Customer Reviews

Kodak EasyShare DX3900 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

This is my first digital camera, although I have been taking photos (many years professionally) for more than 15 years with 35mm film cameras.

I have to say that this camera, after just two weeks, has exceeded my expectations. I wanted a camera that could replace my beloved Olympus Stylus as a point and shoot camera. It easily does that. In fact I find that I can use it much like I did my beloved Leica M rangefinder camera. Any digital consumer camera today still does not rival even the cheapest p/s film camera. But the advantages of a digital camera more than overshadow any image quality gap between film and digital cameras.

Here are the strengths of this camera (in no particular order):

1. Takes non-proprietary batteries. DO get rechargable NiMH
batteries. Camera uses 2. (...))

2. Flash can be turned off. I rarely use the flash for a natural look when in "lecia-type" shooting situations. Good fill flash.
Flash is far enough off axis so that red eye doesn't seem to exist.

3. Can set EV +- 2 stops for exposure control.

4. Can set shutter speeds down to 16 seconds. Great for low-light shooting.

5. Metering system is very, very good in general. can also do spot metering.

6. camera is not too small or too big. it makes it easy to take anywhere and not be a burden.

7. Cover protects lens when camera is turned off.

8. Very good image quality

9. Good software on camera and loaded onto computer. camera is
intuitive to use.

10. Macro mode

Misses:

1. some might need more than 2x zoom.

2. Software does not work under Windows95

3. No neck strap. Just wrist strap supplied.

4. Only 8mb card supplied with camera.

5. shutter is responsive with no big lag from the time the shutter is pressed to when the image is taken, but it takes about 6 seconds to write the image to disk before you can take the next picture. (unless you use the .8mb burst mode)

More Advice:

Don't bother buying the dock. USB cable alone is fine for
transferring images. Save the dock money and buy a bigger compactflash card and rechargable batteries.

This is a lot of camera for the money. Hopefully it will hold up
over the next few years until it's time to buy the next generation
of digital camera. Good luck! Hope this helps.

I am in charge of purchasing all new technology for my office, and one month ago, I bought 4 of the Kodak DX3900s for my office. What a great camera! The photos are great. This is the 3rd set of digital cameras I have purchased for my office in the past 5 years, and digital cameras have come a long way. 6 months ago I purchased an olympus for [a high price] and that camera had too many bells and whistles that nobody in the office could figure out. This camera is simple. All I do is just leave it on the highest picture quality setting, insert the 128MB card that I purchased seperately and I can take up to 129 pictures using the flash on one battery charge! I "borrowed" the office camera that I purchased for the last 2 weekends when my family and I visited the Shenendoa National forest. Wow!! The pictures could not be any better. My husband and I are planning on purchasing one of our own!! I strongly suggest this camera to anyone who is purchasing a new digital camera.

Digital cameras in general are getting better, but you can't beat quality like this. Though I was initially looking at the more talked-about Olympuses and Canons, this camera gives excellent color fidelity, great resolution, and point-and-click ease of use coupled with advanced features.

I use Mac OS X, and no software installation is required to use the camera -- it works seamlessly with ImageCapture and the new iPhoto, including being able to control the camera (erase pics from the card, etc) from the iPhoto app.

The direct USB connectivity is great. I was able to quickly and seamlessly download the photos without having to use a compactflash adapter, which I suspect will result in longer media life due to the lack of the physical stresses of jamming the card in and out.

It looks like a film camera (as opposed to some of the Nikons which twist), and feels comfortable, with a nice weight to it. The body is plastic, but feels fairly solid, though it doesn't feel quite like the most expensve cameras. It feels like the most expensive camera you could buy at a drugstore -- well-put-together, but not top-of-the-line.

The ergonomics are very well-designed and easy to understand -- the buttons are well placed for easy operation without any accidental activations. The camera has a built-in battery save feature you can enable which turns it off after a minute of inactivity, and has easy-to-navigate hierarchal menus to control many aspects, like date/time stamp, image quality, and sounds.

The image quality is really excellent, better than I expected. Though the 3.1 megapixels is certainly impressive, what's more important is that the quality in those few million pixels is right on, with good range in lights and shadows, good detail (the camera includes macro and distance modes for customizing focus), and very good color fidelity. There are white-balance controls for different lighting (flourescent, tungsten, flash etc) which enhance the color fidelity in usually-tough lighting situations. There is a hint of jaggedness in high-contrast areas, but it's not too distracting. Overall, there is none of the graininess that I've seen with other digital cameras.

