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Kodak DC260 FAQ
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Please Note: This FAQ is no longer being maintained in any way. Most of the links are broken, and some info is out of date. The DC260 has been discontinued by Kodak and obsoleted by newer cameras, but this FAQ is here for the faint chance that it might still be useful to someone. Enjoy your camera!
Mon Jun 18 This FAQ exists to answer common questions about the Kodak Digital Science DC260 Zoom Camera. This FAQ page is still pretty new, and always under construction. The Kodak DC260 is a recent product, released late June. Because of its low price ($999 or less) and packed features, it's likely to become a leading contender for high-end consumer digital cameras. The more questions we can answer here in the FAQ, the better!
Please note that this FAQ is not authored, authorized, or
endorsed by Eastman Kodak Company.
This is an entirely unofficial private effort by Steve Haehnichen.
Submissions
If you have a Frequently Asked Question you would
like to see listed here, please, send
it along! If you have the answer, all the better! In general, if
it's been asked more than twice in rec.photo.digital, then it probably
belongs here in the FAQ.
If you have technical information or usage tips for the DC260, go ahead, send them as well! Anything useful to DC260 users is welcome here. Of course, if you find a bad link in the FAQ, or have a page you think relates well and should be included, please email the info.
Thanks for all your help in making this FAQ grow!
Why another FAQ?
Kodak does have a nice Official
FAQ for the DC260 camera, so why did I create this one? Well,
this is your FAQ --- we decide what questions and answers are
common and answer them here. Because it's not an official FAQ, we
have the flexibility to update often, generalize and speculate on
anything we want, point out problems, and be brutally honest about the
DC260. It's more a User's FAQ than a "Prospective Buyer" FAQ.
The main Kodak web page for the DC260 camera is here. It has sample pictures
from the camera, a spec
sheet and the Official
FAQ. Read all of if, of course -- it's good stuff.
Questions that are answered well in the Kodak Official FAQ
These FAQs are very well discussed in the Kodak FAQ, so there's no
point in repeating them here:
Here are some links DC260 users might find useful.
Buy a Kodak DC260 Zoom Camera, and you get a bright Kodak-yellow box with these contents:
The most common retail price of the camera is US$999.99. Major computer retailers like CompUSA, office supply superstores like Office Depot, and photography stores will likely put it on the shelf at this price.
Here is a list of some discount mail order stores and their approximate $US prices (Sept '98). Please let me know if you got a good deal elsewhere, and I'll gladly add to the list.
If you would like more personal support or technical advice for your purchase, you can go to one of these specialty dealers. They tend to be more knowledgable and have better customer service than the discount mail order outlets:
The latest generation of Megapixel+ digital cameras offer higher resolution, increased storage, and better color rendition than anything before. The following cameras are probably the closest competition to Kodak's DC260. Read rec.photo.digital for ongoing debate and advocacy of each one.
The cameras are very similar. In fact, most of this FAQ applies to the Kodak DC220 as well. The main differences are:
| Kodak DC260 | Kodak DC220 |
|---|---|
| 1536x1024 | 1152x864 |
| 3x Zoom (38-115mm) | 2x Zoom (29-58mm) |
| External PC Flash sync | Macro mode (8") |
| Auto-focus | "Focus-free" (fixed focus) |
| On-camera folder creation | None. |
| $999 Retail | $799 Retail |
In addition to the standard DC220 and DC260 cameras, Kodak will offer
some "pro" bundling options. None have hit the market yet, but here's
what we know so far from informal employee postings, Kodak's early sell
sheet and press
releases
Pro Edition
The DC220 and DC260 will be available in a "Pro Edition" (#127 3838 for the DC260). This package will include two 16 MB CompactFlash cards, while the standard camera has one 8MB card. These Pro CompactFlash cards will have on them a Digita script to assist with building panoramic pictures. From a rec.photo.digital posting:
The script does several things to make taking panoramas easier. It lets you choose the orientation of the camera and the capture angle of the panorama (90,180,270, or 360 degrees) and it will calculate how many images are needed. It will let you name the folder that the frames will be saved in, or you can choose one of five predefined names. You can select automatic or manual capture. In automatic capture mode, the camera will take each of the pictures with a pause between them to allow you to rotate the camera. In manual capture, you will be prompted between each frame and you have the option of retaking the last shot if it didn't come out the way you wanted it to.Aside from this Digita script, the included software and firmware features are identical in the Pro and standard version.
Between the 6/15 press release and informal postings by Kodak employees, it appears the "Imaging Solution" will contain these items:
Okay, here are nine pictures of the same scene, taken over a span of about three minutes using the automated RESERIES.CSM Digita script from Kodak. It'a boring scene (daylight view from an apartment balcony), but it has considerable detail and depth. This shows all combinations of the three resolution and three quality settings. I used a tripod mount, Manual Focus set to Infinity, and auto-exposure.
Make sure you're monitor is set to 24-bit color and has a realistic gamma curve. If the pictures look too dark and shadowed, try using something other than Netscape to view them.
| Quality: | "Best" | "Better" | "Good" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large (1526x1024) | 368k | 248k | 160k |
| Medium (1152x768) | 232k | 168k | 120k |
| Small (768x512) | 168k | 128k | 75k |
Here are two pictures taken with a Vivitar 285 HV external
flash unit and a PC flash sync cable. Not bad, eh? (Standard
resolution, best quality)
With the DC260 Long Exposure mode, you can select a fixed shutter
speed from 0.5 to 4.0 seconds. Using a Digita script (see below), you
can extend this as far as 16 seconds. However, after about 3 seconds
the CCD noise starts to become very visible, appearing as white flecks
and speckle. Above 5 seconds, it can become very prominent, which is
probably why Kodak chose to limit the exposure time available.
Since the CCD noise seems to be predictably associated with the CCD cells, it is possible to factor it out in post-processing. If you take a completely dark image for reference, and then your long exposure, you can use a Photoshop "Difference Layer" or similar technique to reduce the CCD noise in your image.
Here are some Firework pictures from July 4, 1998. All were made using long exposures of three or four seconds, and no post-processing.
Very well! As well as it can, anyway. That is, it does a good job of zooming in on the pixels, but it doesn't magically reveal any detail in the image. It's identical to what you would get if you saved the telephoto image, and then used Adobe Photoshop to blow up the middle of the picture 200%. Here's an example of exactly that.
Start with the reference image This
is a wide-angle photo along a San Diego canyon. Then we zoom in to the full optical telephoto
limits. That's all the data there is to go around. Last, we turn on
the LCD Preview, which lets us zoom
digitally up to 200%. It's much softer than the original, but I
can imagine where it would come in handy.
Just for fun, I did the same thing in Photoshop. Starting with
the full telephoto image, I used the "Bicubic" image resampling to
blow it up 200%. Then I reduced the canvas 50% to crop it back to the
center portion. The resulting
image is almost exactly like the one generated inside the camera,
and it was a lot more work. That's what I mean when I say the camera
does an excellent job -- the digital zoom is accurate and uses a
decent algorithm.
