Anyone use the easy share system?

[Gary Sheynkman]

I think that Kodak is the next sony for joe-6-pack because the easyshare dock/printer (I toyed with one at best buy) is VERY easy to use.

Anyone have good/bad experiences with this system?

(sorry no poll)

[Jason Dunn]

Yeah, my father has a Kodak with the dock, and it's drop-dead easy - you put in the camera, the software on the PC wakes up and transfers the photos, and the camera recharges while it's in the rock. Very slick! If only the Kodak software wasn't so horrible :roll: ...Picasa to the rescue! :D

[dean_shan]

My friend has one. She likes it a lot. I've tried it out. Not bad but I prefer other programs.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Hmm.. I keep on getting the impression that the Kodak system is a bit overhyped? Take my Canon IXUS, if I choose to setup the software (which I didn't on my PC), Canon's Zoombrowser will load the minute the camera is detected, starts transferring the newest photos, orients the photos properly, then at the end starts displaying a slideshow of the photos you just downloaded. Sure, you still need to take out the battery to recharge it, but erm, how hard is that?

[Jason Dunn]

Hmm.. I keep on getting the impression that the Kodak system is a bit overhyped?...Sure, you still need to take out the battery to recharge it, but erm, how hard is that?

You're not the target market here. ;-) Having a dock means no cables or confusion, and having the dock allow users to both transfer their photos and recharge the camera is pure brilliance - it's VERY newbie friendly, and every other OEM could learn from Kodak in this regard. People look at me strange when I explain that usinga memory card reader is more efficient than connecting the camera directly to the computer via a cable. People tend to do what the instruction manual says.

Now if Kodak would just replace their horrible software with another program like Picasa...

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Well, maybe the culture here is a bit different, but the Kodaks don't sell well at all here, even among the less technologically-savvy. The Japanese makes sell very well; currently the top seller seems to be the Canon IXUS 400. And I don't think the buyers have much problem with uploading their photos (until Windows does a brain fart on the USB connection).

[Suhit Gupta]

Well, maybe the culture here is a bit different, but the Kodaks don't sell well at all here

Hey, where are you from dude? :)

Suhit

[Gary Sheynkman]

Yeah...the target market is definatly a newbeee. Dock...press the print button...and vola! instant (90 seconds) 4x6 (or was it 5x7?) photos that dont look THAT bad.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Hey, where are you from dude? :)

Suhit

Ahhh.. make a guess! =P Hehehehehe

[Suhit Gupta]

Hey, where are you from dude? :)
Ahhh.. make a guess! =P Hehehehehe

Actually, I'm sorry but immediately after I had asked that question, I noticed your IP address and a reverse DNS gave me your domain. So I am not going to guess. Beautiful country though, I was there about 12 years ago and had a fantastic time. I'll share photos some day ;-).

In the mean time, anyone else care to guess? Check out the times yslee actually posts messages, it might help :).

Suhit

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Way Off Topic: That's cheating! *sulks* I'm glad you enjoyed yourself the last time you were here. =)

To keep this on topic, I'd like to add that of the digital camera buyers here, most at least know how to use a mouse and navigate the Windows Start button, even if they're not the kind to understand technology very well. Those who don't still stick with film compacts. So I guess that's another reason why Kodak isn't successful here with their Easyshare dock concept.

[rcobourn]

Let me tell you the measure of how good the Kodak EasyDock system is: even my technophobe wife can manage to get the pictures off the camera and into the computer. The software is a bit weak. I got the 6440. It's was a bit flaky with pictures stored on the SD card until I downloaded a firmware update from Kodak, which was easily applied and fixed the problem.

I've noticed this though: put the camera on the dock, with the camera off, and press the share button. The camera wakes up and transfers pictures, but never seems to go into full sleep mode again. The charge light doesn't progress. I don't think the battery is really discharging in this state, but I'm a bit concerned as to whether it's charging.

[pradike]

Actually, there's much more to the Kodak Easyshare system than just the Easy Dock - although its a terrific unit.

I like the fact that you can see:

1) The unit is charged, or how charged it is,
2) The unit is transferring your images (with one button) to your desktop PC,
3) Your SD card is in the process of being scanned for use of the images with the Easy Share Software....which brings me to my second point-

The Easy Share software.

Clearly, this is designed for the person who wants instant gratification from their digital images, without the hassle of minutes or hours of modifications. Despite its easy of use (the name??), it works very well and has powerful features. For the more advanced digital photographer, you can "fine tune" your images in many, many ways.

I tend to use Photosuite more, but this software, along with the Easy Dock, is quite the bundle with this great camera - and I found it to be superior to many of the others on the market.