The camera can take pictures in only 3 modes -- color, sepia, or black and white (some cameras have lots of built-in effects.) For cropping and sharing, it's nice anyway to have a program like Adobe Photoshop Elements, which will let you use all the filters you might want.

One of the best parts of this camera is the lens -- you can buy accessories like a telephoto attatchment or a wide-angle, for even more flexibility.

I am thrilled with this camera. As an art student, it suits my needs perfectly -- optical zoom and enough pixels to play with were very important to me. However, there are a few cons, which can be expected for all these features at the price. Unlike the top-of-the-line digicams, there's a separate viewfinder (as opposed to true through-the-lens -- parallax problems are slight, but there.) And maybe it's just me, but you can't seem to frame your picture on the LCD screen -- it seems to work only for reviewing photos. I wish there were a power adapter included for seamless recharging. The 8mb included memory is pretty skimpy considering historically-low memory prices -- it holds only 8 hi-res photos. The construction feels solid, but not tops. We'll see how it holds up.

All in all, this is a wonderful camera for the price, and Kodak didn't sacrifice image quality to cram in more effective pixels -- the images that come off the camera are ready to go. The additional lenses, ISO and white-balance adjustments mean you can take it further, but it functions as a point-and-shoot easy camera, and with Mac OS X anyway, there's no software you need to install at all. I highly recommend it for everyone from the first-timer who needs room to grow to the advanced amateur without unlimited funds.

I have been using this camera for about a week. It takes very sharp and colorful images. It is extremely easy to use as a point and shoot and there are also settings to refine your images under different situations (lighting,compression,EV,ISO,etc.).I am amazed at the picture quality for such an easy to use camera. I highly recommend this camera for anyone that wants to jump in to digital photography. It produces comparable results to 35MM film cameras and maybe even better.

I normally don't write reviews, but after reading that last one slamming this great camera (for all the wrong reasons), I felt compelled.

The DX3900 was the only camera I could find that had optical zoom AND 3 megapixel resolution (...). It's pretty simple to use (especially if you read the instructions and realize that many of the "problems" described by one reviewer are configurable and/ or the way it's SUPPOSED to work. Jeez!)

What's especially nice is the memory media (CompactFlash) which is available in sizes up to 512 MB (will hold over 700 pics at top resolution).

The digital screen is a bit "stuttery", but it IS color and will reflect whatever mode you have it in (black/ white, sepia). The camera also has a lot of adjustable features INCLUDING whether the zoom pauses when it changes from optical to digital zoom.

The lens protector closes "automatically" when you shut the camera off, which is cool. Downside is that it opens when you turn it on, even if you're just turning on to view pics you already took (it would be nice if the cover closed while in "play" or "setup" mode).

I haven't bought the dock yet, but plan to. One button downloading plus getting your batteries recharged adds to this camera's practicality. Without the dock, your battery options are still pretty wide. The camera comes with a long-lasting lithium battery pack, but can also use Ni-MH or tried and true AA batteries.

This camera also has a decent number of adjustable photo options such as exposure compensation, exposure metering, and multiple resolution settings, including a lower-res mode that allows you to take a "burst" of photos (several in rapid succession... COOL!)

By the way, for those who don't know, you CANNOT show digital zoom through an optical viewfinder, so don't be disappointed when you have to view the digital zoom through the screen. Also, the higher resolution is for PRINTING pictures, not viewing them on screen... a task handled well by any low res jpeg producing hardware.

Again, (...): 2x opitcal zoom, 3x digital zoom (6x total), 3.1 megapix, and a slew of cool options, I looked and looked, and couldn't find a better deal!

This is my 4th digital camera, the last three being Kodak cameras. I chose Kodak for its reputation and positive reviews, especially as to color quality. I was looking for a 3+ megapixel camera and chose the DX3900 because 1) it had an optical zoom (although I wish it had 3X instead of 2x) 2) It was one of the cheapest cameras in its class 3) Kodak reputation. I was put off at first by the plastic case, but the lighter weight is really an asset. Be careful, however. The lightness caused me to produce some blurry photos until I figured out I was in my heavier camera mode from my previous DC265. The 8 megabyte card is a joke - only 7 pictures. The 3.1 compressed mode doubles your pictures, but Kodak tells me not to use it if you intend to print your photos---Web use is just fine. You'll need to budget for at least a 128 or 256 Mb card. The first set of batteries lasted for 275 pictures, 20% of these were taken with flash. Like most cameras in its class, the LCD display is impossible to see in any kind of daylight; the optical viewfinder is a must -- also saves on battery life. Some reviewers complained about the lack of advanced features, but the basics are there along with a surprising number of manual settings (shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, 4 flash modes, B&W, sepia, etc). You don't really need the docking unit. (...)