Roughly 5600 bytes for each second of recorded audio. The maximum
recording length is 45 seconds, or 250 Kbytes. Audio can be attached
to either JPG or FPX files, and it's automatically separated out into
a WAV file by the Mounter or Picture Easy transfer.
Recording Format
From what I can tell, the audio is recorded using a constant bit-rate
coder, so the data rate doesn't depend on what you say, or if there is
background noise. It seems to be 11025 Hz compressed (ADPCM), at a
bitrate of around 44100 bps. Headers/packeting add just a little.
The DC260 camera uses four "AA" batteries. It can use Alkaline,
Lithium, Nickel Cadmium (NiCd), and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH).
Kodak recommends the use of rechargable NiMH batteries, or expensive
Lithium batteries like the ones included with the camera. In fact,
Kodak includes a one-page blue leaflet that explains battery tradeoffs
very well.
Alkalines don't hold up
Alkaline batteries, while the cheapest and most commonplace,
perform very poorly in the DC260. The current draw is very high on
modern digital cameras, and the DC260 is no exception. Alkalines have
significant internal resistance, so they heat up and the voltage sags
under heavy loading. This can cause them to read "Low Battery" long
before their actually depleted. A brand new set of Alkaline AA
batteries read "Low Battery" on my DC260 after only 20 seconds of live
preview! They just can't handle the current. If you pause a bit
between pictures, and don't use the live preview (macro or digital
zoom), you can get several dozen pictures out of a set of alkalines.
They're just not recommended.
NiMH is best
The best approach is to invest in some rechargable NiMH batteries. These can supply the demanding current requirements much better than Alkalines, and you can recharge them a hundred times or more. You can use cheaper NiCd batteries, but they are generally lower capacity.
Kodak sells NiMH batteries, chargers, and accessory kits, but Radio Shack, Costco, and other vendors are likely less expensive. Make sure you get a NiMH charger that matches your batteries.
So use whatever NiCd cells you have around, keep some alkalines in
the camera bag for emergency back-up (since they have a long shelf
life), and invest in a couple sets of NiMH batteries for the best
performance.
Battery City!
At the time of this writing (June '98), Battery
City in Los Angeles has an excellent deal on AA NiMH batteries.
They're selling Toshiba 1200 mAh cells at $3.50 for a pack of two! A
Toshiba 10-hour timed charger (4 cells) is $6.50. I ordered a bunch,
received them promptly, and they work great. I'm still looking for
the catch.
August 1: NEW PRICING. The super-deal is over, but their prices are still reasonable: AA twin-packs are now $4.95, and the Toshiba chargers are $8.00.
Battery City
(888) 422-8248
(213) 658-7520
http://www.battery-city.com/
It depends on several important things:
The DC260 is about the same size as a small SLR with no lens, or a large thick point & shoot camera. There are quite a few nice bags out there that will fit. Here are a few suggestions, but you can't go wrong carrying your shiny new camera into a camera store and shoving it in a few bags to find out what works for you. Remember to think ahead and look for a few pockets to store AA batteries, CompactFlash cards, cables, a PCMCIA adapter, or whatever you're likely to carry with the camera.
Remember these Kodak DC-260 dimensions, but I'd recommend actually fitting the camera rather than buying on specs alone.
| Width | Depth | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 4.6" | 2.2" | 4.2" |
| 118 mm | 57 mm | 106mm |
Several people have submitted features they would very much like to see added to the camera, and I have a few ideas of my own. They're too numerous to list here in detail, so I moved them to the DC260 Wish List web page. Check it out, and contribute any other ideas for improving the camera.
NEWS: Kodak has announced an upcoming firmware enhancement to address several of the requested features. Read the full details in Matt Bernius's Usenet posting.
When you connect the included Audio/Video cable to the camera, it takes over for the LCD display. Everything you would normally see on the LCD display goes to your television screen. And I mean everything! The older DC-210 would only show full-screen pictures. The DC-260 shows the whole deal.. thumbnail/film-strip view, softkey overlays, magnification and panning, the works. Of course, you can simply display full-screen pictures, and even have the camera automatically flip through pictures as a "slideshow".
Sound recordings sound much better on the big TV speakers than the tiny camera speaker, of course. Even if you recorded far away from the microphone, you can probably understand it just fine on the TV.
Overall, the Video Output a very impressive and well-implemented
feature, and sure to ooh and ahhh the relatives.
NTSC vs PAL
The camera can output NTSC or PAL format video, selected from the
camera menu. When displaying NTSC output, the camera images fill most
of the video screen. On PAL, the camera output doesn't fill the
entire video region, because PAL is higher resolution than NTSC. All
the same content is there, but there is a thicker border around the
PAL image.
(To check your firmware version, simply turn the selector dial to "Info" and read the LCD screen.)
The lastest firmware version is "Version 1.0.4". If you are
running an older firmware version, you should consider upgrading your
camera by downloading the latest code from Kodak. It's free, quick,
and easy.
How to Upgrade
Upgrading your firmware is easy. You can download the firmware files
and the installer from Kodak at no charge. Go to the DC260
Software and Drivers page for Version 1.0.4. You can upgrade your
camera via the serial or USB connection, or use a CompactFlash reader
to prepare a special Upgrade Card. Instructions are included with the
firmware release.
Upgrade Tips
The most important thing about upgrading your
camera is to use fresh batteries. The firmware installation
checks your battery level, and if it's not full-strength, it will
abort. You can use the AC adaptor, of course. This isn't the time to
be squeezing that last bit of power out of your tired old batteries!
Do not disturb. The upgrade doesn't take that long, so while it's running, just stay hands-off both the PC and the camera. Windows programs can sometimes interfere with each other in unpredictable ways.
A power-off is normal. At certain stages in the upgrade, the camera turns itself off. Just turn it back on to continue to the next step.
Make sure you have a "SYSTEM" folder. If your CompactFlash
card does not have a "System" folder, the upgrade may not work. (The
8MB card included with the DC260 has a system folder out of the box,
but cards you buy later might not.)
Firmware Version History
So far, these are the known camera firmware versions:
It's very encouraging to note that several of these improvements
are directly from your DC260 Wish List,
newsgroup postings, and comments to Kodak. They're listening!
Delayed Lens Extension
The motorized lens does not extend on power-up if the selector dial is
set to Review or Info mode. This lets us pass the
camera around the dinner table to review pictures, with the lens still
safely retracted and capped! It also might cut the boot time in
review mode, since the camera does not have to wait to rack the lens
out to the wide-angle position.
Immediate Power-off Lens Retraction
In version 1.0.2, when the Power Off button was pressed, the camera
first finished processing the last pictures, and then retracted
the lens and powered off. In the new versions, the camera
immediately pulls the lens inside, and then finishes processing
the last frames. This lets us quickly stow the camera back into the
carry bag, and replace the lens cap, while the processing wraps things
up.
Improved Digital Zoom Control
The 2x Digital Zoom kicks in when you have fully extended the optical
zoom with the LCD preview display enabled. In v1.0.2, the digital
zoom would start immediately and sometimes unintenionally. For
v1.0.4, the Digital Zoom does not continue seemlessly from the
optical zoom. You must first extend the optical zoom, then return the
zoom rocker switch to neutral, and then zoom out further to engage the
digital zoom. This improvement will let us stay within the range of
optical zoom even in preview mode, without accidentally engaging the
digital zoom.
