Kodak DC280 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

by Kodak

Product Details

Product Manual [8.33mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 3 x 2 inches ; 12 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000038AB2
• Item model number: DC280
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,430 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 21, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Kodak DC280 digital camera offers Kodak's intuitive user interface, plus a high two-megapixel resolution and a variety of advanced features. Its 1,792 x 1,200 resolution allows for fine detail even at large image sizes. The Kodak DC280 also includes a 2x optical/3x digital zoom and macro capabilities. The built-in flash comes with four modes including red-eye reduction. Special camera modes include time lapse and burst modes as well as auto and manual exposure settings. Kodak's easy-to-use menu system is one of the most intuitive we've seen in the digital camera realm. The camera also includes special effects (black-and-white mode, sepia mode, borders included, document mode) and auto or manual exposure settings.

The Kodak DC280 has a large, bright 1.8-inch LCD monitor. Kodak includes a generous 8 MB CompactFlash memory card. The camera supports USB connectivity for fast, cross-platform downloads. While the DC280 comes with four AA batteries, like all digital cameras, it drains batteries quickly. We recommend investing in a set of rechargeables.

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Kodak's first-ever 2-megapixel digicam, the DC280, is a "feel-good" camera. It feels good to hold, good to set up, good to shoot with, and really good when you see the image quality it produces. That's not to say it's perfect, but as an all-around point-and-shoot, it comes pretty close. Kodak hasn't reached its potential in digital camera design because it has sometimes ignored features customers want and included unnecessary features instead. The DC280, however, is cause for celebration and shows that Big Yellow may finally be on the right track. The first thing you'll notice about this two-toned gray-and-black beauty is its weight. Most digicams are almost too light to hold steady while shooting pictures, but this camera has the heft and feel of a conventional 35mm point-and-shoot and is perfectly balanced. Its optical viewfinder is slightly larger and brighter than most others, too.

The Kodak DC280's setup is a snap, unlike the Epson PhotoPC 800's (Reviews, this issue, p90). A simple, intuitive scroll-through menu sets all functions to your preferences. Let's take a scroll.

One button turns on the menu, and two others move you up or down through highlighted items. For example, if you want to set compression quality, scroll down to the Quality icon and press what Kodak calls the Do It button to view three choices: Good, Better, and Best. Make your choice, press Do It again, and you return to where you were in the main menu hierarchy. Nothing could be simpler.

You've got a fair number of choices, too. You can add a date stamp, adjust exposure (just darker or lighter; no f-stops or shutter speeds), add a border to your picture, select resolution, set white balance (or leave it at auto), choose matrix or spotlight metering, sharpen or soften images, and double the ISO for low-light pictures without flash. You can also lock your exposure at a certain setting - for example, giving all the pictures in a panoramic series a consistent look.

Of course, the camera has some shortcomings. The optical zoom lens is limited in range - only 30mm to 60mm (equivalent) - and it's a bit slower than most - f-3.0 at the wide end and f-3.8 at full telephoto. It's also not threaded, so you can't use auxiliary lenses. You can shoot only three rapid-fire shots when you first turn on the camera; thereafter it's a longish 13 seconds between shots at any resolution. The LCD monitor doesn't display images in real time; at about 20 frames per second, it's a bit jerky when you move the camera to frame an image. And the effective monitor size is only 1.6 inches because of the unusual image proportion.

Since the DC280's high-resolution image size is 1,760 by 1,168 pixels, you can print a 4-by-6-inch photo without trimming a pixel. But this is a 2-megapixel camera - hardly what you'd buy to output small pictures. To print an 8-by-10-inch photo, you must lop off a bunch of pixels from the long side of the image, so effective resolution is only 1.7 megapixels (or 1,460 by 1,168 pixels). Still, since 8-by-10-inch images print very well, perhaps this is quibbling.

To its credit, the DC280 does have a complete top-deck status display of all critical menu settings and lets you set the flash modes, self-timer, and macro mode using three buttons. You can examine pictures on the LCD right after you take them, and delete unwanted shots immediately.

Other features include slide-show capabilities and NTSC or PAL video out - so you can view pictures on TV. If you're going to use either feature, though, make sure you buy the optional AC adapter or you'll quickly drain the batteries. The camera comes with a 8MB CompactFlash card and four Kodak NiMH batteries, plus a charger.

Finally, a Kodak-exclusive menu mode lets you prepare your images for instant printing on any of Kodak's 20,000 Picture Makers. These big blue-and-yellow machines in drugstores and other locations produce almost-instant photos guaranteed to last as long as conventional silver-halide film prints.

The Kodak DC280 comes bundled with Adobe PhotoDeluxe 2.0 and PageMill 3.0 (for putting images on the Web), and includes a Photoshop plug-in (to bring in images and control the camera from your Mac). There's also a utility to exchange picture borders with the camera, software for both serial and USB image transfer, and ArcSoft's PhotoPrinter, which allows you to print multiple-size images on a single sheet of paper.

The DC280 may not be the most sophisticated digicam in the world, but it shows that Kodak is beginning to give customers the kinds of cameras they want. Now all Kodak has to do is work on competitive pricing, since other manufacturers currently offer digicams with similar features at a lower cost. -- Arthur Bleich

Good News: Lightning-fast learning curve. Good control-button layout. Bright optical viewfinder. 8MB memory card. Excellent software package. USB and serial ports. Both NTSC and PAL video. Slide-show capabilities. Very solidly built.

