Although
large, the Agfa ePhoto CL30 is generally built
along the standard lines of a point and shoot compact
camera. It does have however, one unusual-looking triangular
portion, that juts out from the lower front of the body,
and whose only obvious function is to provide a space
to tether the wrist strap. This, along with a couple of
other design features make it stand out from the rest.
In probably one of the most unusual ideas in camera design,
the bottom of the camera is rounded, not only from
back to front, but from side to side as well.
also rounded —
LCD screen. Only the added weight of 4 AA batteries, inserted
in length at the bottom of the body, provides the CL30
with a modicum of stability.
The
CL30 is equipped with an optical viewfinder, placed directly
above the lens, which minimizes the parallax
error. However, again in a dubious design idea, the exit
pupil has been made round, preventing anyone wearing
glasses from seeing the entire rectangular frame of the
viewfinder.
A
large piece of transparent plastic, rounded, covers the
majority of the back of the CL30, making it difficult
to hold the camera comfortably without covering its surface
with fingerprints. The reason for the size of the cover
is not apparent, nor is its function. What is obvious
though, is that it is doomed to be covered in scratches
as time goes by, simply by virtue of its prominence.
In a secondary negative effect, this highly reflective
plastic, makes the LCD screen hard to see clearly in many
situations.
