Re: European trip ?'s


eetinBelgië wrote:
> The Reid wrote:
> > Following up to eatinBelgium
> >
> > >> no, I enjoy waffling on on usenet, why else would I be in this
> > >> thread? What do you get out of it?
> > >> --
> > >I get to talk to wonderful people like yourself :)
> >
> > I thought that might be it :-)
>
> something to make you happy.....
>
> http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=9/19/31/7402/7403&pq-locale=en_US

and an independent review
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1906712,00.asp

Kodak EasyShare V570
REVIEW DATE: 01.02.06
Total posts: 1
$399.95


By Terry Sullivan
It is easy to see what makes new Kodak EasyShare V570 unique: The
camera has two Schneider Kreuznach C-Variogon lenses. (It also has
5.0-megapixel CCDs to accompany each lens, but those are on the
inside.) This is not some new-fangled specialty camera sporting
binocular or 3D image capture but an ultracompact digital camera that
gives you the benefit of both a wide-angle and a 5X zoom lens in one
device. The combination is very compelling, but Kodak had to make some
compromises to offer this photographic flexibility.

In its product literature, Kodak says the camera has a 5X optical zoom
from 23mm to 117mm (figures given are a 35mm equivalent). In fact,
there's one fixed lens at 23mm that lets you zoom digitally. The actual
zoom lens is a 39- to 117mm zoom, which is a 3X optical, or continuous,
zoom. Hence when you disengage the digital zoom, the screen image on
the LCD jumps from 23mm to the much closer 39mm. So, in my view, when
Kodak says that the "optical zoom lens produces a total 5X optical zoom
range," it's not being entirely accurate about the process.


The only other aspect that we weren't completely pleased with was the
fact that there is a large jump from the 23mm wide-angle lens to the
start of the zoom range at 39mm. We would have liked the zoom lens
range to start at 35mm or less. Moreover, at $399.95 direct, the V570's
a tad on the pricey side.

That said, the camera has the unique quality of housing two lenses in
one 5MP camera: a 23mm 2.8/f fixed lens and a 39- to 117mm zoom lens
with a maximum aperture of f/3.9 on the wide-angle end of the zoom and
f/4.4 on the telephoto end.

For us, the real appeal of this camera is the 23mm wide-angle view.
It's great for capturing landscapes, interior settings, or any picture
where you're fairly close to your subject. Like any wide-angle lens,
using this one will distort images. Shooting with the 23mm lens is can
be a very cool compositional tool, enabling you to work with
interesting distortions or views that you generally get only on an SLR
with a wide-angle lens. Just be sure to take some test shots to see
what the distortion looks like. Portraits in particular can be great,
as long as you are hip to wide-angle distortions.

The camera has much the same look and feel as the recent V-series
cameras, a necessary update to the rather stodgy Kodak designs of the
past. This camera has an almost art deco look to it, as if it were
designed in the 1920s.

There is no glass viewfinder, but you'll find a bright 2.5-inch LCD,
which is fairly readable in bright light. There are 22 scene modes to
choose from, although there are no manual modes. It also includes a
snazzy photo frame dock.

The Kodak EasyShare V570 lets you shoot VGA video at 30 frames per
second, which is saved as a QuickTime movie. You can shoot as much as
80 minutes of video (depending in the length of the SD card). The video
was a little jumpy, but the image looked pretty good. We felt there
were some aberrations, which gave a slight sensation of looking through
marbled glass at times. Both lenses worked well for shooting video; you
can use the 3X optical zoom while shooting and capture video with the
23mm fixed lens.

In our lab and real-world testing, simulated daylight images revealed
some noise and slight artifacts. Overall, the images were pretty sharp
and displayed good color saturation and matching, with little
noticeable fringing. Overall exposure was very good, but the V570 did
have a tendency to blow out some of the highlights.

The coverage was problematic in our flash test shot. Put simply, the
flash just didn't seem strong enough. We were disappointed in the
amount of noise we found in the flash shot as well; the noise was
colored and more prominent than it was in the daylight shot. We were
also surprised to find that the image was taken at ISO 200. Looking at
the amount of noise, we expected it to be around ISO 800.

Color saturation was pretty good, but the increase in noise affected
the color accuracy and saturation to a degree. Again, there was very
little fringing in the image. Overall we found just average image
quality.

On our resolution test, the image registered 1,375 lines, about average
for a 5MP camera. The bootup was speedy, taking 1.8 seconds. As we've
found in many recent Kodak cameras, the recycle time was excellent. The
V570 takes just 1.2 seconds to reset between shots, which is
remarkable. Unfortunately, we did find some shutter lag in the camera.

We tested the distortion of both the 23mm wide-angle and the 39- to
114mm zoom lens. Even with the distortion compensation feature turned
on, we found obvious, strong barrel distortion with the 23mm fixed
lens. There was a bit more distortion with it turned off. Still, for a
23mm lens, this amount of distortion is not unusual, and considering
the small size of the lens, we think the concept is pretty innovative.
With the zoom lens, we found only a bit of barrel distortion in the
wide-angle end and just a slight bit of pincushion distortion at the
zoom end.

At this point, the V570 rates as a very good camera for an
ultracompact. It's difficult to compare it directly with other cameras,
because its dual-lens construction is unique among compact cameras.
Nonetheless based on our testing, it just doesn't quite reach the
status of an Editors' Choice.

Benchmark Results:


Boot time (seconds): 1.8
Recycle time (seconds): 1.2
Resolution: 1,350x1,400

.

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