Customer Reviews

Kodak Easyshare Camera Dock II for CX/DX 3000 and 4000 Series Cameras

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

BACKGROUND:

One of the most frustrating aspects about digi-cams are the "short-lives" of the batteries that come with them. Batteries tend to die out quickly, especially if you use the LCD monitor on the camera (which is one of the best things about digi-cams). Based on other reviews it seems that a lot of users have complained about the "power issues" with the Kodak DX series of cams (and other digi-cams as well). To solve your power problems (or avoid them completely), you'll definitely want to invest in the Kodak EasyShare Camera Dock II.

When I first purchased my DX3600 a year ago I got off to a great start with it. However, within a few months my DX3600 started dying out on me ALL the time, even at the most inopportune of moments. Buying new batteries did not help at all. Eventually I found my way to the Kodak EasyShare Camera Dock I. After getting Camera Dock I my power woes with the DX3600 eventually came to an end as the dock kept my camera batteries (the Ni-MH rechargeable batteries which is the recommended ones to use with the dock) fully charged. Plus it made the picture transfer process easier (ONE TOUCH!!!). At work we invested in a DX 4900 and had similar problems with the batteries dying quickly. By then the Camera Dock II came out which we invested in to even better results.

My investment in the camera docks has helped keep my cameras in tip-top working condition. Trust me, if you plan to get good use of out your camera, invest in the camera dock and Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. It will save you a lot of frustration when your camera does not die out on you at an inopportune moment.

ABOUT THE PRODUCT:

The EasyShare Camera Dock II is basically (as the name implies) an upgraded version of the first camera dock. It has the same features (fully charges your rechargeable batteries, plus gives a "one button touch" solution to picture transfer) but improves on the first one in that you now have a "recharger LED scale" to judge how much longer you have to recharge the camera. The first dock only had a one light LED where you had NO IDEA how much longer it would take to recharge your camera. Kudos to Kodak for this basic, but important, improvement in user design.

THE VERDICT:

Overall, you DO NOT want to go without this re-charger. This is a certainty if you use your camera heavily. Even if you aren't a heavy user and just use your camera casually, it is STILL well worth the investment as: 1- your camera won't die on you when you least expect it, 2 - you'll cut down your cost on buying new batteries (you'll go through them fairly often otherwise) and 3 - you'll save some time with the transfer process.

HIGHLY Recommended

I have an Kodak DX3600 and the Camera Dock. I like the dock, it keeps the camera charged and makes downloading pictures and video easy. It's nice to have, but I think the price point is a bit high for what it does.

Pros: Makes transferring pictures from camera to computer a snap

Cons: Have to drag it along to recharge the batteries, price

Summary: By using the Kodak EasyShare Camera Dock as storage for my camera, I never have to worry about the camera getting lost in the clutter and shuffle of our house. I always know my batteries will be completely recharged before I remove it from the Kodak EasyShare Camera Dock.

When I go on an extended vacation, I can unplug the dock from my computer and take it with me to leave in my hotel room. If you chose to, you could download images to your laptop while away. In our case, I will just use it for making sure my batteries are 100% each day. In some ways this is a hassle; I can't just use a power cord to recharge the batteries off of a wall outlet.

I also feel that the price tag is somewhat high for a computer peripheral that only serves one function. However, after buying my daughter a digital camera with only a cord between the computer and camera, and seeing the hassle she has had with it, I am glad that I opted for the Kodak EasyShare Camera Dock.

If you want to download pictures with no hassle, then the Kodak EasyShare Camera Dock makes it easy. It also works with all of the cameras in Kodak's EasyShare line.

Although a bit pricey, this peripheral by Kodak makes transferring images practically foolproof.

At first I liked the dock to go with my DX3500 camera. It's sleek. The one-touch transfer thing is pretty cool and I liked the idea of a rechargable battery. I also likes the idea of the indicator lights. HOWEVER: The battery does not hold a charge. I was using AA lithium batteries that would last for 1000 pictures on high res with the flash. The rechargable battery does not last past 50 pictures. Sometimes even less. I called Kodak and they told me I have to take the battery out after the third light shines and then put it back in and continue charging until the charge time reaches 2.5 hours. That didn't work. I'm pretty frustrated with it.

