Design

As we've already noted the top of the camera is clearly straight from a Sigma SA9 / SD9 / SD10, the main body however is a custom design for Kodak, and to be frank isn't pretty. The main body material is a molded magnesium alloy with a rubber coating at the rear and on the hand grip. Control layout is simplified noticeably compared to the 14n or SLR/n, the biggest improvement probably the new four way controller with the OK button now placed at its center.

In your hand

The main problems with the ergonomics of the camera are the width but lack of depth of the main hand grip (wide but not quite deep enough) and the massive size of the camera base which makes the vertical hand grip quite uncomfortable, and once more there's not enough space below the lens mount on the front of the camera for your fingers to 'tuck in'.

Side by side

Below you can see the SLR/c beside Canon's EOS-1D Mark II. Unfortunately at the time we took our product shots we didn't have an EOS-1Ds on-hand, however as both camera's share the same body you can still get an idea in the difference in size. Size is not the only difference here, the SLR/c is considerably lighter. The EOS-1Ds weighs approximately 1.6 Kg (3.5 lb) with its battery (but no lens), the SLR/c weighs just 1.1 Kg (2.3 lb) with its battery. Of course there's very little comparison in build quality between the two, the EOS-1D/EOS-1Ds uses a heavy grade metal for its body and has environmental seals around all compartments and controls.

LCD Monitor

At 1.8" the SLR/c has a smaller LCD monitor than the 14n and SLR/n, both which have 2.0" monitors. That said with 130,000 pixels it's still fairly sharp and bright, it's just a pity that Kodak haven't discovered anti-reflective coatings which would enhance its performance in bright outdoor situations. Just like the 14n the actual drive of the display can seem sluggish, entering menus or displaying images seems to take a second longer than you would expect and you can almost see the backlights powering up and the image being painted on the screen.

Top Status LCD

The DCS-14n's top status LCD panel provides information about the photographic side of the camera, this includes settings such as exposure compensation, AF point, flash mode as well as a readout of exposure (shutter speed / aperture). This panel is illuminated by a green light at the same time as the rear display panel by pressing the small backlight button to the right of this panel.

The SLR/c's top status LCD panel provides information about the photographic side of the camera, this includes settings such as exposure compensation, metering mode, battery status as well as a readout of exposure (shutter speed / aperture). Unlike the Digital Status LCD on the rear of the camera this display doesn't have a backlight. Those observant among you will note that this is the exact same display used on the SD10.

Diagram of all possible information available on the top status LCD:

Digital Status LCD (rear)

On the rear of the SLR/c below the main LCD monitor is a small dot matrix LCD display panel. This panel performs three main functions: (1) in shooting mode provides a summary of 'digital' settings (white balance, sensitivity etc.) and allows you to change these settings by holding the STATUS button and navigating around the panel options, (2) in play mode provides a summary of the current displayed filename, folder name and size, (3) in menu mode provides help messages for the currently selected menu option.

Shooting mode: White balance, ISO sensitivity, CF file type, SD file type, aspect ratio, JPEG compression, RAW size, JPEG size. Hold STATUS to navigate this 'mini menu' and change settings.

Play mode: Image filename, Media, Folder name, File format and size

Menu help: while navigating menus a small help message is displayed on the panel