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"Picky Details" for the Kodak EasyShare C360 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Kodak EasyShare C360:

Kodak EasyShare C360 Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	4.1	LCD turns on and lens extends forward.
Shutdown	3.3 - 42	First time is time to retract lens, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time.
Play to Record, first shot	0.8	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to play	1.4 / 0.2	First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.53 / 0.80	First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto.
Shutter lag, continuous autofocus	0.42	Continuous autofocus helps a little with stationary subjects (unusual, on most cameras it doesn't), may help more with moving ones, but we have no way to reliably test AF performance with moving subjects.
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.112	Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button.
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	2.34 / 1.74	First number is for highest resolution files, second number is time for smallest files. Times are averages. In highest-res mode, shoots 6 frames this fast, then slows to about 6.3 seconds per shot. Times are averages. In lowest-res mode, shoots 5 frames this fast, then slows to about 5.8 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 33 seconds in high-res mode, 30 seconds in low-res mode.
Cycle Time, Flash exposures	4.5	Flash at maximum power output. Camera allows picture to be taken before flash recharges!
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution	0.50 (2.0 fps)	First number is for highest resolution files, second number is time for smallest files. Times are averages. Shoots a burst of 5 frames this fast regardless of resolution. Buffer clears in 39 seconds in high-res mode, 36 seconds in low-res mode.

Power

The Kodak EasyShare C360 uses a two AA batteries or one CRV3 for power, and a CRV3 battery is included with the camera. The table below shows the power drain I measured in various operating modes, and the corresponding run times to be expected from a standard set of 1600 mAh NiMH cells.

Operating Mode	Power (@3.2 volts on the external power terminal)	Est. Minutes (two 1600 mA cells)
Capture Mode, w/LCD	750 mA	96
Capture Mode, no LCD	65 mA	18.6 hours
Half-pressed shutter w/LCD	802 mA	90
Half-pressed w/o LCD	583 mA	123
Memory Write (transient)	396 mA	n/a
Flash Recharge (transient)	1365 mA	n/a
Image Playback	315 mA	228

Storage Capacity

The Kodak EasyShare C360 stores its photos on SD / MMC memory cards or in approximately 29 MB of internal memory, and no card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored in the internal memory at each size/quality setting.

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 29 MB Internal Memory		Number of shots/Size (Compression)
2576 x 1932	Images (Avg size)	4 3.8 MB
2576 x 1932	Approx. Compression	4:1
2304 x 1728	Images (Avg size)	5 2.9 MB
2304 x 1728	Approx. Compression	4:1
2048 x 1536	Images (Avg size)	6 2.3 MB
2048 x 1536	Approx. Compression	4:1
1552 x 1164	Images (Avg size)	11 1.4 MB
1552 x 1164	Approx. Compression	4:1

Download Speed

The Kodak EasyShare C360 connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 769 KBytes/second. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)

C360 Review
C360 Test Images
C360 Specifications
C360 "Picky Details"
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