Overview
The Kodak Easyshare C663 is a six megapixel digital camera with a three times optical zoom lens. Its main attraction is likely to be its ease of use. For this reason I can see the Easyshare C663 proving attractive to anyone who is looking for a straightforward, point and shoot digital camera.
Compared to other similar digital cameras people are also likely to find the large LCD screen and build quality factors that work in favour of this camera. It is also one of the decreasing number of digital cameras offering a viewfinder.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
6
3x
2.5 inches
84.7 ? 64.7 ? 35.5mm
147g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
5cm
No
No
AA
SD/MMC
Image Quality
The quality of the images I took with the Easyshare C663 tends to vary and I was left with mixed results.
The first outdoor shot is good. As I would expect with a camera in this price range focusing does not match the levels achieved by more expensive models. The photo is bright and the colours are strong too. There is a loss of detail in the very light and very dark areas of each shot. This does not reach excessive levels, but can be noticed.
One outdoor shot that concerns me is the third test photo. For this shot the zoom lens is fully extended and this appears to cut down the amount of light in the photo. This causes the picture to be darker then I would like to see. Although using zoom cuts down the amount of light entering the camera other digital cameras have been able to compensate for this and produce a properly exposed photo.
Another test shot that bothers me is the test for colours. Although the first test shot proved the camera is capable of producing strong and bright colours my dedicated colour test shot was below par. The result shows an orangey cast. This is another shot taken with the zoom lens towards its full extension and again it left me wondering if the amount of light reaching the sensor was sufficient.
The outdoor portrait shot is certainly light enough. This is a fairly standard result. I do feel though that other cameras have been able to control the level of light better than the Easyshare C663. This has lead to a loss of detail on the lighter areas of the face.
Working indoors in poor light is another area where the results are somewhat mixed. The shot taken in more or less complete darkness shows a fuzzy photo where the camera has struggled to focus properly. This is a fairly common problem with less expensive digital cameras although some mange to overcome this issue better than the Easyshare C663 does.
Looking at the portrait shot focusing is much sharper. In fact taking the price of the camera into consideration this is a good effort in terms of focusing. As with so many of my tests red eye rears its head.
The macro shot is good without being outstanding. The image is bright and clear just falling below the sharpness achieved by some of the leading models.
Finally the shot taken at ISO 400 produces a below average result. It is common for digital cameras to struggle using this setting, but I would like to have seen less deterioration in the quality of the image.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
I was able to take a single photo in 0.20 seconds and five photos in 11.88 seconds. To be able to take a single photo in 0.20 seconds is a pretty fast time and beats the majority of digital cameras, especially in this category. If you wish to take up to four shots the response of the Easyshare C663 is good, but after this number of shots it slows down appreciably. This is probably because the camera stores images in a buffer and at this point the buffer becomes full and it slows down to copy the shots to the memory card or internal memory.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 34 - 102mm in 35mm format. There is also a 5x digital zoom facility.
When composing a photo you can select from an optical viewfinder or a 2.5" LCD screen.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 3.7m. This falls to 2.1m when the zoom lens is being used. The flash modes available are always on, always off, automatic and red eye reduction.
A number of scene modes are programmed into the camera. These are portrait, sport, night portrait, night landscape, snow, beach, text/document, fireworks, flower, museum/manner, self portrait, party, children and backlight. By selecting a scene mode you indicate to the camera the type of photo you are about to take. The camera will then attempt to use the optimum settings for the shot.
Further effects can be added to your pictures by experimenting with the different colour modes. The colour modes available are high color, low color, natural color, sepia, and black and white.
For close up photography there is a macro mode. The Easyshare C663 can focus from 5cm away from the subject. The auto focus modes are multizone and center zone. You can also fine tune focusing by selecting either continuous AF, TTL-AF or single AF.
If you would like to appear in the picture there is a self timer. This can be set to a delay time of either two or ten seconds. For creating 6x4" prints there is a 3:2 aspect ratio. A histogram is also available to help you with exposure levels.
A number of more advanced features are available. These include three types of metering (multi-pattern, center-weighted, and center-spot), white balance (auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, open shade), sensitivity (ISO 100 - 400) and exposure compensation (±2.0 EV with 0.3 EV step increments).
Apertures and shutter speeds are set automatically by the camera. Apertures work in the range f/2.7 and f/5.1 at wide and f/4.6 and f/8.7 at tele. Shutter speeds are set between 8 and 1/1400 seconds.
After a picture has been taken there is a utility that can help to improve the original photo. When I tested this feature it was successful at lightening under exposed (too dark) photos. You can also crop images cutting away outer sections that are not required.
Video footage can be captured. The maximum resolution is 640 x 480 pixels. The maximum speed is 24 frames per second. This is just below TV quality. Duration of a movie is only limited by the capacity of the memory card.
Kodak supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the EasyShare C663 to a PictBridge compatible printer, television set and a computer. It can also be attached to a Kodak printer dock.
Ease of Use
Ease of use is the main strength of the camera. Not only are the menus simple to find your way around, but the screens are also very clear and easy to read with text that appears to be larger than standard.
The key controls are all easy to find. These start with the shooting mode (still photo, scene mode, movie etc). This can be selected by a dial on the top of the camera. Also on top of the camera are buttons to set flash and self timer. On the back of the camera there are buttons for zoom, reviewing and deleting images and for accessing the menu system.
Cost
You can pick up a Kodak Easyshare C663 for around £135. This compares to around £140 for a Fuji Finepix A600, £120 for a Sony DSC S600 and £145 for a Nikon Coolpix L2.
As you can see the Easyshare C663 sells at a similar price to other point and shoot, six megapixel digital cameras. If I was looking to buy one of these cameras it would be the Sony DSC S600. I think it just has the edge in terms of picture quality and with its low price beats this Kodak camera when it comes to value for money.
Style
In fairness to the Easyshare C663 it does not feel like and entry level digital camera. Many models that fall into this category have a bit of a plasticy feel to them. This camera seems to have a more substantial build quality then many of its competitors.
On the front of the camera you will find a good sized grip. This helps you keep the camera steady when taking a shot. The camera is available in silver. It weighs 147g and has dimensions of 84.7 × 64.7 × 35.5 mm.
Batteries and Memory Cards
Two AA batteries are used to supply power to the camera. Kodak do not supply any estimates for battery usage.
Kodak have built 32mb of memory into the Easyshare C663. I was able to take 24 photos with the camera before the memory was full. This is certainly enough to get you started, but it is likely to be a good idea to pick up a high capacity memory card to go with the camera.
Click here to save money on SD cards..
Points I like:
Ease of use
Build quality
Viewfinder
Low shutter delay
Where it is not so hot:
Some photos are dark
Red eye
Summary
I found the Kodak Easyshare C663 to be a bit of a mixed bag. If you are looking for a point and shoot digital camera then this model is one of the most straightforward you can find. Photo quality is below that of some other similarly priced digital cameras though.
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Kodak Easyshare C663 Review Kodak Easyshare C663 Specification Kodak Easyshare C663 Sample Images
Review Date
June 2006
