[Homeless]

I got a Kodak digital camera for christmas and am having difficulties with the easy share program that comes on the disc. First of all...it slows my computer down, and the program constantly freezes up. It also puts pictures from different albums into the same album for no reason.

Anyone else with a kodak digital camera have issues with the software? Do I need to use it at all? I haven't tried yet, but is there anyway to uninstall the program and just transfer the pictures off of the camera and into a folder I choose?

The last thing I need advice on is batteries. I'm going to Best Buy tomorrow to buy some rechargables. Should I get the Ni-MH? Lithium Ions? or CRV3 Lithiums (never even heard of these...)?

Thanks for any help...and Merry Christmas...

 

[Gord SW Ont]

I don't have a Kodak but if you're using Windows XP you shouldn't need the software that came with the camera to download. You should be able to hookupyour camera via a USB cable and download directly or via an image processing program (often called "importing").

I prefer to use a card reader which can be bought cheap and eliminates the camera entirely and you download using Windows Explorer file manager.

Not familiar with the batteries of the Kodak but I use NiMh "AA" cells for mine and they work great. Lithium Ions I thought were proprietary battery packs usually used on cameras that don't allow the standard "AA"'s, etc to be used. The Lithium "AA" cells I don't think are rechargeable (although they do last a lot longer than non-rechargeable alkylines and also work better in cold weather than most other batteries)??? If your camera uses "AA" type batterys get a 2000 mah or greater (currently 2500 or so is the highest capacity) rechargeable and a good charger and you're all set ... but only if your Kodak works with standard rechargeable batteries?

 

[DanT]

I also don't have a kodak but I also never use the software that come with my camera to download images it's just a big bloatwareand a resource hog.

I just plug it with USB cable and it appear as a drive (ie exactly like a USB flash drive ) then drag/drop or copy the images in the proper directory. So if you can do that ditch the software and do it manualy much better.

 

[Homeless]

I figured as much that I could just import the pics, but havent tried yet for fear of messing something up...anyway, I'll give it a shot. Gord, thanks for the card reader idea, that may be my best bet. Thanks too for the battery info, I havent had a toy that requires replaceable batteries for a while. I have $50 on a GC for best buy and don't really mind spening it on some batteries and a charger. Would This One be ok?

 

[lini]

Homeless: If it's anything like mine (CX7430; and it's exactly the same with the CX6230 I gave to my mum...), WinXP should recognize your Kodak without any further driver or software as a digital camera just by itself. I usually use NiMH AAs (needs 2) ~ 2300 mAh with it, btw. Really easy to use, uncomplicated cams with good picture quality - "standby" power consumtion seems a bit high with these, though, and the zoom could have a few more steps for my taste...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[Gord SW Ont]

Homeless posted:
Quote:

Would This One be ok?

While it will work I'm not a fan of the ultra fast chargers (ie 15 minutes). I prefer the ones with intelligence builtin that tke 3 or 4 hours to charge fully and use two sets. I feel that the batteries don't last as long and there is a possibilty of overheating (so be careful when charging).

Also can't see the capacity of those batteries in that ad but they are likely over 2000 mah so should be okay.

However, I think I am probably being overcautious.

 

[Squeek]

Another tip...

When spending your BB $ on batteries, you should keep in mind that the tiny memory card that they include with digicams need to be replaced ASAP.

I have 512mb in mine, which I find to be plenty.

 

[The D]

We have a Kodak.

The cam needs drivers in win XP (so you can see the cam in explorer), but the drivers do not work, I can not see the mem card most of the time and when I can see the card it gives me an error when I try to move the files off of the cam and the "easyshare" ****ware can see what's on the cam but when you tell it to put the files on D: drive the dam thing will use a cache on the C: drive filling up the C: drive and stoping the transfer not only that but when you view what's on the cam in "easyshare" it will fill up the cache not only that but the cache will not delete what it has even after "easyshare" has shut down.

Not only that but the drivers need to see the drive by loading up something (that's takes about 3 mins) just so you can see the photos (if you don't allow the drivers to load you will only see what was on the cam last time you plugged it in).

Not only that but the download speeds on a USB 2.0 port are slower than most flash based DAPs on a USB 1.1 port!!!!!!!!!!!


As you can see, there is a reason why I call it ****ware.

 

[Homeless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squeek I have 512mb in mine, which I find to be plenty.

I got a one gig card as part of the gift

As far as the software goes, I'm going to try and take the pics off the card without it, and if that doesn't work I'm going to go and buy a card reader that plugs into the USB port on my computer.

I bought the Energizer 15 minute charger, the batteries are 2200mAh. The only thing is I charged them for about 20 minutes or so this afternoon after buying them and the first two died within 20 minutes, and the next two died in about half an hour. I'm hoping that it's just because they're new, it says on the package that if the batteries have sat for a couple months it may take a few charge and drain cycles to get them back up to full capacity. If not, they're going right back to best buy.

 

[gshan]

Uninstall all of the Kodak software - might be causing all the bugs and trouble for you. My gf has a 3.2 mp Kodak that is recognized as a removable drive when plugged directly into the computer. I never installed the included software for her.

I highly recommend getting the card reader. It'll leave less internal weardown for some cameras, and transfer speeds can be faster (at least it was for me). At least the card reader will not require drivers...

Also, don't even touch the Kodak CD. There should be better and free software programs out there if you need a slideshow/gallery-type archiver. Just as an example Google has one called Picasa iirc.

 

[Homeless]

Yeah I think I'm going to buy the card reader. I never thought about it extending the life (and the battery life especially) of the camera, nice info. I'm not really concerned about a slideshow presenter, I have no problem using windows fax and picture viewer, I guess I just thought naively that I needed to install it.

I have printed pics at costco with their card reader machine and I also send pictures to Xbox media center (modded original xbox) to view on my TV, I just want to send pics to my PC for storage, and to tinker with them etc...

Thanks for all the help...any extra info that anyone cares to add is appreciated.

 

[AdamWill]

Any charge cycle under ~1hr will kill NiMH batteries fairly rapidly. Just buy a spare set of batteries and use a sensible charger, like a 2-3hr one.

(edit: oh, and buy generic batteries. Branded ones are a massive waste of money.)

 

[Homeless]

I bought a usb thumb drive card reader today and uninstalled the kodak software...works like a charm. Thanks for all the help.

Oh, the batteries are keeping a charge a lot longer now. I have taken about 80 pictures or so today, and played around with the camera and they haven't died yet. Hopefully it stays that way...I looked around on the net and the energizer 15 minute charger has really good user reviews so hopefully I don't need to take them back...once again, thanks for the help.

 

[gshan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homeless I bought a usb thumb drive card reader today and uninstalled the kodak software...works like a charm. Thanks for all the help. Oh, the batteries are keeping a charge a lot longer now. I have taken about 80 pictures or so today, and played around with the camera and they haven't died yet. Hopefully it stays that way...I looked around on the net and the energizer 15 minute charger has really good user reviews so hopefully I don't need to take them back...once again, thanks for the help.

Does it really only take 15 minutes to charge all the batteries up?

They must be smokin' !

 

[Homeless]

Yeah it does, but the first time you charge them it takes maybe 20 or 25. They say you can leave them on for an additional 5 or 10 minutes for optimal performance, but yeah I'm still using the first two and have taken even more pics today. I'd recommend them, but they're expensive, $69.99 (canadian).

As far as heat goes, they get warm, but the charger has a built in fan...