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General discussion

Can not see well in LCD screen under low light.

May 20, 2005 3:44AM PDT

Hi,

I have a Kodak DX3900 (3.1 MP) with optical and digital zoom. The picture quality is very good. However, when I use the LCD screen to take pictures under low light (not that low), I can barely see the image well through that LCD screen eventhough the image is not really that much in low light. I saw a person who was next to me taking the picture of the same image that I took and I can see that his camera's LCD screen show the image quite clear. His was just a small one and I am not sure of the brandname.

What do I have to look in a digital camera in order to have that feature? Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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(Smile) A thinner wallet.
May 20, 2005 4:31AM PDT

Such displays and range capability is directly related to costs and how much time the camera was in R&D and if such a feature was on the list.

Bob

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LCD screen
May 20, 2005 6:05AM PDT

There are several factors at work here.

1. Some screens are naturally brighter than others.

2. LCDs draw a good bit of power, and Kodak may be running the LCD at lower power to increase battery life.

3. Some cameras have circuitry to "gain up" the LCD brightness under low light conditions.

4. Some cameras have an adjustment that lets you set the brightness of the LCD.


One way to know that a certain camera does not display well in dim light is to read the reviews and look for references to LCD brightness. I see this mentioned in some recent reviews.

Back in 2001, when the Kokak DX3900 was released, camera LCD technology was not as sophisticated as it is now. And an LCD being hard to see in dim light was not considered unusual.

You have an optical viewfinder on that camera, so just switch to the viewfinder when necessary.

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