Kodak C875 Design

Just about small enough to squeeze into most pants pockets, the Kodak C875 measures 3.6 x 2.5 x 1.4 inches and has a solid, well balanced overall feel. With card and batteries, the camera weighs just 8.4 ounces and has a functional design with a solid grip that makes it easy to "one-hand." Nice metal accents on the camera give it slightly higher-end look, though with a 1970s sensibility.

The telescoping lens takes up the right side of the camera's front panel, surrounded by a steel ring and a thick, plastic lip. When the Kodak C875 is powered on, the lens extends outward, and retracts when the camera is turned off. An automatic, shutter-like lens cover slides out of the way when the camera is powered on, and automatically closes to cover the lens when the camera is switched off. Also on the front panel are the flash, AF assist / self-timer lamp, and microphone. A solid handgrip provides a good hold, compliments of the camera's battery compartment, making it easy to shoot with one hand.

On the right side of the Kodak C875 (as viewed from the rear) is the SD/MMC memory card compartment, beneath a hinged, plastic door. Opening the door reveals the actual card slot, as well as the USB/AV Out shared connector jack. The DC input is just below the card slot. Directly above the compartment is a metal eyelet for attaching the wrist strap.

The opposite side of the Kodak C875 is featureless.

On the Kodak C875's top panel are the camera's speaker, Drive button, Flash button, Power/Mode dial, and the Shutter button.

The rest of the Kodak C875's controls are on the rear panel, along with the 2.5-inch LCD monitor. A series of raised bumps serves as a thumb rest on the right side, reinforcing the front handgrip. In the top right corner are the zoom buttons, which control both optical and digital zoom in Record and Playback modes. Lining the right side of the LCD monitor are the Delete, Information/Display, Menu, and Review buttons. The joystick in the middle right of the rear panel navigates through menu settings, and confirms selections when the stick is pressed in. The Share button is on the bottom right of the camera back.

On the bottom panel of the Kodak C875 are a tripod mount, dock jack, and battery compartment. The plastic, threaded tripod mount is just off-center from the lens and too close to the battery compartment for quick battery changes while working with a tripod. The battery compartment features a locking, hinged door, which slides forward to open. The dock connection jack connects the camera directly to the EasyShare dock for quick image downloading.

 

Kodak C875 External Controls

Power/Mode Dial: On the right side of the Kodak C875's top panel, this notched dial places the camera into Favorites, Custom, PASM, Auto, Scene or Movie modes.

Shutter Button (see image above): In the center of the Power/Mode dial, this button sets focus and exposure when halfway pressed, and fires the shutter when fully pressed. In Playback mode, pressing this button returns the camera to the selected Record mode.

Flash Button: To the left of the Power/Mode dial, this button cycles through the Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, and Off flash modes.

Drive Button: Directly left of the Flash button, this button cycles through the Kodak C875's First Burst, Last Burst, and the two-and 10-second Self-Timer drive settings, before returning to the normal single-shot mode. There is an option here to take two pictures with the 10 second timer turned on, great if someone blinked during the first exposure.

Zoom Lever: Tucked in the upper right corner of the Kodak C875's rear panel, this lever controls the optical and digital zoom in any record mode. In Playback mode, the lever controls the amount of digital enlargement applied to captured images, to a maximum of 8x. Pressing the W of the Zoom Lever while in playback mode will give you an index of your pictures, Pressing T will bring you back to your previous screen.

Share Button: Located between the optical viewfinder and speaker, this button lets you tag images for printing, emailing, or as a favorite image. (A heart icon appears on "favorite" images.) Pressing this button automatically displays the Share menu with the following options:

• Print: Designates the number of copies of the current image to be printed.
• E-Mail: E-mails a low-resolution copy of the image to a recipient, based on a saved address book.
• Favorite: Marks the current image as a "favorite."
• Print All: Prints one copy of each image on the memory card or internal memory.
• Cancel Prints: Cancels a print order.

Delete Button: Adjacent to the top right corner of the LCD monitor, this button calls up the Delete menu in Review mode. You can delete individual images or all images on the card. There's also an option to cancel.

Information/Display Button: Below the Delete button, this button controls the information and image displays on the LCD monitor.

Menu Button: Next to the lower right corner of the LCD monitor, this button displays the settings menu in Record modes. In Playback mode it give you the picture viewing menu.

Review Button: Directly below the Kodak C875's Menu button, this button activates Playback mode when pressed in any record mode. Once in Playback mode, pressing the button again, or the Shutter button, returns to the Record display.

Joystick: Located in the right portion of the rear panel, the joystick navigates through menu options in any settings menu. Pressing the joystick in confirms menu selections. Moving the joystick up or down or left and right in Smart Scene mode lets you select what scene you want. In PASM mode, moving the joystick left and right selects among available options, including Mode, Aperture, Shutter speed, EV compensation, ISO, and focus method. Moving it up and down allows you to select either P, A, S, or M modes.

In Playback mode, the joystick scrolls through captured images, when moved left and right. For captured movie files, pressing the joystick down begins or pauses playback. During movie playback, moving he joystick up and down adjusts the playback volume. Pressing the joystick right once during moving playback will play the movie at 2X speed, press again for 4X speed. Pressing the Joystick left will reverse the movie with the same 2X or 4X speed options.