This is my first digital camera.I have used other cameras owned by friends and family,but never was convinced that the technology was refined.
Well all that changed when I saw the Kodak line of DX cameras with docking station.
I Bought the DX3900 in a bundle package,it had the camera,docking station,rechargeable batteries,memory card and software.
The Docking station is what first got me interested in the camera.The features of the camera closed the deal.
I am by no means a guy who take a good picture,but with the DX3900 it seems that you can't go wrong.
When it comes to getting the pictures in my computer and e-mailing them,I really think that a monkey would have no problems doing it.
The docking station is a must have to make this so simple.No wires hanging around to get dropped off and fall behind desk,just place camera in the docking unit it's as easy as hanging up a phone.
To sum it all up I am very pleased wiyh my purchase of the
Kodak DX3900 Digital camera.

...You can't imagine this DX3900, a cheaper model, is even better than my DX4800, 1st winner in picture quality by PC World for many months this year. I've taken 271 pictures (LCD panel off) with the lithium battery (equivalent to 2 AA batteries) included in the package and it is still going strong. I'm a picky person and I seldom give anything a five-star rating, but this Kodak has simply overwhelmed me. Now you have to have a professional medium-format traditional camera to beat this Kodak. I bet you can't find a better digital camera in picture quality at any price.

I consider myself an expert on Kodak Digital Cameras. I have owned 6 in the last 2 years. Here they are: DC215, DC280, DC265, DC290, DX3600, and now the DX3900. The DX3900 is very fast when snapping the photos. Previous models had about a 1 second delay after pressing the shoot button thus making it difficult to capture those candid shots. The DX3900 has virtually no delay (about 1/10th of a second). Plus previewing your shots is significantly faster than previous models. Obviously this model has a much faster processor. The ISO Equivalent is 100 thru 400 and can be automatic or selectable. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, ISO is basically equivalent to film speed. ISO 400 allows great pictures in lower light settings. I love to turn off the flash and take pictures in the evening light or by candlelight. Something that really can't be done on ISO 100 cameras. Other bonuses to this model are the high megapixel of 3.1, the easy dock (sold separately), lens slider cover (versus press on cap). Plus compact flash memory cards are hitting an all time price low. I just bought 128mb card for $50. I can take over 130 high quality pictures on this card. Kodak has definitely outdone themselves on this camera, and at $399 you won't be disappointed.

I bought this camera about a month ago cause I was impressed with the idea of getting 3MP for only $400. It was my first venture into the digital camera field, and I didn't plan on doing anything too fancy with it. I'll run through some of the highs and lows that I discovered.

1. 3MP - Well it seems like it's a good deal, but there are a couple things to know. If you don't ever plan on printing out your pictures, getting anything more that 2MP is a waste. If you keep the picture at a size where it fills up your screen, even the best monitors don't display better than 2MP. Besides, a camera needs to have good electronics to process all that information. When I compared pictures taken with this camera against my dad's DX290 (which is only 2MP), the DX290 photos were much more crisp and vibrant.

2. This camera is really, really easy to use. If you like simple menus with lots of options, this is for you. There are a lot of adjustable settings, such as ISO, exposure, shutter speed, etc.

3. The camera is quick to take a shot, which isn't true with many of the digital cameras. It is almost instantaneous. However, the camera is a little slow to record the shot to memory, so you have to wait a little before your next picture.

4. The colors on this camera are not very vibrant. There is a bluish haze that seemed to cover most of my pictures. If people were more than 5 feet away, their faces looked like they were blue from holding their breath.

Overall, I really liked the ease of use and features on the camera. But when it came down to it, I didn't like the picture quality. They was definitely something missing.

I ended up returning the camera and buying the Canon S110. It's much more compact, and just about as easy to use. With respect to picture quality, the Canon is much better with appropriate lighting. It lacks a little in dim light, but so does the Kodak.

In the $400 range, you can also check out the CoolPix 775. It takes much better pictures indoors than the Canon or Kodak, but it lags behind both outdoors with good lighting.

Good luck.