Product Reviews

Kodak is one of the most prolific companies in the digital camera market. Alongside the budget DC20 and DC25 models (reviewed issue 23, p146 and issue 29, p162) and the longer standing DC40 and DC50 (reviewed issue 14, p146 and issue 20, p118), the company also provides the digital side of some very expensive SLR models. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that Kodak's latest, the DC120, is currently the best specified digital camera for under £1,000.

The most impressive thing about the DC120 is that it has an 836,400 pixel sensor and uses interpolation in hardware to produce a 1.2 million pixel image. Image quality is very good, with bright clear colours and a good level of detail, including shadows in low-light areas.

The DC120 is also one of very few digital cameras to provide a zoom. This is a 3x power zoom, ranging from 7mm to 21mm, the equivalent of 38mm to 114mm on a 35mm format camera or medium wide-angle to medium telephoto.

The internal memory stores two images in uncompressed format, an option not even available on most cameras. Alternatively, you can store seven in high-quality mode, 12 in medium and 20 in the lowest quality. Resolution remains constant, but the compression level is increased. Although these aren't impressive figures, like the DC25, the DC120 takes CompactFlash memory cards. A 2Mb card was supplied with the camera for review. The card is tiny, about an inch square, and adds to the 2Mb of internal storage in the camera. The 2Mb version costs £89 and a 10Mb model £140.

Similar in style to the DC40 and DC50, the DC120 is a large device, feeling and looking much like a small video camera. The camera is turned on by sliding open a cover over the viewfinder. Surprisingly, the lens itself isn't protected by a cover. The back of the camera has an optical viewfinder, which zooms with the zoom lens, a small LCD status panel and a colour LCD monitor.

The DC120 uses an auto-focus system, and can be set to focus on a given spot, or using multispot auto-focus to select the closest of three different spots. There is also a macro mode, giving close focus from 20cm to 50cm. Exposure is automatic, but can be manually

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adjusted up or down by two full F-stops, in half stop increments. The flash can be left in auto mode, fill mode or disabled. The flash range varies from 3.3m to 5m, depending on whether the camera is in Wide Angle or Telephoto mode.

There are a number of thoughtful little touches with the DC120. For example, if the QuickView option is enabled, each picture you take will be displayed for a few seconds on the LCD screen immediately after you take it. This gives a chance to verify quickly that you got the image you wanted, without having to keep turning the LCD on and off.

Images can be viewed one at a time, or in thumbnails of four or nine. Pictures are captured into 'albums' and you can move images from album to album. The internal memory supports eight predefined albums, and up to 60 can be used with CompactFlash cards. Images can be pre-sorted into albums, and displayed internally by album. When you download images to a PC, the album structure is preserved on your hard disk.

There are several options for transferring files to a PC. If you use CompactFlash cards, you can put the card in a PCMCIA adaptor and treat the card like any other PCMCIA flash card. Alternatively, the camera can be connected to a PC via a serial link.

Images can be transferred via a TWAIN module or using basic dedicated image transfer software. A 'Mounter' driver, for Windows 95 only, makes the camera appear to be a logical drive in the Explorer, and files can be copied by simple drag and drop. The transfer software offers file transfer in a variety of file formats, including TIF, BMP, JPG and FPX. You can also transfer files in Kodak's native KDC format.

The TWAIN module lets you transfer images directly to a TWAIN-compatible application. It provides basic image manipulation features, like rotate, but you can also apply some basic colour correction filters, such as compensating for tungsten or fluorescent light, which have a different colour temperature to normal daylight.

PictureWorks PhotoEnhancer software is bundled. This is a simple image-editing application, with a small selection of basic filters and tools. It provides nothing like the power of Photoshop, or even PhotoDeluxe or PhotoImpact, but is adequate for most simple tasks. However, it's very easy to use, and for most effects you can choose the degree to which a filter is applied by selecting one of nine preview samples.

I have two criticisms of the Kodak. The power comes from four AA batteries, which don't last long when using the LCD monitor and power zoom. Also, the battery cover is detachable and easy to lose, as happened with the review model. Other than that, in terms of features and quality, the DC120 sets the pace for other manufacturers to follow.