Improved Boot Time
The old firmware took around 15 seconds from Power-On to Ready. The
new firmware takes a few seconds less: around 10 seconds in Capture
mode, and maybe just slightly less in Review mode. It's a welcome
improvement.
Extended Long-Time Exposure
The old firmware limited Long-Time Exposure Mode to a four
second maximum exposure. The new firmware allows from 0.5 to 16
seconds, in 0.5 second steps. In the old firmware, you could only get
16-second exposures with Digita Script. With the new code, you can do
it right from the regular menu. Of course, beyond four seconds or so,
CCD noise can become quite prominent, but it's still fun to play with.
Connectivity Improvements for USB
This addresses some USB connection problems reported by users.
Details unknown.
"Burst Capture Enhancements"
No details on this one.
Pessimistic Picture Counter
The picture counter shows lower
counts for the same empty CompactFlash cards under firmware 1.0.4.
This is a known firmware bug in 1.0.4 and will be fixed in a future
release. See the "Remaining Pictures"
for further details.
There may be other changes, but these are all that have been publically posted on Kodak's web pages or by Kodak reps in rec.photo.digital.
If your version is newer than 1.0.4, please email. Thanks!
Since version 1.0.4 has been released, there should no longer be any need for this version 1.0.2. But I'll leave it here for now, just in case you have some unusual problem and wish to revert back to 1.0.2 after upgrading.
Kodak does not to make the v1.0.2 firmware available for download. To get an upgrade, you must call them by phone and wait for one to be mailed to you. But, if you are the impatient and industrious sort, and you have a CompactFlash card reader, you can do it yourself instead. (DC260 Only! No download available for the DC220 yet.)
Thanks to the efforts of other Usenet enthusiasts, you can download the DC260 v1.0.2 firmware from this web page! Simply download the firmware file and follow the instructions below to upgrade your 1.0.1 camera to 1.0.2:
| Length | Method | Size | Ratio | Date | Time | CRC-32 | Name |
| ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- | ---- | ---- | ------ | ---- |
| 0 | Stored | 0 | 0% | 08-04-98 | 19:10 | 00000000 | system/ |
| 5902 | Defl:X | 3101 | 48% | 06-09-98 | 20:48 | ec876821 | system/appfont.crs |
| 34130 | Defl:X | 11739 | 66% | 06-09-98 | 20:48 | 8fc1aec7 | system/default.cam |
| 467544 | Defl:X | 188494 | 60% | 06-09-98 | 20:48 | 11e6b165 | system/flshrsrc.bin |
| 941720 | Defl:X | 746882 | 21% | 06-09-98 | 20:48 | 6b6f802a | system/schigh.bin |
| ------ | ------ | --- | ------- | ||||
| 1449296 | 950216 | 34% | 5 files |
Unlike most other digital cameras, the AC adapter is included in the DC260 package. It's a lightweight wall-wart switching power supply. Here are the specs for the US model:
Cameras sold in European markets include this adapter instead:
Part Number 122-0557 Input AC 100-125V, 50/60Hz, 0.4A Output DC7.0V 1.8A Polarity Positive center, Negative shield Connector Yellow, unknown (???) Certification UL/CSA
Part Number 190-9282 Input AC 100-240V, 50/60Hz, .32A Certification UL/CSA/CE/FI
The DC260 keeps an internal counter of the total number of pictures taken, and the total number of flash strobes. You can view these values using the "Totals.CSM" Digita script below. Like the odometer in your car, this counter can not be easily changed or reset, and really shouldn't be tampered with. If you are looking to reset your counter, perhaps you really want to change the filename counter behavior instead.
By default, the camera names each image with a unique number. This allows you to copy the images from the camera without ever worrying about overwriting an existing picture. Most users find this to be very helpful in managing images, since other cameras require that you carefully rename each batch of images to avoid conflicts and accidental loss.
But, if you really want your picture names to always start from zero, there is an option to enable this behavior. Note that it does not reset the internal "Total Pictures" counter in the camera. Think of this mode like the "trip odometer" in your car. Rodney Somerstein from FlashPoint Technology posted this script and comments to rec.photo.digital:
You can reset the picture counter using the following script:name "Reset picture counter" mode 0 menu "Utility Scripts" label "Reset Counter" SetCameraDefault (2, "crst", 1) exitscriptTo use this script, simply paste it into a text editor and save it with the name "creset.csm". Put it in the System folder of a Flash Disk, then execute it. It will appear in Capture mode with the name "Reset Counter" under the Utility Scripts menu.Note that this will only reset the picture counter if used on a Flash Disk containing no images. This is because you are setting the 'crst' parameter to reset the counter when it senses an empty Flash Disk at startup. If you want to set the parameter back to prevent this from happening every time you put in a new disk, simply change the line containing SetCameraDefault to:
SetCameraDefault (2, "crst", 2)
Then run the script again.-Rodney
Yes, your camera is brand new. Kodak often takes several test pictures as part of the manufacturing and test process. It's common for cameras to ship with three or four pictures on the counter, just like a brand new car might already have five miles on the odometer. Rest easy, and enjoy the camera.
If you suspect the camera may be used or repackaged, more reliable indicators would be missing items, poorly-folded cables, broken software seals, fingerprints and smudges on the manuals and camera, and incorrectly packed contents.
The DC260 is based on the Motorola MPC823 microprocessor, running at 50 MHz and 3.3 volts. The PowerPC core is rated at 66 MIPS. This amazingly integrated chip handles the USB, serial I/O, video, LCD, and CompactFlash interfaces. You can read all about it at the Motorola site. See if you can identify the digital camera pictured at the top of the CPU overview. :)
The Kodak DC260 (and most recent digital cameras) encode various exposure and camera information into the headers of the JPG files. Here you can find such things as shutter speed, aperture, image resolution, flash used, etc. This header format is being standardized by the Photographic & Imaging Manufacturers Association in what is refered to as "EXIF" format. You can read all the details on the PIMA/IT10 web page. Specifically, read Section 2 of ISO/DIS 12234-1.
FlashPix is a relatively new image format promoted as part of the OpenPix Internet Imaging standards. The DC260 can write FlashPix (FPX) or JPEG (JPG) images directly to files on the CompactFlash card. The primary advantage of FlashPix is that it can store and retrieve different image resolutions from one file. The compression used in DC260 FlashPix images is the same as JPG files, so there is no difference in image quality. While FlashPix supports an uncompressed storage mode, the DC260 does not (even in FPX files).
FlashPix files are larger than an equivalent JPG file, because of the large file header overhead and hierarchical file structure. Not only is the (flat) FlashPix file bigger in the CompactFlash memory, but it is expanded further during transfer by the Picture Easy software.
At this time, most users seem to be using JPG as their primary file format. Storage space is at a premium on CompactFlash, and while FlashPix looks promising for dekstop computer and internet work, it offers no apparent advantages as an in-camera file format.
Nope, none. The Kodak DC260 does not have a threaded lens mount, and can not accept any add-on lenses. Even if you could rig something with tape or adhesive, it's not advisable. The DC260 zoom lens moves in and out of the case, and the delicate mechanics would likely be damaged by the mounting force and extra weight of an add-on lens.
Matt Bernius from Kodak explained in rec.photo.digital that the camera manufacturer must fully-enclose the zoom lens if a threaded lens mount is to be provided. The DC-50 and DC-120 could be enclosed this way, because of their case depth. The DC260 was intended to be small, compact, and shaped like a Point-and-Shoot, so the lens mechanically extends outside the case to zoom. If the lens were threaded, the zoom mechanics would have to be fully enclosed to withstand the twisting force and extra weight.
Personally, I would prefer a larger camera with a threaded lens. The DC-120 form-factor was acceptable to many, including myself, but probably alienated the point-and-shoot camera shopper. Judging from the DC-210 and DC-260, Kodak has decided that the smaller (power-off) size is more important than lens enhancement.
Yes.. well, mostly. The DC260 comes with some Mac software, but no Macintosh connection software or connection cables.
NEW October 98: FlashPoint has released a beta version of Digita Desktop Acquire for the iMac with OS 8.5. This software will let iMac users connect to the camera via USB.
The bundled software includes Adobe PhotoDeluxe 2.0 and Adobe PageMill for Macintosh on the same CD-ROM as the PC versions. The Kodak CD-ROM also includes a Photoshop (3.0.5 or newer) plugin for Macintosh. The software you don't get is the mounter and camera control application.. the programs that use a physical connection between the camera and PC. The Mac must use a PCMCIA or CompactFlash card reader instead.
The camera is fully useable without a computer, and the picture files are generic enough to be "Mac compatible". The camera can never talk to the Mac directly, but you can use the pictures directly from the card.
Because there is no Mac wire transfer software (serial or USB), you must use a PCMCIA CompactFlash reader to transfer the images from the camera into your computer. The CompactFlash picture card contains standard JPG image files on a DOS filesystem, which the Mac can read and process. Several users have reported excellent success using the Powerbook PCMCIA slots, or the Minolta PC Card Drive CD-10. The Minolta reader is under $100, connects to the SCSI bus, and includes Mac support software. With a reader, you can take pictures, remove the card, insert it into your Mac, and process them as usual, without the added delay of serial transfer. The Photoshop plug-in simplifies reading the CompactFlash card images directly into Photoshop (and PhotoDeluxe) through the Acquire menu.
It might sound like weaker support, but you aren't really missing much. You will not be able to set the time and date or trigger exposures from your Mac computer, but these are more or less just candy applications. If you already have a PCMCIA reader, you're all set.
(Thanks to John Everett for corrections and filling in Mac details!)
So you want to post your picture of Scruffles the Happy Cat to your web page, but you don't want visitors to hear your goofy audio attachment "Look over here poopsie, right here girl, good girl".
While you can extract the audio from your image on transfer, it still lives on in the JPG or FPX file. Removing it or replacing it is a job for Picture Easy. Go to the Edit screen, in the Sound Area, and right click on "remove audio".
Very well, actually! If you hold the DC260 sideways for a portrait-orientation picture, the JPG file is stored correctly (portrait) in the camera. You can hold the camera either left-side-up, or right-side-up, and it detects it.
It's a minor feature, but really a timesaver when you're flipping through thumbnails. You never have to do the "mental rotation" again. And yes, you can disable this feature if you always want landscape (top-side-up) picture files. This may be necessary where the "gravity sensor" could be fooled, like on a roller coaster, or if you point the camera at the floor.
To install the two Adobe programs, you must enter the serial numbers printed on the fold-out paper insert (in six languages!). Here are the numbers off my paper -- I would guess they're all the same, but even if they're not, you're welcome to use mine.
| Adobe PhotoDeluxe 2.0 | HJW200B7100054-662 |
| Adobe PageMill 2.0 | APW200B1132638-995 |
Fingerprints and smudges are unavoidable, but they're easy to remove. Use a piece of clean Scotch tape. Press it gently onto the LCD panel, and then peel it off. It's fast, easy, and it takes the smears and smudges right off with no residue! It works great for me, but I give you no guarantees, of course.
Don't go using that old ultra-sticky 1985 yellow Scotch tape you found up in the attic! You want fresh high-quality tape that won't leave a residue or stick too agressively to the camera screen.
No; there is no lossless or uncompressed storage mode. The Kodak DC260 requires that you select from three pre-set compression levels: "Best", "Better", and "Good". Even the "Best" setting is still around 1:7 JPG compression. Uncompressed mode is quite possibly the "Most Requested Enhancement", so we may see this in a firmware upgrade. I really hope so, but I hoped the same thing for the DC-210 and never saw it.
At this time, there is also no way to use Digita Script to access uncompressed image data or set compression parameters other than the defaults.
When you press the Power On button, it takes about 15 seconds for the camera to boot up, extend the lens, and be ready for the first picture. As far as I know, there is no way to make this any faster. If you have a slew of Digita scripts, or a lengthy 'Startup' script, then it could take longer, but I haven't found my numerous scripts to make a difference.
Kodak has taken a lot of heat over this long bootup time, both in reviews and in rec.photo.digital. In my opinion, this issue has been blown a bit out of proportion. I haven't found it to be a serious impediment to using the DC260, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't annoying. Let's hope a future firmware update presents some improvement (or options) to accelerate the boot process a bit. (In comparison, the Nikon Coolpix 900 takes a scant 6 1/2 seconds to start up.)
The good news is that the camera uses very little battery power in the "standby" condition, so extending my Battery power-off to an hour or more usually keeps me from having to deal with the boot delay.
This is a tricky question because the DC260 is the first consumer camera to introduce a digital "buffer". This lets you take a second picture while the camera is still processing the first picture! You can take the first two pictures back-to-back, with approximately one second in between. But, to take the third picture, you must wait for at least the first one to finish processing. (You don't have to wait for both.)
It might sound complicated, but in practice, you rarely notice what's going on. If the camera has been unused for a while (45 seconds or more), all processing is complete, and then you can take two back-to-back pictures --- a very nice feature!
To measure the cycle time, the test pictures were taken with Best
Quality, Flash Off, auto-focus, auto-exposure. The lowest quality
setting (good) is about one to two seconds faster than the high
quality setting, partly because there is less data to write to the
CompactFlash picture file.
Processing Time per Picture
| Resolution | Time |
|---|---|
| High | 24 seconds |
| Medium | 21 seconds |
| Standard | 15 seconds |
Note that these times are approximate, and depending on your scene and focus distance, could change by a second or two. They are single-picture times, so if you take two back-to-back High Res pictures, it will be 24 seconds before you can take another, and 48 seconds before you can take two more back-to-back.
A little, in much the same way as modern camcorders. The CCD is sensitive to infrared, but it has a filter in place that does a pretty good job of masking it. While the camera will show bright direct infrared sources (like LEDs) as bright white, IR lighting doesn't work very well as scene illumination.
It varies. The camera does a lot of "setup" before taking a picture, but you can get most of this out of the way by "half-pressing" on the scene earlier. When you half-press the shutter, the camera measures the distance, moves the focus into position, and gives the green light. Then, when you full press, there is only a very slight delay before it plays the sound and the exposure is made. I can't measure it, but I would guess the typical half-press to exposure delay is around 100 to 200 milliseconds.
If you do not prepare the camera with the half-press, then it can take much longer. The worst case is to pick up the camera, point it at a close-range scene (take longest to focus), and suddenly full-press the button. This can take up to two seconds for a close-in flash picture. Daylight infinite-distance pictures are much less.
In practice, I always prep the camera with the half-press, so I don't find this exposure delay to be significant. For action or sports photography, it is probably still a factor to work around.
A PCMCIA carrier (around $15) for the CompactFlash card is by far the fastest. When you put it in a PCMCIA slot, the CompactFlash card shows up as a new drive letter, and you simply copy the JPG files right off. It's almost as fast as your hard disk -- you can copy an entire memory card in seconds! Mine reads at over 1300 KB/sec.
If your machine doesn't have a PCMCIA slot, you have several options. You can use one of the slower transfer conduits (IrDA, Serial, USB), or buy a card reader system. Card readers using parallel ports tend to be slower than PCI or ISA-based systems. See the CF Readers FAQ entry for more details.
Next choice would be USB, a high speed serial bus. The DC260 is currently the only digital camera on the market to support this bus. If you have a modern Pentium or Pentium-II system with an Intel chipset, you probably already have two USB ports.
As for software, the fastest transfer software seems to be the Kodak "Mounter". This makes the DC260 show up as a device under "My Computer" in Windows. It's not quite a drive letter, but it's close. You open it like any other folder, and drag files out of it. The USB, IrDA, and serial interfaces are all supported by the Mounter.
Kodak's "Picture Easy" software, and the "Picture Easy Transfer" tool in the system tray are both slower than the Mounter. In my opinion, they're also harder to use. However, they do give you the option of viewing thumbnails and such.
The TWAIN interface lets you import pictures right from the camera into an editing application like PhotoShop. I haven't found a situation where it wasn't easier and faster to simply copy the file using the Mounter and open it directly.
If you have the option, invest in a PCMCIA carrier or CompactFlash card reader. The speed and convenience are unmatched, even by USB.
Much faster than serial, but twenty times slower than direct PCMCIA card transfer (1300 KB/sec). On my machine, an assorted (5117 kB) collection of 19 pictures and four bursts took 1 minute and 30 seconds, or around 56 KB/sec. Other users have reported similar speeds, some as high as 67 KB/sec.
Judging by the progress bars, it spends most of its time waiting for each picture to start. Once the transfer begins, the file comes quickly. This leads me to think that a few big files will transfer faster than many small pictures, but I haven't tested this.
So USB is the fastest wire connection you can make to the camera. While this is useful for tethered applications, CompactFlash is still the winner for bulk image dumps.
If your USB system is significantly faster or slower, please send email so we can get a better idea of how well this new transfer medium works.
Nope. The manual clearly states that you can use any standard
CompactFlash card that is "CF certified" and has the "CF" logo on its
label. In fact, Kodak actually uses re-labeled SanDisk cards, so you're certainly OK with
those.
How big a CompactFlash card can I use?
As big as you can afford! The largest ones on the market right now
(August '98) are 64 MB Lexar cards at around US$280.00. The most
common sizes and discount prices are 16MB ($100), 24MB ($130), and
32MB ($150).
It's rare, but it can happen, like if you eject the card while the camera is still writing to it. At the very worst, you will have to reformat the card. Sometimes the camera is smart enough to do this on its own, but if things are really hosed, you will have to use a PCMCIA carrier and a laptop computer to reformat the card. Use the standard DOS format command.
Usually. The only time you shouldn't remove the card is when the camera is processing images. If the red "Busy LED" is blinking, leave it alone until the camera finishes. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine to pull the card with the camera on, and insert it into a running computer.
The red "Memory Busy" LED is not the same as the green "Please Wait" LED next to the viewfinder. The memory LED is hidden under the CompactFlash eject button. When this one is blinking, do not eject your memory. It generally continues flashing for a few moments after the green LED stops.
Surprisingly, yes it is! Using a PCMCIA adapter on my PC, I benchmarked the standard Kodak/SanDisk memory and a Lexar "4X" card. Here are the approximate results:
| Kodak/SanDisk | Lexar | |
|---|---|---|
| Write: | 300 K/sec | 820 K/sec |
| Read: | 1300 K/sec | 1720 K/sec |
Yes, with a PCMCIA adapter. You plug your CompactFlash memory card into it, and then put the combo into any PCMCIA slot. You can see a picture of one on SanDisk's consumer homepage. These adapters are packaged with some SanDisk CompactFlash card products, and all Lexar brand CompactFlash cards currently include a mail-in card for a free adapter.
You can order one made by Simple Technology, Inc, part number "STI-CFAD". These are $12 from Buycomp.com, or $13 from MacNet. Any brand of PCMCIA adapter will work with any brand of CompactFlash memory, so shop around.
When you insert the card into a PCMCIA-equipped computer, the card will appear as a new Windows drive letter. On this "drive" will be a "DC260_01" folder for all your digital pictures and another for "System" files. You can simply copy and delete files from the card. It works very well, and it is the fastest way to get images from your camera.
First, you can order genuine Kodak "Picture Card" memory right from Kodak's online store. As you might expect, their prices are not very competitive:
| Size | 32MB | 20MB | 10MB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $249 | $179 | $99 |
Your best bet is to check with CNet Shopper.com for the lowest price. You can search for "compactflash" or "32MB" and get plenty of hits. Recent (June '98), discount street prices look something like this:
| Size | 64MB | 48MB | 32MB | 24MB | 16MB | 8MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $280 | $230 | $150 | $120 | $100 | $50 |
Common brands are SanDisk, Microtech Intl, Simple Technology Inc, Lexar, Kingston, and Smart Modular Technologies. Anything with a certified CompactFlash logo should work well in your camera, although some cards are said to be faster than others.
As of July '98, the best deal I could find was a Lexar 32MB CompactFlash card from Developer Shed for $150, shipped Fed-Ex 2-day. There are many similar deals out there if you shop around.
You must first decide what computer interface you want to use to read your CompactFlash card. You can get readers that plug in to your ISA bus, SCSI bus, IDE, Parallel port, and even USB. The ISA and SCSI bus interfaces are significantly faster than most parallel (~500 K/sec) or serial readers. If you must use a parallel port, Memorex claims "770 to 1250 KB/sec" on their parallel port model when using EPP mode. Macintosh computers are probably best supported by SCSI models, such as the Minolta CD-10 reader.
Also, decide if you need to insert standard PCMCIA cards, or just CompactFlash memory. While every PCMCIA reader can read CompactFlash by using a standard step-up adapter, the smaller CompactFlash-only readers can not accept the larger PCMCIA cards. If you're just getting the reader for your DC260 camera, then either one will work fine.
Randy G has posted reviews of the Microtech CameraMate DPCM-PAR-PC and SanDisk ImageMate SDDR-01. Go to Randy's page and follow the link to the "Digital Camera" area.l
Here are some readers, and their approximate discount prices from www.uvision.com:
| Cost | Manufacturer | Model | PC Interface | Slot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60 | ActionTec | PC700 | ISA | PCMCIA I, II, III |
| $140 | Impact Peripherals | CPSolo | ISA | PCMCIA |
| $75 | Microtec | CameraMate #DPCM-PAR-PC | Parallel Port | CompactFlash |
| $85 | ActionTec | Camera Connect | Parallel Port | PCMCIA & CF |
| $75 | SanDisk | ImageMate | Parallel Port | CompactFlash |
| $70 | Memorex | PCF-100 CardMate | Parallel Port | PCMCIA & CF |
| $79 | Kodak | CF Card Reader #8614406 | Parallel Port | CompactFlash |
| $199 | Intermart Systems | PCD-CF30 USB | USB | CompactFlash |
| $134 | Impact Peripherals | CPPhoto | IDE | PCMCIA |
| $591 | Impact Peripherals | MCDISK-G1 | SCSI | PCMCIA |
| $80 | Minolta | PC Card Drive CD-10 | SCSI | PCMCIA I, II, III |
Impact Peripherals
(in UK and France) has a variety of readers and adapters, but they do
not reveal prices without a silly "pin code" and registration hassle.
Also check with Amtron -- they
stock quite a variety of readers (including USB) and accessories, with
some good specials, and all with prices listed on-line. Developer Shed has many of the
readers listed above at great prices with easy on-line ordering.
$10 Reader!
July 27: NECX Outlet has
surplus PCMCIA card readers for $10 + $4.95 shipping. These are
single-piece ISA card units, putting the PCMCIA socket on the back
panel of your computer. It's NECX Item Number 0000121810. Probably a
bit of a hassle to insert/remove cards, but at that price, there's no
excuse not to own a reader!
The PCMCIA-to-CompactFlash Adapter
To insert a CompactFlash card into a PCMCIA slot, you will need a
simple and inexpensive adapter. See the adapter FAQ entry.
Flash memory can be erased and rewritten millions of times, but technically it does wear out and fail with extensive use. Very old flash technology would wear out after tens of thousands of erases, but modern CompactFlash lasts much longer. The lifespan of CompactFlash memory is so extremely long that it's going to fail in some other way before it wears out or becomes landfill.
SanDisk (maker of the Kodak CF cards) has formally guaranteed their CompactFlash cards for "10 Million Pictures", and indeed have installed a counter to prove it. After 10 million pictures, your flash strobe would be long gone, the LCD backlight will be dead, the buttons will have probably broken several times over. There are many more parts of the camera with shorter useable lifespans than CF. If nothing else, a 15 second medium-res cycle time would take almost five years of non-stop picture taking to wear out a CF card. By then, you can throw it out and buy a 512MB card for lunch money.
Short answer: Set the camera date!
You can take pictures, you can review them on the camera, and you can connect with the Mounter. But alas, when you go to retrieve the pictures, it shows no files! This is a known bug in the Mounter. It's triggered when the date stamp on your pictures is far into the future. Unfortunately, it seems that some cameras ship with a factory time and date setting well into next century. You can check the timestamp info on your review pictures to see what your camera date is set to.
The fix is simple. Erase all pictures on your camera using the "Delete All" feature in the camera. Then, using the date setting menu (Capture / Preferences / Date & Time), set the date and time to something closer to reality.
Matt Bernius from Kodak has also addressed this bug in rec.photo.digital, and you can read an archived copy of his post for more details.
This is a confirmed bug in all versions of the DC260 firmware. To crash your camera, follow these steps:
Folder names starting with "BR" and "TL" are reserved. These are used when the camera creates a Burst (BR) or TimeLapse (TL) series. These contain multiple images, so they're put into their own folder. The camera will catch it if you try to make one from the Album menu, but if you make one manually on the CompactFlash card, the camera will simply ignore it.
The estimate of the number of the remaining picture capacity (shown on the LCD) is lower in firmware version 1.0.4 than it was in 1.0.2. While it was originally hoped that this reflected reduced image compression, this is not the case. The new "pessimistic" counts are the result of a recent firmware bug. Kodak has published this information:
After updating to DC260 Firmware 1.0.4, it will look like your Picture Cards hold fewer pictures than they did before the update. This is not correct -- shooting capacity is unchanged after the firmware update. Note -- This is NOT due to a change in compression methods or ratios. It is a counting discrepancy caused by a minor bug in the method used to calculate approximate # of pictures remaining. Generally speaking the counter underestimates the number of pictures remaining by about 20%. On high capacity cards the discrepancy will be greatest when the card is empty, but the amount of error will reduce as pictures are taken. The camera will almost always report that you can take less pictures than you actually can.This counter bug will be fixed in a future firmware release.
Several users have reported that the camera can lock up (crash) when using the Long Time Exposure mode. The camera will open the shutter, turn the viewfinder LED red, and never come back. It is then necessary to hard-reset the camera by disconnecting AC Power and opening the battery door.
I have been able to use Long Time Exposure mode for dozens of consecutive shots before a crash, other time it happens sooner or not at all. Please email if you have details or insight into the circumstances.
Yes, I'm afraid it is. The LCD live preview is one of the weakest features of the DC260, especially in comparison to other similar cameras like the Nikon Coolpix 900. The Kodak camera has a very slow frame rate -- right around four frames per second. This makes it very hard to frame high-action scenes, or to compose while moving. You can move the camera just a little bit, and lose your bearings at telephoto ranges.
The picture is grainy, especially in low light where it can become completely washed out in green or grey snow. (Probably because they whack the gain of the CCD sensor way up to compensate.) Of course, the camera's CCD wasn't meant to capture well without light or flash, so this is understandable. I find that as bad as it looks, I can usually make out enough of the edges of the scene to compose in low light.
In addition, the three colors (red, green, blue) are apparently scanned separately, so any motion during the frame capture turns the image into a multicolor smear. Think of a 3D picture, only without the 3D glasses. If you're moving (walking, driving, etc) the preview screen is awash with false colors and just about useless.
The only redeeming quality in the DC260 LCD preview is that it's frame-accurate. What you see is what you capture. But to use the LCD preview, you really have to have a well-lit still-life scene, and hold the camera very very still. Let's just say it has plenty of room for improvement.
This is a known bug, confirmed by Kodak. It is present in every firmware version to date, including v1.0.4. The camera will not fire the External Flash if it decides the ambient light is enough for the exposure. In addition, it will disregard your manual aperture setting, and take the picture using a aperture of its own chosing. And further yet, it will record an incorrect aperture value to the JPG file header (EXIF fields), indicating incorrectly that it did use your select f-stop value.
Kodak is aware of this bug, and has suggested a workaround for ensuring that the external flash setting is properly enforced: Cover the light sensor with your finger, or a piece of opaque tape. The light sensor is the top-most eye, between the viewfinder and the Kodak logo. My own tests confirm that this does work to ensure the external flash fires as programmed.
Users in rec.photo.digital (Markus Nigrin) have found that enabling the External Flash from within a Digita Script does not have the expected effect. The camera stays in Programmed Exposure mode and does not fire the external flash when the "aper" and "xmod" camera properties are changed.
Even though the LCD display shows the manual f-stop correctly, it seems you must visit the External Flash menu page to engage the External Flash.
I haven't tested or confirmed this bug with Kodak, so please email your results if you try this same thing.
The Kodak DC260 "Properties" control panel won't run if the camera's date and time is set far into the future. This seems to be closely related to a similar bug in the Mounter and the fix is the same.
This is because it might still be processing pictures. If you take a picture, and immediately try to power down the camera, it will first finish processing the picture, then retract the lens, then power off. Even though the Green LED next to the viewfinder is not flashing, the camera could still be processing previous pictures. Check the red LED underneath the CompactFlash eject button to be sure. See this other FAQ entry for more details on Buffer Processing.
With the default Photoshop 5.0 settings, every JPG image from the camera will first load, and then perform a slow "Converting Colors" step. This is an attempt to adapt the "color profile" of the JPG file to your screen, and the results are usually abysmal. With the Pantone Colorific calibration software, the RGB profile results in heavily darkened pictures.
The good news is that you can disable this conversion step and get faster loading and brighter (untouched) pictures. Under the menu "File / Color Settings / Profile Setup / Assumed Profiles", select "None" for the RGB profile.
Every time you start Kodak "Picture Easy" (or return to the main menu) it bangs the floppy drive around for a while before starting. It will also spin up your Jaz and Zip drives in its thorough Gestapo search for photos. To fix this behavior, select "Preferences" (the Notecard button in the lower right), and disable "Automatic Disk/Diskette/CD Detection". It will now start up much faster and leave your floppy drive alone. However, it will still spin up all your removable media.
I have no idea why, but it takes several times longer to "delete after transfer" in Picture Easy Transfer than to simply delete all pictures from the "Review" menu on the camera. To delete all pictures in this faster way, go to "Review" mode, and hold down the "Delete" soft button. It changes to "Delete All", and takes only seconds. Picture Easy Transfer can take several minutes to delete after the transfer is complete.
Also, the Kodak DC260 Mounter can delete pictures. Simply select them from the picture folder and hit delete. You can press "Control-A" to select all pictures, or hold down control to select specific ones from the list. It's fast and simple.
Of course, a PCMCIA adapter still wins, capable of nuking the entire picture directory from a PC within milliseconds.
This is correct and normal, if somewhat peculiar. If you press Display to enable Live LCD Preview, the processing meter shows the camera processing buffer as 1/4 full. This is normal. When the camera is actually crunching pictures, the bar will read half to full scale.
It's not processing, it's recharging the flash, which also blinks the green LED. If you disable the internal flash, then the camera is ready for a new picture immediately after you delete the current one. This makes possible remarkably fast shoot-review-reshoot cycles until you get the right shot.
On my own system, the TWAIN_32 module (used by Photoshop and others) has severely distorted bitmaps and text in some places. The control buttons and transferred images are just fine, but the built-in program bitmaps and information text are complete garbage. I have a page showing a sample of the bad dialog boxes using Kodak's DC260 TWAIN from Photoshop.
I'm curious to hear from others if this is a global problem, or something unique about my system.
Update: Problem seems fixed by going to 24-bit color mode. TWAIN graphics are distorted in 16-bit mode only?
Good question. According to the USB spec, software is required to connect not only to first tier devices, but also to any plugged into USB hubs. It appears that there is a bug in the Kodak Mounter and USB connection software causing it to fail unless the camera is "device #0", connected directly to the computer.
However, I have received reports from some users that they are successfully connecting through a USB hub, so it seems there are some strange dependencies on either the computer or the hub.
Digita is the operating system that runs on the camera's internal computer. It was created by FlashPoint Technology, Inc and represents a huge leap in camera flexibility. The Digita programming system consists of three major parts:
FlashPoint's Digita Developer Alliance
Early on, FlashPoint released SDKs directly to their developer
network. They may still release packages before Kodak, so if you're
an active developer, you should join their developer program.
To receive the developer kits from FlashPoint, you must join their Digita Developer Alliance. Instructions are on their developer web page. Once you are part of the program, you will be able to download the Digita Script SDK for Windows and Macintosh.
The first SDK includes a (PDF) Digita Scripting overview, detailed
PDF Reference Guide (118 pages), and some sample scripts.
Kodak's Developer Relations Group
Kodak has updated and
re-released the Digita Script SDK through their Developer Relations Group on
September 1. As a registered DRG member, you can download it directly
from them. Here is their press release:
Kodak announces the availability of the DC220/DC260 Digital Camera Scripting SDK version 1.0. Camera scripting provides developers with the necessary tools to create and upload customized programs that function within the DC220 or DC260 Digital Camera's software environment. The SDK contains the SDK Reference Manual, SDK UI Guide, a scripting overview and sample scripts. The SDK is available to members of Kodak's Developer Program from the DCxxx Camera link on your Personal Access page.
If you want to customize your camera, but don't want to learn or
program in Digita, then check into the ScriptGenerator from Digitella Technology Solutions.
Host SDK
Kodak has also released the second Digita SDK: the "Host SDK".
This is a C Library and documentation for including the Kodak
DC220/260 camera in your own program. Using this SDK, you can add
image capture and transfer to your own host applications.
ActiveX Controls
Kodak has published a Beta version of the
ActiveX Controls for the DC220/260 cameras. This makes it simple to
control the camera from Visual Basic and other ActiveX interfaces.
Developers are "not licensed to redistribute applications containing
libraries or application code contained in the SDK", until the Release
version.
Application SDK
FlashPoint has also expressed their intention to release an "Application SDK" (not yet published). This would allow the development of compiled programs written in C that actually run on the DC260 camera, with full access to the Digita OS routines. This SDK holds much promise for customizing the user interface and functionality of the camera.
You must remove and re-insert the CompactFlash card before a new Digita script will show up in the menu system. (You can also power-cycle the camera, but it takes longer.) If you still don't see your new script, double-check your Digita "name", "mode", and "label" header lines. You might be in the wrong camera mode, or looking in the wrong menu.
For some reason, the Mounter does not show files that are not one of the recognized types. (pictures, .CSM, and .LGO.) If your script creates a "FOO.TXT", for instance, it will not appear in the Mounter listings. But rest assured, it is on the card and can be viewed by directly mounting the CompactFlash in a computer.
The Kodak Mounter program can not read any system files. It can not overwrite them. It can only create and delete them. If you want to read the files, you must use a direct PCMCIA computer connection to read the CompactFlash card.
Nope, not at all. To add or remove scripts from the menu system, you simply remove and re-insert the CompactFlash card (or power cycle the camera). Once your script is present in the camera, you can simply re-run it after making changes and installing the new version. (The menu heirarchy is generated on startup; but the script files are read at run-time.)
You can not change or overwrite scripts in the 'System' folder. You must first delete the existing script and then copy in the new script of the same name.
