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Kodak DC3400 Kodak updates the popular DC280 with a new sensor, lower power consumption, and a new color scheme... Select a topic Reference: Datasheet DC3400 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on DC3400 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & Interface Review First Posted: 10/5/2000

Image Storage & Interface
The DC3400 comes equipped with a "CompactFlash" ATA-compatible 10 megabyte memory card. The memory card compartment is easily accessible on the left-hand side of the camera. Open the compartment door, insert the picture card into the slot, push it all the way in, and you're all set to take pictures. All images are captured and stored in standard JPEG format. In addition, the camera lets you specify the print order of different images that you capture.

Using the Print option when in Review mode, you can select pictures for printing and choose how many you want. You can even choose to have an index print of all your pictures. This information is stored to the picture card along with the images. If you have a newer PC Card reader, or if you use you picture card on a Picture Maker kiosk, the reader will recognize the print order format and print your pictures automatically!

When you first turn on the camera, the status display includes the number of pictures for which space remains on the picture card. This "Pictures Remaining" number is displayed in the lower-right hand corner of the status display. This number, of course, will vary depending on the Quality setting (Best, Better, Good), and the Resolution level setting (High, Standard). At the high-resolution level, images are stored at 1760 x 1168 pixels. At the standard level, they are stored at 896 x 592 pixels. The table below shows the approximate number of images that can be stored on a 20 megabyte card for each available camera setting:

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality		Best	Better	Good
High Resolution	Images	32	48	86
	Approx. Compression	10:1	15:1	30:1
Standard Resolution	Images	90	131	245
	Approx. Compression	7:1	10:1	20:1

Of course, as with all digital cameras, the number of images stored on each card may vary depending on the complexity of the image being captured. At the high resolution, best quality setting, the average file size is about 625K. At the high resolution, good quality setting, the file size is about 230K, and at the standard resolution, good quality setting, the average file size is about 82K.

The DC3400 is equipped with both USB cable for connecting to Windows '98 and Apple iMac computers, as well as an RS232 and serial adapter plug for transferring images to Windows-based, or Macintosh computers. In our data-transfer tests, the speed advantage of the USB connection became dramatically apparent: We timed the transfer of a 524K maximum-resolution file from the camera to our 350 MHz Pentium II Windows '98 computer. Using the conventional serial port, this transfer required 59.8 seconds, a pretty typical number for an image of this size over a digicam serial connection. Switching to the USB port, this time dropped to only 3.1 seconds! This is a data transfer rate of 169 KBytes/second, among the slower USB ports we've tested. We often recommend external card readers for our readers, to transfer image files to the host computer more rapidly, but with a direct USB connection to the camera, such accessories really become irrelevant. (The DC3400 also ships with "mounter" software that lets it appear on your computer's desktop as just another disk drive. Kodak has had this software available for some time now, but with a conventional serial connection it was really too slow to be useful. With USB however, the "mounter" interface really comes into its own, making for a very effective way to download images from the camera.)