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May 4, 2005 — Kodak expanded its C-series point-and-shoot line of digital cameras today with the announcement of the C360, C330, and C310. With camera bodies similar to the previously announced C300 and C340, the new arrivals offer similar automatic features and promote their ease of use and compatibility with the Printer Dock Series 3. The digital cameras will be available in July and August for retail prices ranging from $139 to $279.
The Kodak EasyShare C360 will lead the lineup with 5 megapixels, a 3x Kodak Retinar optical zoom lens, and a 2-inch LCD screen. Offering 17 automatic scene modes and 5 color modes, the C360 outdoes the other C-series cameras. It also includes technologies such as on-camera cropping and a blur warning. It includes a VGA-quality movie mode that shoots at 24 frames per second and records to its 32 MB of internal memory or optional SD card slot. The 3.3 x 2.5 x 1.4-inch EasyShare C360 looks boxier than the other C-series digital cameras and weighs 5.3 ounces without the batteries. The camera will sell for $279 by itself or $379 packaged with the Kodak Printer Dock Series 3 when it hits shelves in August.
The Kodak C360 is positioned just ahead of the C340, which was announced in February. The C340 has the same 5 megapixels and Kodak Color Science Chip, but has only 13 scene modes, a 1.6-inch LCD screen, and 16 MB of internal memory.
Just behind the C340 is the new Kodak EasyShare C330, which has 4 megapixels and the same 34-102 mm Retinar lens that is included on the C360. The C330 offers 13 scene modes and in-camera cropping. Unfortunately, it has a slower click to capture time of 0.68 seconds. It also has a slightly smaller 1.5-inch LCD screen, but does include 16 MB of internal memory. This model is slightly larger than the C360, but has a few more curves in its design. The Kodak C330 will retail for $179 for the camera only and $279 with the printer dock when it goes on sale in July.
The Kodak C310 is positioned between the C330 and the earlier C300 and combines features from both cameras. Like the C300, it has a fixed focal
lens of 35 mm with an aperture of f/4.5. The camera has a 5x digital zoom like the C300, but offers 4 megapixels like the C330. The EasyShare C310 offers fewer scene modes and a 1.6-inch LCD screen, but has a faster click to capture time of 0.2 seconds. The camera body looks very similar to the C300 and weighs 5.2 ounces without the batteries. It will retail for $139 for the camera only and $239 with the printer.
Kodak is packaging its simple point-and-shoot cameras with its snapshot-sized printer docks, which seem to be selling well already. Marketing research firm InfoTrends/CAP Ventures put out a report yesterday stating that the home printing industry experienced a 39 percent increase in sales last year. IDC confirmed that research with their own, adding that Kodak was the leading shipper of digital camera and snapshot printers in the United Stats in 2004. All of the Kodak EasyShare C-series digital cameras connect directly to the Kodak Printer Dock Series 3 printers, which support ImageLink and PictBridge enabled cameras.