Anyone know about the Kodak Easy Share C340?

[blessedby3]

Hello and this is my first post on the photo board. I was wanting to get my DD16 a digital camera for Christmas. Nothing too fancy or expensive. I was at Wal Mart today and they were marking down some cameras and I bought a Kodak Easy Share C340 for $100. The original price said $228.77. It is a 5.0 megapixel with a 3x opitcal zoom. They also had a C433 for a regular price of $99.88. It was 4 megapixel and 3X digital zoom. I am figuring this C340 has more features, but didnt have a lot of time to look both of them over. Does anyone know if I got a good deal for the C340 and if it is a whole lot better than the D433? The one I got was the display and the only thing I was concerned about, but he said it is covered under same warranties and I can bring it back if I want. Thanks for any help.

 

[robertchance]

the 340 is a better camera, it has optical zoom,,

 

[ukcatfan]

I would go with the C433 between the two. It does have one less MP, but I doubt that it would be missed. It should hold more pics on the same card because a 4MP file should be smaller than a 5MP one. It is a newer model and likely to have more up to the date internal workings. It also has a larger LCD and the ability for a higher ISO. Do not look too much into the original price of the C340. Prices seem to cut in half every 9-12 months lately, and the C433 is over a year newer. It looks as though it just came out.

All that said, what are your DD's interests in photography? If she is just wanting to take snapshots, then either one will be fine. If she wants to learn more about the art and take more creative (i.e. harder to get) shots, then she will outgrow both very quickly. For creativity, look for something with full manual controls over shutter, aperture, ISO speed, etc.

Kevin

 

[robertchance]

http://www.cnet.com.au/digitalcameras/cameras/0,239036184,240058045,00.htm

 

[ukcatfan]

the 340 is a better camera, it has optical zoom,,

From DCResource, the both look to have the same zoom factor. The 340 is a tiny little bit wider, but it would not make much difference.

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=898

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=714

 

[ukcatfan]

I am always a little leery of floor models. Take note that any camera's shutter is only rated for so many actions. If the shutter on the floor model already has 10-20K shots under its belt, then it may not have all that many remaining before something goes wrong. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell how many times it has been used. Most counters reset back to 0001 after they cross 9,999. Also, call me a germophobe, but I do not like the idea of a thousand+ people touching my camera before I got it.

 

[blessedby3]

My DD is just wanting this for personal photos. She is not a photography nut or anything. I just want to get a good value for my money. I didnt think about this camera I bought being a year old. I was worried about it being a display. Maybe I will take it back and look at the other. Does anyone know of another camera about $100 that is a good digital? I do want optical zoom for sure. Thanks for the replies.

 

[ukcatfan]

For $100, Kodak is probably one of the best you will find. You might find a Fuji that is a little nicer at that price. If you are willing to go up to around $150, then you will start to see brands like Canon, Nikon, and Pentax that will likely be better than the Kodaks. Do keep in mind that the Kodaks are probably the easiest to use though in case she does not want to learn too much. All cameras have an auto mode though.

If you are willing to wait and fight the crowds at 6 AM, you will probably find the absolute best deal on Black Friday. There are always those "Door Buster" deals that they use to get you in the store. This year, I would guess that there will be some cameras around $50-75. If you go with this, it would not hurt to go ahead and have one to hold on to now as long as you can still retun it in late November.