Bad News: Slow compared to other 2-megapixel digicams. No threaded lens for accessories. Plastic tripod socket. Image proportion awkward for large prints. Small LCD monitor. Other digicams provide more features at lower cost.

©1999 MacAddict

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

449 of 451 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Color and Detail, December 3, 1999

By 

James L. Wilson "wilson99" (Boca Raton, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kodak DC280 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I am a photographic and computer enthusiast and having these two elements come together is a delight for me. So, I have all the very expensive stuff, including KODAK's $20m commercial digital cameras. So, I know what quality is and how much it costs. Bottom-Line as starters, the DC280 makes great color shots with very suprising Hi-detail. The Advertisments say "good" for 8x10 photos, however, as a very picky guy, when you get past 5x7 print sizes, the pictures start to turn fuzzy. But the 5x7 prints are shockingly clear with brilliant colors. But, so what, how many prints does one make larger than 5x7 anyway. This camera is easy to use & small, and I carry it on vacation locations, when I don't want to carry my larger and heavier commercial camera. I was truly shocked at the excellent picture quality of the 280. ALSO, KODAK includes great software, so after a picture taking day/nite, one can easily connect to the yellow video plug on your TV (or Hotel TV) for a slide show of the days activities. I would recommend purchasing a 64MB memory card with the camera purchase, so you'll get plenty of picture opportunities (75+ shots) without having to worry about using up memory. In other words, since you can erase shots you don't like, take MANY, MANY shots and pick the best ones you like for printing or e-mailing. I bring my laptop with me on trips, so in the evening, I can copy the photo-files to the hard disk, and erase the camera memory card, in preparation for the next days photo activities. KODAK provides serial, USB cables, and software to accomplish this simply. Definitely do NOT buy a digital camera with less than 2,000,000 pixels. (The older models, presently having good sale prices, are technology of 2/3 years ago, and you'll wish you spent the extra money for this camera). Since KODAK has been the color business for 100 years, (well...50+years) its no surprise that they have created an electronic imager (the CCD Chip) with the BEST Color quality and detail. This is a must have, you'll not be dissappointed. If you have another few hundred dollars, check out the SONY or OLYMPUS dye-sublimation printers, which produce actual photo quality continuous tone prints up to 4x5 sizes; These printers are not dot-matrix's with all the little dots. The camera and the printer makes for a great combo family gift for under $2m, that anyone in the family can use without having to even turn on a computer, as the printer prints directly off the camera memory card. SO that you don't make yourself craze, and since its slightly different than a typical film point and shoot camera, be sure to read the instruciton booklet, before pushing all the buttons. The documentation KODAK gives you is very easy to understand, so take it slow when you open the Box for the first time. It's so intuitive to use, after the first 2 outings, you NOT need to keep going back to the booklets. JLW/991203.

130 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kodak DC280 is the best mid priced digital camera!, June 26, 2000

By 

Clifford Forster - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kodak DC280 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

For the money you just simply will not beat the performance of the Kodak DC280. I have had mine for a couple of months now, and it has literaly replaced my regular 35 mm camera. I love the convience of taking pictures then making any edits i need from my computer. The software is easy to install, and only has about a one hour learning curve to master. Very good and fast usb connection. With a fully charged set of NI-MH, AA batteries it gets fantastic long life. And the 2.0 Megapixel image is nothing less than photo film perfect, must be seen to belive. I also like the smart card memory media included, I have upgraded the 8 mb, to a 24 mb card, and on the 24 mb, I can snap over 100 photos in the best quality mode on the lower size setting, and 34 of the highest quality photos in the huge mega resolution setting. Another great feature is that this camera is very easy to use compared to the other brands I have tried. I did not even have to read the instructions, (though I would read them if I were a beginer). Try the Kodak DC280 out if your in the market for a fantastic digital camera!

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than I expected!, July 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Kodak DC280 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

Overall, this is an excellent camera and I've had nothing but great luck with it. The pictures are terrific.

I had heard a lot about the DC280 and similar digital cameras chewing up batteries, so I bought an extra set of rechargable NiMH batteries -- in addition to the set that comes with the camera. While this is still a good idea, I didn't find that the battery life was particularly bad. On a recent trip overseas, I shot over 150 pictures (many with flash) and still had good battery life when I got home -- enough for another 75 pictures. Just don't use the LCD preview screen for every shot -- that's not what it's intended for, and it WILL kill your batteries pretty quickly.

The real limitation is the Compact Flash memory. If you shoot the highest resolution possible, the camera will fill a 8mb card (which is what is supplied) with only 9-12 pictures. I typically get 32 hi-res pictures from a 16mb card. (The number of pictures you get will vary depending on the complexity of the images you shoot.) So, in addition to an extra set of rechargable batteries, think about buying the highest capacity Compact Flash card you can afford!

If you're thinking about getting a higher resolution camera than the DC280, keep in mind that you'll get even fewer pictures per megabyte on your Compact Flash cards. Personally, I found enlargements up to 5x7 printed by Ofoto nearly impossible to tell from film pictures. I'd only recommend a 3 megapixel camera if you intend to print 8x10s regularly.

A USB Compact Flash card reader is a great option, too. It saves the camera battery and allows you to quickly download your pictures without tying up the camera.