Kodak Easyshare V530 5 MP Digital Camera with 3xOptical Zoom (Pink)

I've had about seven digital cameras now, and this one is my favorite of the bunch.

Pros:

Excellent picture quality. In my opinion, Kodaks take the best digital pictures of all point and shoot cameras. Colors are bold and bright, and daytime pictures don't get washed out.

Very compact size. Sexy and stylish. Fits easily into your jeans pocket.

Many picture-taking modes for daytime, nighttime, moving objects, close-ups, portraits, etc.

If you use a desktop computer, the dock comes in handy and provides a convenient place to store the camera and charge it.

Video quality is superb. By far, the best I've seen on a point-and-shoot camera.

Cons:

The zoom buttons on the back of the camera, combined with the camera's small size, make it impossible to zoom and take a picture with one hand. I miss the zoom dial on the front, operated with the index finger rather than the thumb, on my older, bulkier Kodak. With this camera, if you zoom, you have to use two hands.

You have to use the dock, and have it plugged into a wall outlet, to transfer pictures to your computer. I think this is pretty silly. No way to just connect the camera itself to your computer, or to transfer pictures without a wall outlet nearby. This also makes it impossible to charge your camera by plugging it into your computer with the USB cord.

Speaking of the dock, it's pretty cumbersome if you use a laptop (i.e., if you don't use your computer in the same place all the time).

Camera can easily get lost because it's so small. I can't find mine right now. I suspect it's in a pocket somewhere.

No viewfinder. You have to aim your shots using the screen on the back.

Small buttons on back make for somewhat clumsy navigation.

Overall, I'm happy with this camera. It's a hundred dollars cheaper than the V550, and the only feature difference I can discern is the smaller screen in the back. It takes good pictures. I can't comment on the Kodak software because I use Picasa, which you can download for free and is far superior to anything else on the market. Hope this is helpful; happy shopping!

This camera is just amazing. Im a very stingy buyer. I want what Im looking for and I look for the best value on top. The Kodak V530 is probably the best camera for its price I have ever had my hands on. Its LCD screen is large and very high quality. The images and movies play back on a very high resoultion screen with a high frames per second speed time.

The camera picture quality is very sharp and natural. I took home the Canon 5megapixel equivalent for comparison. although that camera was fast and very solid, the pictures were sharp but the images comparably to what you see naturally looked somewhat artificially enhanced. The built in lcd screen was choppy, grainy and not comparable to the kodak.

Movie mode is beyond nice on the Kodak V530. A 1gb SD card makes nearly 30 min of 640x480 movie at 30fps. Its tv quality and its a great thing to use on day trips where you do not want to bring a camcorder entirely.

The dock can play the videos/pictures straight to TV and connects to a computer through a USB 2.0 port. Very nice.

I have never seen a digital camera with movie quality this good. Period. The aforementioed Canon had a good movie mode too, but its compression was horrendous. You could only make 1/3 the length for the same amount of memory.

Buy this Kodak, you will not regret it.

5 stars ++++

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Appearance: I bought the silver color. It is small and sexy. It definately has a wow factor. The base looks futuristic, yet the round shape is useful for turning it around. The screen is a good size.

Usability: This camera is very easy to use. Within five minutes, I was able to figure out 80% of the features. I was a little confused with playing videos on the tv, but within a minute I got it to work.

Picture Quality: My pictures look great, even on 1.8MP. There are plenty of different settings for taking pictures.

After I ordered this camera, I wondered if I should have bought the v550 instead. But after I received it, I felt good about my purchase. The two cameras are pretty much the same except for the bigger LCD, more memory and a viewfinder. A bigger LCD just wastes more battery, and 2" is more than adequate. Built-in memory doesn't matter because everybody buys their own anyway. And using a viewfinder just takes the fun out of taking digital pics. Viewfinders are not too accurate anyway. Oh, and the v530 is SMALLER than the v550. I think I'll keep my camera.

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Please don't purchase a separate power charger for this camera. Its a) not avaialable, b) not necessary. Many users below are finding out that the available separate charger packs are not compatible with this camera. I talked with Kodak, they say a separate charger is not necessary. Just unplug the power cord from the dock and take it with you on the road. The cord will plug into the camera directly. Theres no need to bring the dock station while on a trip, etc. Separate power supplies are avaiable, but its not called a travel charger. Kodak actually did it right and made it easy to take this camera on long trips away from home....nothing extra to buy.

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I was torn between giving this a four star rating and a five. The camera itself is amazing, like something from the future. Add a 1 GB memory chip and you have a capable camcorder that slips into your pocket. The picture quality is fantastic. It earns five stars.

Nevertheless, this is a digital camera, and I can't give it five stars because the software that comes with it is buggy. The very first movie I took is lost forever because the software kept crashing partway through the transfer on my PC. When I tried installing it on my Mac, the installer crashed, although it installed anyway and I'm able to use it there.

Hopefully these problems will be fixed soon. I don't think they should dissuade anyone from purchasing this camera it's just phenomenal.