Home > Consumer Reviews > Kodak EasyShare DX3600 With Docking Station [2.2MP 2xOptical]

No, this is not a camera for pros nor one that will let you take the type of picture that will win you an award (other than for impromptu pictures). This is a camera for memory shots and for fun.

The vibrant colours obtained with this Kodak camera are awesome. It's a pity that JPEG compression is mandatory, but at high resolution pixillation is not visible except with a very sharp eye to slanting straight lines.

Uploading pictures to your PC is a breeze with the docking station, where you can also keep your battery (included) charged. That means you can freely use the LCD display without worrying about consumption.

But don't buy this camera for the video function ... in my honest opinion, the DX3600 would have been better off without this low resoltion solution.

Overall an excellent digital camera for starters (you don't get manual override of aperture and speed, nor bias) and anyway, it will be outdated in 3 years time so you can get a better featured one then ... by that time, prices would have dropped enough to bring what is today high-end well within reach.

Best Camera for value and quality of pictures in the range.

This is a great bit of kit. I've had mine for three months now: it's really easy to use (both the software and hardware -- I use a Mac for picture transfer, etc.); it has loads of features; and the picture quality is first-rate. I'm used to quality film-based photography with a SLR. I wasn't expecting a great deal from this camera, just a quick way to take snaps and e-mail them to family and friends. But on the day I got it I took a few shots in macro mode (close-up). The results were stunning. The optics are great quality -- a flower from the garden taken close-up looked amazing, droplets of water, the texture of the leaves, everything was crystal clear. I was blown away by it. The resolution was also good enough to print out on A4 size. On just a cheap Lexmark printer (Z22) with photogloss paper I got a photo quality print which is now hanging on my wall. Amazing -- snap it, transfer it, print it, all within about ten minutes... Shots in normal mode are great, but there's a tendency for over-exposure. The automatic flash kicks in a bit over-zealously, I turn mine off in medium to low light conditions and get good exposures as long as the camera is held steadily. There's no case with it, that's not a big deal, but I'd recommend that you buy one as the paintwork on the camera is not very scratch-resistant. Another, relatively minor downside is the built-in memory: there's only enough to store about a dozen decent quality prints before having to download to your computer. You can get Flash memory quite cheap... however , it's worth investing the extra dosh. The batteries that come with it are rechargeble Nickel Metal Hydride, they recharge as the camera sits in the dock. This is a nice feature, but one that's crucial, as the batteries lose power quite quickly. For this reason it would be worth buying a four pack of AA Ni Mh batteries and either charging them separately or via the dock and using them in rotation with the ones supplied with the camera when using the camera solidly for more than a few hours. The full motion video resolution might not be brilliant, but I disagree with the reviewer who suggested that this feature should have been omitted altogether. It's a great feature, you can take short clips -- panoramics, short takes of talking heads, etc. and store them as MPEGs on your computer. Sure it's not a serious video camera, but it doesn't purport to be, this is a fun feature that is a real bonus.In short, nothing I've seen and used comes close to this for the price. There are relatively few limitations, and most can be overcome via upgrading memory, buying batteries and a case, etc. Get it!

after looking at all types of digital cameras, the kodak DX3600 stood out a mile.The features on the camera are outstanding for the price you pay and if this is your first purchase of a digital camera, then don't hesitate. You don't get an instuction booklet with it, instead you get a CD-rom full of easy to follow features, which covers from the basic to the technical. The camera dock is a must, it is so easy to get your pictures, press a button and less than 30 seconds later, you have your pictures in fantastic quality.
This is a must for everybody who wants quality, vaue, fantastic picture quality and at a price you can afford. Ooh! by the way, it even takes videos. BUY IT!

I read a review about this camera in which they said it was the best available at under £400. Now I have one I agree!
I am particularly impressed by the true colours, very accurate with and without flash. The clarity is also excellent..good definition.
It is also very easy to download photos using the excellent docking station which also charges the batteries..it could not be simpler or quicker.
The camera also comes with a very good software package which is very easily operated, building albums and sending photos to friends is childs play and I say that as someone who has only just moved into the 21st century!
I would recommend the purchase of a 32mb extra memory card which will enable you to take around 49 top quality shots without having to download.
At the price now offered by Amazon this camera is a very good buy indeed, offering tremendous value for money, simplicity of use and brilliant all round reproduction. I suggest you order one now!!

While I agree with the other reviewers regarding the features and good picture quality on the DX3600, in the name of balanced reviewing I'm gonna point out some problems I had with mine before returning it to Jessops.

I was aware that battery life on digital cameras was fairly poor but mine would run down from full charge to empty within about 5-10 minutes if I used the LCD previewer. Ok I thought, I'm new to digital cameras so maybe thats the way it is. However, test shots using the standard viewfinder to snap a rectangular picture frame trimmed quite a lot of what I'd tried to include and were also way off center.

I also had a problem when I tried to use a CompactFlash card with the camera. I think i bought a 64 or 128MB card. The card would not store pictures/mpegs and the camera would freeze if you tried to access the card. Obviously, this may have been a duff card, the card reacting to a duff camera or the card was too large in capacity for the camera. Its worth checking that last point out.

All these issues were verified by the camera shop where I bought the DX3600 but they couldn't offer me a test on another DX3600 so I took a refund. I'm not a novice photographer and I work in IT so I'm fairly certain I wasn't the problem. Given the high customer ratings and magazine review scores I was probably unlucky and got a duff DX3600 - but i have read a couple of other reviews stating similar problems.

Still, at Amazon's sale price I'm quite tempted to give it another go.