"Picky Details" for the Kodak EasyShare DX6340 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)
Timing
I measure both cycle times and shutter delay times, 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 DX6340:
NOTE: My qualitative characterizations of camera performance below (that is, "reasonably fast," "about average," etc.) are meant to be relative to other cameras of similar price and general capabilities. Thus, the same shutter lag that's "very fast" for a low-end consumer camera might be characterized as "quite slow" if I encountered it on a professional model. The comments are also intended as only a quick reference: If performance specs are critical for you, rely on the absolute numbers to compare cameras, rather than my purely qualitative comments.
| |
||
| |
(secs) |
|
| Power On -> First shot | |
Time for lens to extend and startup screen to disappear.
Fairly slow.
|
| Shutdown | |
Lens retracts. Also somewhat slow.
|
| Play to Record, first shot | |
Time until first shot is captured. Average to a bit
faster than average.
|
| Record to play | |
Time to display a large/fine file after capture. About
average.
|
| Shutter lag, full autofocus (wide/tele) | |
Faster than average with the lens set to its wide-angle position, about average at telephoto. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus | |
Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button.
Fairly fast.
|
| Cycle Time, max/min resolution | |
First numbers are for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic images. Fairly fast. The camera captures three high res images quickly, but slows to ~5-6 seconds afterwards. In low-res mode, the camera captures five images before slowing. |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution | (2.7 fps) |
First pair of numbers is for large/fine, second set for small/basic files. Number beneath is frames per second. Camera captures four frames continuously before pausing to write the images to the memory card. Four frame limit applies regardless of image size. |
The DX6340 is about average in most of its performance characteristics. Shutter
lag is better than average in wide-angle mode, and just on the slow side of
average at telephoto. Cycle times are fairly good, and continuous-mode cycle
time is quite good too. On the down side, startup is decidedly sluggish.
Power
The DX6340 uses two AA cells or one CRV3 lithium battery for its power
source. (I recommend high-capacity NiMH cells, coupled with a good charger.
Read my NiMH
Battery Shootout page for the latest on actual battery performance, or
my review of
the Maha C204F to see why it's my favorite charger.) The table below shows
the DX6340's power consumption in various modes, and approximate run times
for each, based on a set of NiMH batteries with a (true, not advertised) 1600
mAh capacity:
|
|
(@3 volts on the external power terminal) |
(2 1600 mAh NiMH cells) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
|
|
| Capture Mode, no LCD |
|
|
| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
|
|
| Half-pressed w/o LCD |
|
|
| Memory Write (transient) |
|
|
| Flash Recharge (transient) |
|
|
| Image Playback |
|
|
The DX6340's battery life is a bit of a mixed bag: With the LCD on in record
mode, battery life is pretty short, a bit over 80 minutes with true 1600 mAh
capacity NiMH AA cells. On the other hand, battery life with the LCD display
off is exceptional, nearly 14 hours. It does pretty well in playback mode
too, with a projected life of about 3 hours. Still, I strongly recommend
that you pick up a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH batteries and either
a separate charger, or Kodak's EasyShare dock, which serves as a battery charger
as well.
Storage Capacity
The DX6340 stores its photos on SD memory cards, or its 16 megabytes of
internal memory. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 32MB card, preferably
a 64MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below
shows how many images can be stored in the camera's 16 megabytes of internal
memory at each size/quality setting.
| Resolution/Quality 16MB Internal Memory |
|
|
| Full Resolution 2,032 x 1,524 | Images (Avg size) |
17 941 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
10:1 | |
| 1,656 x 1,242 | Images (Avg size) |
621 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
|
|
| |
Images (Avg size) |
325 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
|
|
Download Speed
The DX6340 connects to a host computer via either a USB interface or the
accessory EasyShare camera dock. Downloading files to my Sony VAIO desktop,
2.4 GHz Pentium IV, running Windows XP ("VAIO"), I clocked it at 512
KBytes/second. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras
with fast ones run as high as 600 KB/s.)
DX6340 Test Images
DX6340 Specifications
DX6340 "Picky Details"
Up to Imaging Resource digital cameras area
Follow Imaging Resource: