August 25, 1998: Dave Etchells at Imaging Resource recently interviewed several members of the Kodak DC260 product team and asked some excellent questions. Several concerned the features you've asked for, listed below. Check out the interview report on their web page. It's very interesting, and gives us an idea of what changes we can expect with firmware releases, and what will have to wait for the next generation of camers.

Several people have emailed me their "most wanted features and fixes" for the DC260, so I figure we can list them here. If you own a DC260, and read this list and think "Wow, I'd really like that feature!", then please, take a moment to visit Kodak's Guestbook and write note requesting the features that are most important to you! They do listen, and with enough customer input, they might hurry things along to get us a firmware update. The more request they get in the GuestBook, the more likely we are to see changes soon.

1. Manual shutter speed and aperture control.

   So far, we can control the aperture only when using external flash, and we can set the shutter speed only for long exposures. I'd very much like to have full-range shutter speed and aperture controls like any normal SLR camera.

   From the Kodak responses in the Imaging Resource interview, it sounds like Kodak is not considering manual exposure controls as a firmware option. Further, it's clear from looking at the data in EXIF headers that the camera does actually have some lattitude in the shutter/aperture combinatins, and it even uses a range of shutter speeds with a given aperture, and it sure would be swell to have some control over this.

   For example, if you would like to photograph a marathon runner in daylight, and convey the dynamic motion by blurring the subject, you would probably prefer a slower shutter speed than the automatic 1/250 you will get. The next day you might want to take a picture from a moving bus, at the fastest shutter speed available to minimize camera shake. It would be great to give these hints and inputs to the camera to help it pick the best shutter/aperture combinations, even if we can't specify them directly.

2. Sharper Images

   The DC260 has some design tradeoffs that many feel impact the sharpness and clarity of the high-res images. This has been discussed at length in rec.photo.digital, and remains the single most-often criticized (indeed "bashed") aspect of the DC260. What most users would like to see is some improvement in sharpness, or user-selectable options to trade off CCD noise filtering or other processing for improved contrast and detail. This may also be related to image compression artifacts, and addressible through an uncompressed (or minimally compressed) storage mode.

3. Uncompressed Image Storage

   While the files may well be large or even impractical, I'd really like the option to experiment. This would allow us to separate the JPG compression artifacts and lossage from other factors. Even a user-selectable compression level would be a great addition. Right now, the "Best" compression setting is regarded by many as being far too lossy.

   Kodak has explained that it is not simple or easy to make the compression level variable, like a slider in PhotoShop. Perhaps a compromise would be to simply add one or two more "quality modes" that go beyond "Best" to further reduce JPG artifacts. This would go a long way toward reducing the blockiness in smooth sky tones, and the ringing halo around high-contrast edges.

4. Exposure Lock

   With Exposure Lock, we would be able to lock down the exposure settings (shutter speed, aperture, and white balance) between multiple exposures. This is absolutely imperative for panoramic multi-exposure images. Auto-exposure makes every picture look dramatically different, and there's no way to force two pictures to use the same settings.

   Exposure Lock is one of those things that doesn't seem important, until it ruins your afternoon. It's really not important for anything other than panoramas or other "tiled" photography, where it is not only useful, but critical to success.

5. Quicker Boot Time

   The new v1.0.4 firmware release has improved boot time significantly. It now takes around 10 seconds instead of the previous 15. It sounds like a minor change, but it seems to make a significant difference in my day-to-day use. Of course, nobody would complain if it got faster yet.

6. Better LCD Preview

   The DC260 LCD preview leaves much to be desired. Specifically, a faster frame rate and less color tearing would be very nice. You can read the full gripe in the FAQ.

   Kodak has confirmed that the LCD preview performance and color behavior is not something that can be addressed through updated firmware. It's a weakness of the CCD hardware design, and will stay that way for the life of the camera. I think it's safe to guess that future cameras will be better in this area.

7. Shutter-controlled BURST mode.

   The DC260 Burst mode is great.. I can capture 8 low-res pictures in a row at a brisk 3 frames-per-second. I wish I could do this in a more controlled way, say, using the shutter. The fixed frame rate is not very flexible, and there's no reason the shutter button couldn't be used during the burst.