Overall, this is a handy little add-on for your Kodak Digital Camera. I own the DX4530 and really can't complain about anything with the dock.

It is true there is no USB cable with the dock, however, it runs off the one that came with your camera. So just make sure you have that one handy.

The camera fits nice and snug in it's spot within the docking station and the station doesn't really take up much space on your desk, which is also nice.

Personally, I like the one touch button to transfer photos. Why? Because under the old method of connecting the camera to the USB, you always had to turn your camera to auto, or some other mode in order for the transfer to take place. With the dock, the camera can be in the "off" position and you can still transfer photos. That means less wear and tear on the dial, which is always a good thing.

I haven't had an issue with the battery either, so previous reviews must be dealing with bad batteries. If you don't want your batteries to stay charged all the time, you can either undock the camera or just unplug the power from the back of the docking station. Not too tough really.

It really is not a necessary component. But I take a lot of pictures and am finding it to be very useful for me.

Creates a convienient way to transfer pictures to the computer with the Kodak software that comes with the camera. More importantly, it keeps the batteries charged. It would probably be cheaper to buy a battery charger and the camera is easily connected to the computer's USB conectors without the dock (a card reader on the newer computers is an even easier way to transfer the pictures).

It is convienient to always know where the camera is, to know that the batteries are charged and to download pictures without having to look for a USB cable but is it worth the price??--I guess so.

I purchased a Kodak digital camera but decided to save money on the dock since I did not think it a big deal to plug in a USB cable to transfer my photos.

What I did not realize is that the camera came with a NON-rechargable battery - the expensive proprietary sort. Kodak used to ship cameras with a rechargable, but not on my new DX4330.

After some hunting around, I decided to buy the dock, mostly because it includes a rechargable battery. Amazon/UPS delivered the dock in record time - less time than advertised.

The dock seems like a foolproof device. I plugged it into the power, into my PC, changed the batteries in my camera and I was away. No more worries about suddenly flat batteries.

It works as advertised to upload and share photos, but I mainly brought it as a convenient battery charger.

I think the item is expensive for what you get. Acessories is where Kodak must be making their profits.

I like the ease of the dock but I mainly bought it for the rechargeable batteries. I'll put the camera in the dock & within 5 minutes all three lights are green even though the battery isn't fully charged. I never can get it to charge the 2.5 hours Kodak recommends without constantly taking the camera off the dock & replacing it. I even tried reinstalling the batteries each time but no luck. Maybe I just have a defective battery pack.

I have only started using this product since June of this year. I received as a Father's Day gift. I find the product very easy to use and convenient. Initially I was using the Camera without the Docking station but have since set it up. I now can NOT see any reason NOT to use the Camera without the Easy Dock. Charging is automatic. Picture transfer is also easy and one touch away.

I bought this along with my Kodak DX4330 camera thinking it would be really nice and convenient.
Well, it IS nice and convenient - easy to set up and works well. One touch and it sends the pictures to the computer. The charger works fine too - I think the problems others may have are more related to the battery than the charger. But here are the drawbacks of this product:
1) Too expensive - I later discovered there are cheaper battery chargers (by Kodak as well). They don't transfer images to the computer like the dock does, but I don't think that's a big deal after all. Do a search for 'battery charger' ...and you'll find quite a few good alternatives to this camera dock.
2) They should have had a way to turn off the charger. Right now, when I'm done charging the batteries in the camera, I remove the camera since the 3 lights just stay on forever. I know that the batteries will not get damaged from overcharging, but those 3 lights staying on forever eventually seems wasteful! Since there's no switch to turn off the charger, you have to remove the camera if you don't want the lights to stay on forever. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a dock in the first place where you'd like to just leave your camera in it till you need to take pictures again.

So overall, it works as intended to transfer the images from the camera to the PC, and it charges the batteries fine. But it could do with improvements AND it really needs to get [less expensive]!