Kodak EasyShare C643

Front
The C643 has a familiar front landscape, with the size of the frame dictated by the demand for a large viewing screen on back. Thus, we find the lens on the right-hand side of a surface measuring 3.6 x 2.6 inches high; the flash tube just above the lens and slightly to the left; and a suggestion of a grip on the left-hand side of the front. The optical viewfinder is placed in the top right corner of the camera. The surface finish is matte chrome plastic, broken up by a full chrome accent strip on the grip portion of the body.

Back
The back panel is designed around the 2.4-inch LCD display, positioned to the far left and taking up almost all of the vertical dimension and 75% of the horizontal. It’s a typical setup for cameras in this range. In the remaining 25% of real estate, Kodak has put the camera controls, among them the four-way controller switch, lens zoom controls and buttons for delete, LCD display options, menu and playback. Above the LCD is a flash ready light, a "share" switch for printing out to an EasyShare dock, and on the far left at the top, the optical viewfinder.

Left Side
The left side of the EasyShare C643 is basically unadorned matte chrome plastic with a power in jack and a couple of small holes at the bottom for the speaker. The jack will be a welcome feature for those who neglect to use fresh batteries.

Right Side
On the right side of the camera is a door giving access to the USB / A/V port and the slot for a standard SD memory card. There is also a wrist strap lug.

Top
On the top of the camera is a combined shoot mode/on-off switch, encircling the shutter release, and two small buttons for activating flash and self-timer.

Bottom
On the bottom of the C643, moving left to right, there is the battery compartment door, an ImageLink port and a tripod connection (centered over the lens axis).