8. Smarter Focus / Shutter-button Interaction.

   From what I can tell (and I may well be wrong), the focus optics are adjusted when the shutter is half-pressed. A full-press takes the picture, of course. But if I release the shutter button, the focus group moves back to its default position. Then, when I press again, it has to move all the way back to the "in-focus" position before I can take the picture. You can easily hear all this going on when you press and release the shutter button, and it's not fast.

   I would prefer to see this work like most auto-focus SLR cameras. Putting the camera in focus (Half-press) moves the focus group, but it does NOT reset when you let go of the button. This makes the next focus selection and adjustment much faster. I think it would reflect in faster shutter-to-exposure times as well.

9. Smarter Shutter Button Behavior. ("Motor-wind mode")

   If you take a picture with the DC260, and hold the shutter down, it does not take the next picture immediately, or even when it is ready. It does not take it when all the processing is done either. I must completely release the shutter, and then press it again. In fact, I find myself pressing it repeatedly to take a picture "as soon as it can". It would be nicer if I could just hold it down.

   Imagine an SLR camera camera in Motor-Wind (multi-shot) mode. You hold the button down, it takes a picture as soon as it can. That's what I want.

10. Shutter button priority (menu cancel).

    I have already missed several photo opportunities because I forgot that I had a menu up on the display. If I press Shutter, I want it to cancel the menu and take the picture. Minor enhancement, but it would be nice. (I think QuickView does the right thing. It shows you the last picture, but if you press the Shutter, it goes away.)

11. A more potent Mounter application.

    The Kodak Mounter is able to read image files from the camera (via Serial, USB, IrDA) and create script files. It can delete script files (other than STARTUP.CSM), but it can not read them. It would be nice if the Mounter were enhanced to read and write all file formats, just like a PCMCIA adapter.

12. Spot Metering

    The DC260 has spot focus, where only the center of the image is used for focus, but it has no spot metering. The entire scene area is always averaged to derive the exposure. Spot metering is a very useful feature for fine-tuning an exposure to one specific region of interest. Randy Glass has been a leading proponent for spot metering, and he put together an excellent web page showing what it does and why you want it.

13. 1280x1024 Resolution Option

    While the large Kodak resolution works well for 4x6" prints, it doesn't always make the best match for a computer monitor. It would be nice if the camera gave the option of cropping at capture time. This would save memory, speed processing, help with framing, and make for less work later.

14. File naming options

    Personally, I'm just fine with the sequential counting filenames, but several people have mentioned that they would prefer a date/time filename option. Since the camera does know the date and time of each picture, it could easily use these for naming instead.

15. CompactFlash Reformatting

    Due to dying batteries, PC manipulation, software bugs, or defective hardware, there are times when the CompactFlash memory gets corrupted. Sometimes the camera is smart enough to figure this out and offer the option to reformat the card. Sometimes it's not! This can cause problems, or at least headaches in figuring out how to wipe the slate clean. The DC260 should have an option for unconditionally reformatting the CompactFlash card, perhaps some power-on button sequence. We need some way to initiate a no-questions-asked complete nuke of the CF filesystem. (Thanks to Scott Schram for explaining this.)

16. Logo/Watermark conversion tool for Macintosh

    The included program to convert PNG files to Kodak "LGO" format is for PC only. Of course the Mac users would like one as well.

Next Generation

1. Threaded Lens

   The DC260 lens extends outside the main casing to zoom, making it compact, yet fragile. It can't support the twisting force or extra weight of a lens, so there are no close-up, telephoto, or filter attachments possible. I'd prefer a thicker case with lens threads, even a DC-120 style case. Most amateur photographers place a high value on add-on lenses and filters, and are dismayed by the complete lack of lens options for the DC260.

2. Remote Control

   Most 35mm SLR cameras have some option for cable, wireless, or infra-red remote control shutter. It's a real shame the DC260 has nothing but the self-timer. It already has the IR receiver built-in, but no external remote options.

Go back to the FAQ.