If you use a '&' or '|' construct as a conjunctive logical operation between comparisons, the DC260 will give a Syntax Error. You can see this behavior if you run the SETMETER.CSM sample script from the Digita SDK, in these lines:
This can be corrected by substituting the unary "not" operation appropriately to avoid the comparisons:# Display an option list to the user, and mark the current # automatic exposure/automatic focus settings as the default # option in this list. SetOption (1,"Continuous AE/AF", aelock == 0 & aflock == 0) SetOption (2,"Auto Exposure Lock", aelock == 1 & aflock == 0) ...
SetOption (1, "Continuous AE/AF", !aelock & !aflock)
FlashPoint is aware of this problem, and working on a solution.
You are allowed to put your scripts in any menu, so for quicker testing, tuck them into somewhere like "Picture Type" (the first menu) for faster access. You can always move it later.
This is usually caused by an unterminated IF, or by a GOTO jumping out of an "IF context". If your script ends without an "EXITSCRIPT" command, then you will get this error. Be sure to end every script with EXITSCRIPT, instead of just end-of-file. (Note that I have still seen this error with the use of exitscript, so I think there may also be a more subtle bug somewhere.
Because Digita is parsed during execution, this simple code example will fail:
if status == 0
DisplayLine ("All Okay")
succeeded = 1
goto NoError
end
DisplayLine ("Houston, we have a problem")
[deal with error]
NoError:
DisplayLine ("To continue...")
The "end" statement on line five is never reached if the status is zero. The "If" state is still pending, and when the script finishes, it results in the error message. The only way to avoid this is with excessive IF/END nesting and much redunant code. Combine this with lack of an "ELSE" clause, and you can end up with some real tricky puzzles and icky solutions.
So end your script with "EXITSCRIPT", and if that doesn't get rid of the error, then you may have to resort to strange loop unravelling logic.
Now you did it. You made a GOTO loop with no Wait(), Alert(), or WaitForShutter() calls in it. I'm afraid there's no way out. You can't exit, power off, change the mode dial, or abort. You must disconnect AC power and open the battery door. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to hurt anything. Heaven help you if your loop writes to the memory card; it will most likely need reformatting.
There seems to be some bug regarding STARTUP.CSM, the magical automatic start-up script. Once you create one, you can not actually remove it. Sure, the mounter will pretend it's removed and stop showing it to you, but it's still there. And worse yet, you can not create a new one in its place.
To remove the stubborn STARTUP.CSM, you must insert the CompactFlash into a computer and delete the file. I have not yet found a way to actually remove it using only the camera and mounter. This seems to be a limitation only in the Kodak Mounter, since there is nothing special about the file, and the camera has no problem running new STARTUP.CSM scripts.
Contrary to what the early release of the Digita SDK documentation said, the STARTUP.CSM file requires the usual name, mode, menu, and label tags, or else it won't be executed on startup. This has been confirmed by FlashPoint, and the documentation will be corrected for future Scripting SDK releases.
If you have a STARTUP.CSM file, the camera will power on into a peculiar state -- the LCD screen will be illuminated, but show a blank grey background. Also, when you go to capture mode, the Live LCD Preview will be enabled without pressing "Display".
Any menu or picture display will restore the blank grey background back to normal. To stop the Live Preview display in Capture mode, simply press "Display" as usual.
New: FlashPoint suggests this simple workaround: End your script with a "Wait(1)" instruction. This will quickly reset the screen and leave things in a normal state. Also, FlashPoint warns that the STARTUP.CSM script can only reliably be used to change camera settings using SetCameraState(). Other script functions may not work.
While the Digita documentation states that all cameras are required to support the Product Information Parameters, most of them do not yeild meaningful values. Specifically, they return the constant UInteger value "16777216" (0x1000000). This includes carv, ccsv, cpus, and about five others. Still waiting for a workaround/explanation for this. This code snippit illustrates one of the strange values:
declare u:uVal, status
status = 0
GetProductInfo ("cpus", uVal)
if status != 0
DisplayLine ("cpus: Error")
end
DisplayLine ("CPU speed: ", uVal)
There appears to be a bug in the sample Digita Script GETCAP.CSM, included with the first version of the Scripting SDK. Specifically, if you ask for the value of a "Min-Max" range property, and that property is not an Integer value, the script will fail with this error:
Script Manager: syntax error at line 50
Script Manager: IF conditional exists without corresponding END at line 50
You can see this behavior if you ask for the value of acpd, for example. This is because the "min" and "max" variables are declared as Integers, and used this way:
declare i:min, max, capValue, stateValue
...
# Capability type is a min-max range
if capType == 2
status = GetCapabilitiesRange ( pname, min, max, capDefault )
According to the documentation for GetCapabilitiesRange() on page 30:
It is up to the script writer to ensure that the variable is of the correct type. No error will be reported if the variable type does not match the parameter range type, and the last three parameters (min, max, and default) are required to be the same data type.
It seems to be the case that it does return an error. More importantly, it appears that there is no way to automatically determine the type of the range variable from inside a script. What we need is something like GetCapabilityType() that works on the range values themselves.
If anyone has a workaround for this bug, please email. The GETCAP.CSM script is one of the most useful samples, but I have to manually modify the types of 'min' and 'max' to peek at different range variables.
If you take multiple pictures from within one script, you should always wait until the camera is ready for the next exposure, of course. The preferred way to do this is by clever use of the return value from WaitForShutter(). This function will return "System Busy" (12) when the camera is not ready to take another picture. By looping appropriately, you can take the next picture as soon as possible. See the sample script "CAPTURE.CSM" for an example.
This is very different from polling the status of the "ipip" (Image Processing In Progress) camera status bit. That bit will be set as long as pictures remain to be processed, even when the camera has buffer space and is ready to take another picture. Poll "ipip" when you want to wait until all processing is finished (and the memory card can be removed).
Here's the humble beginning of a Digita script collection. If this
scripting language catches on, we could have some exciting stuff to
pass around.
How do I install them?
First, copy the script from this web page to your hard disk. Then you
must somehow gain access to the "System" folder on the DC260 Compact
Flash card. You can either use the Kodak DC260 "Mounter" with USB,
RS-232, or IrDA, or you can insert the CompactFlash card into a PCMCIA
slot. Then you simply copy the script (.CSM) file into the System
folder, and re-insert the card (or power cycle the camera). That's
it!
How do I run them?
Each script can put itself almost anywhere
in your menu system. You can either read the script header to see
where it installs intself, or just hunt around a bit in your Capture
and Playback menus.
Are there any more?
So far, the Digita Script Hackers have
been few and far between. In fact, Hiroshi
Igami and DigitaCamera
are the only other sites with downloadable digita scripts. Email me
if you find any others!
Script Listings
The index file shows a thumbnail of each picture, and a table of information including exposure information, size, resolution, and flash info. You must have a CompactFlash reader to make use of this script, since there is no way to read the INDEX.HTM file using the Kodak Mounter. (Have you asked Kodak to improve the Mounter to read all files?)
Please note that the camera doesn't generate new thumbnail files for the small pictures in the web page. They're the full-sized images scaled down by your browser. This makes for lightning-fast links to the full-size picture (right in cache), but it's not the right way to present thumbnails for a slow connection.
This script installs itself as "Web Page" in the "Steve's Hacks" menu under your "Review" menu.
Copyright ©1998 Steve Haehnichen