Product Reviews

MacUser has secured one of the first samples of Kodak's DCS Pro 14n, perhaps the most eagerly-awaited digital SLR of the year, and put it through its paces. The Pro 14n's specification is impressive, crowned by a fantastic 13.5 million effective pixel count and full frame CMOS chip. Kodak, using a Nikon F80 body as the starting point, is the first to offer this sensor to the millions who use Nikkor lenses.

The obvious benefits of the full-frame sensor are in the use of wide angle lenses, which record with no focal length magnification, and the familiar 3:2 picture ratio of 35mm film. This is given added importance as Nikon is in no rush to produce its own full-frame digital SLR, preferring to concentrate on its APS (DX) size sensor.

Heavy mettle

We liked the feel and balance of the Pro 14n. At 907g (without battery or memory card), the body is not as heavy as it looks and is comfortable in use, especially when the supplied hand strap is used. Even so, the outer casing is predominantly made of metal, so the camera is quite robust. Our only suspicion is that the position of the vertical shutter release may become uncomfortable with prolonged shooting in portrait format. Sensibly, the control buttons on the back are blank and the appropriate icon is instead adjacent on the body. This is a nice touch as markings on buttons tend to be worn away over time.

The 'hotkey' feature, which can be customised to quickly access favourite menu settings, was very useful. Likewise the good design is demonstrated by the display of the current capture settings, such as white balance and resolution, when the 'digital status' button is pressed. However, we did encounter a few shortcomings. For example, exposures beyond half a second are not possible in some exposure modes with the current version of the firmware, although the camera has a 1/4000th-sec to 2-sec manual range. There is also a small delay when changing ISO while the camera recalibrates its sensitivity.

On paper the Pro 14n

Large files

Images are created as either ERI-JPEG files, or as Kodak RAW files, designated with a DCR prefix. These are good formats, but we would have preferred a TIFF option as well. The files are large: 16Mb in RAW formatand 6Mb in JPEG. Maximum image size is 4500 x 3000 pixels, and Kodak has realised that this may be too big for many uses, especially in situations where JPEGs will suffice, so there's an alternative JPEG selection of six megapixel (67%), 3.4 megapixel (50%) and 0.8 megapixel (25%) resolutions. Both formats can be recorded simultaneously, as with some Canon cameras.

If you shoot in RAW mode, you'll be pleased with the supplied Photo Desk software. It's an easy-to-use and capable program which seems to process RAW files more quickly than other manufacturers' supplied software. Out of the camera the JPEG files mostly look good in a colour sense but appear a little flat. Just occasionally, though, we noticed a red colour bias. It's important to note that if you're running Mac OS 9.2.2, the Kodak Photo Desk software needs CarbonLib 1.5 or later, while the ERI-JPEG file format module needs Mac OS X.

Images are stored onto either a Compact Flash Type II, or a Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard (not supplied). Most users will find the CF slot more useful and will want to use Microdrives in that slot, but it's good to have the option of using the SD/MMC format. There is a recovery feature for images that were on the last card to be formatted, which might be an important safety net, even if you only need it once. Images can also be uploaded into the supplied software via a Firewire lead. Viewing on the rear 2in LCD screen was good, and the menu design straightforward after a couple of dry runs.

So where does the DCS Pro 14n sit in the current scheme of things? Packed with top-level exposure control, this is a fully specified camera, including an intervalometer. It's always nice to have such features on the camera, and it shows the attention to detail that has been lavished on the design of this unit.

Exposures were good, including those taken using flash. Big prints or selective enlargements are possible at lower ISO ratings. However, while the sensor size and resolution are applaudable, that noise problem stops it being a market leader.