust a selector box to crop the appropriate content from the original image.  Adjusting the overall box size is accomplished with the zoom control, while the area the box covers can be altered by pressing the arrows of the four-way ring control.  Once everything is set, the user merely presses the OK button and the image is saved to memory. 

 

Individual images can be viewed with digital playback zoom up to 8x with adjustments to viewing area being adjusted with the four-way control. This feature and the crop feature should not be confused with one another and have entirely separate functionality.  Other options available in this mode include album set, copy, protect, multi-up or single image display and slide show.  Due to the low resolution and small size of the LCD, it would be smart to export all images to personal computer before selecting images to delete and for printing. Quality and focus are nearly impossible to judge on the small LCD and the lack of screen resolution further added to the aggravation 

Turning the mode dial on the top of the Kodak EasyShare C433 to the scene position will allow for access to the custom image presets. These appear as a horizontal list of icons along the bottom of the LCD screen. As photographers move through the list, each selected custom image preset will be displayed in the center of the screen with an expanded textual description of when it could be appropriately used. Pressing the left and right arrows of the four-way control scans the list of scene mode options. The preset shooting modes included with this camera aren’t the wealth found with HP or Casio cameras, but they are basic aBacklight and Night portrait.