Kodak DX3500

The Easy Share Dock is great, you just drop the camera into place and press the button. This launches the Kodak Picture Software on your PC and downloads the photos. Leave the camera in the docking cradle and after several minutes of inactivity it will automatically begin charging the batteries (if using NiMH rechargeables.)

We have another page with screen shots of the Kodak Picture Software to show you how it works.

When you buy one of the new Kodak Easy Share-compatible cameras there will be a special insert included that mates it to the Easy Share Dock.

The DX3500 is equipped with a fixed-focus Ektanar 38mm (35 mm equivalent) F4.5 lens. It has 27mm filter threads and a built-in sliding cover that protects the lens when the camera is turned off.

The lever on the side of the lens turns the camera on and switches the focus mode from normal to macro. The focus range in normal mode is 30 in. to infinity and in macro mode from 9 to 12 in.

The optical viewfinder is larger and bright with framing marks but no dioptric adjustment. The LED on the side indicates power is on and camera is ready to capture. The color LCD is automatically turned on when you switch the camera into macro mode to avoid parallax problems with the optical finder at close range.

The 1.8-inch color LCD is of much higher quality than most of the other entry-level cameras and can be used for preview or review as well as menu operations. The refresh rate when used as a live viewfinder is near realtime but does get a little grainy in low light conditions.

Navigating the menus is simple, just use the 4-way selector to move up and down through the selections and accept a setting by pressing the SELECT button. The record and play menus will be detailed on the next two pages of this review.

The FLASH button cycles you through the Auto, Red-Eye, Fill and Off modes.

The Mode Dial has positions for Record, Play and Setup. As previously mentioned, the camera power is controlled by the lever on the side of the lens.

Unlike many of the other entry-level digicams the DX3500 has a Video Out feature, the signal is switchable between NTSC and PAL format. The USB port works with the Kodak Picture Sofware to make image downloading fast and easy even without the use of the Easy Share Dock.

The DX3500 has 8MB of internal memory in which you can store images or to extend your picture taking capabilities it has a standard CompactFlash Type I card slot which accepts any capacity CF card.

Images may be copied between the internal memory and the CF card.

Power is supplied by two AA type batteries - Kodak does not recommend the use of alkaline type and supplies two lithium cells with the camera. The optional Easy Share Dock includes a rechargeable NiMH battery pack or you can use any brand of NiMH AA type cells.