Overview
The Kodak Easyshare V570 is a pocket sized digital camera. Where it differs from other digital cameras of this type is that it has a longer 5x optical zoom lens. A further advantage of this camera is that the lens also has an ultra wide angle view. This is quite rare in digital cameras as a whole. To make this possible there are actually two lenses built into the camera. One covers wide angle shots. The other is for telephoto photos.
Taking into account the style of the Easyshare V570 and its ease of use this camera is likely to appeal to someone who is looking for a straightforward digital camera that is small enough to take anywhere in a pocket and offers wide angle capabilities.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
5
5x
2.5 inches
101 ? 49.8 ? 20.4 mm
125g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
5cm
No
No
Lithium-Ion Rechargeable
SD/MMC
Image Quality
I don't know if the dual lens system causes a problem, but I would like to have seen the Easyshare V570 produce a sharper set of images than it managed. Pictures taken with both the telephoto and wide angle lens came up short in terms of overall sharpness. This was evident in all of the outdoor photos.
One of the most noticeable points of the Easyshare V570 is the strength of the colours. You should have no need to worry about washed out scenes with this camera. The strength of the colours is noticeable in all the outdoor scenic shots and also the dedicated test for colours.
In the main the brighter and darker areas of each photo appear to be handled well and the glare of the sun is not a major problem to the Easyshare V570. There is a loss of detail in the shirt in the outdoor portrait though.
Other than the shirt problem I am happy with both the outdoor and indoor portrait. There is enough colour in the skin tones in the outdoor shot without them being overdone. The indoor portrait is a big success. The photo is sharp and brightness levels are good. There is also no sign of red eye in the shot.
The other indoor shot of beer bottles is taken in almost complete darkness. Again the Easyshare V570 does well despite the extreme conditions. The photo is as sharp as can be expected and the brightness is good here too.
The macro shot is just about acceptable but I would say it is below the standard I am used to seeing. In my view the photo is too bright and is over exposed. This leads to a loss of detail in the shot.
Finally the test for higher ISO levels produces another shot that falls below the benchmark set by other digital cameras. There is a fair degree of noise or general loss of quality in the photo.
Overall I would express a feeling of disappointment with the images I produced with the Easyshare V570. This is mostly down to the fact that the images I took are not as sharp as I feel they should be.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
There are two sets of shutter lag times for this camera. One is for the wide angle lens and the other is for the tele photo one. The wide angle lens is lightening fast. I was able to take a single image in 0.11 seconds and five in 8.09 seconds. When using the telephoto lens these times increased to 0.32 seconds for a single lens and 11.41 seconds for five shots. The times for the telephoto lens are about average.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
As mentioned above the 5x optical zoom lens is really two lenses. One covers wide angle shots, the other telephoto. The wide angle lens has a fixed focal length equivalent to 23mm in 35mm format (aperture f.2.8). The telephoto lens works in a range equivalent to 39mm to 117mm in 35mm format (aperture f/3.9 at wide, f/4.4 at tele). 4x digital zoom is also available.
For composing photos and accessing the menu system there is a 2.5" LCD screen. This is made up of around 230,000 pixels. There is no viewfinder.
There is a wide selection of scene modes to choose from. Whenever you choose a scene mode the camera will use what it believes to be the optimum settings for the shot. The scene modes are portrait, panorama stitch, sport, landscape, close-up, night portrait, night landscape, snow, beach, text, fireworks, flower, museum, self-portrait, party, children, backlight, panning shot, candlelight, sunset and custom.
To add different effects to your photos you can select from different colour modes. The colour modes are high color, natural color, low color, sepia, black and white.
There is a special 3:2 aspect ratio. This is ideal for 6x4" prints. You do need to be aware that when using this aspect ratio the number of megapixels available decreases to 4.4.
Auto focus modes are TTL-AF, multi-zone AF, center zone AF. The type of focusing can be set to single AF and continuous AF. For macro focusing the camera can focus from 5cm away from the subject.
When you would like to appear in a photo there is a self timer. The delay time is ten seconds. To help you check the exposure levels of a shot there is a histogram.
The built in flash unit has a range of 3.1m. This falls to 2m when the zoom lens is fully extended. The flash modes available are auto, off, fill, digital red-eye reduction.
Among the more advanced features are white balance (auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, open shade), exposure compensation (±2.0 EV with 0.3 EV steps), ISO sensitivity (64, 100, 200, 400, 800) and exposure metering (auto: TTL-AE; selectable: multi pattern, center- weighted, center-spot).
Shutter speeds are set automatically by the camera. These work in the range 8 seconds to 1/1448 seconds. A burst mode is available. This can fire off a maximum of four photos at a top speed of 2.3 frames per second.
Movies of up to 80 minutes each can be recorded by the EasyShare V570. Sound can be recorded with a movie and zoom can be used too. The maximum resolution is 640 x 480 and the top frames per second speed is 30.
After a picture has been taken you can crop the picture and also make a small copy. The small copies are suitable for sending by email.
Kodak supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the EasyShare V570 to a computer, television set and PictBridge compatible printer. It is also compatible with some Kodak printer docks.
Ease of Use
Ease of use is certainly one of the strengths of the Easyshare V570. The buttons on the back and top of the camera are all laid out so that they are easy to get to and to understand. Likewise the menu system is easy to understand and to navigate. It should not take a long at all to get up and running with this camera.
Cost
You can pick up a Kodak Easyshare V570 for around £205. This compares to around £185 for a Canon IXUS 55, £150 for a Sony DSC T5 and £160 for a Fuji Finepix Z2.
Whilst I accept that the other cameras I am using to compare against do not offer a wide angle lens I still feel the Easyshare V570 is expensive.
Style
The Easyshare V570 is available in black. In terms of shape it is a rectangle with dimensions of 101 × 49.8 × 20.4 mm. None of the edges are rounded and it presents quite a stark form. It weighs in at 125g.
Batteries and Memory Cards
A rechargeable lithium battery (KLIC-7001) is used to run the camera. Kodak supplies both a battery and charger with the EasyShare V570.
There are 32mb of memory built into the camera. I was able to take 39 photos before the memory was full. The camera is compatible with SD cards.
Click here to save money on SD cards..
Points I like:
Strong colours
No red eye in test shot
Ease of use
Where it is not so hot:
Lack of sharpness to images
Summary
The Kodak Easyshare V570 is a good idea, but the camera is let down by the sharpness of the images it produces. It is easy to use and will also slip into a pocket without a problem. Taking into account current prices of other five megapixel, pocket sized cameras I feel there are better bets elsewhere.
Kodak Easyshare V570 Front View
Kodak Easyshare V570 Back View
Kodak Easyshare V570 Top View
Sample Menus
