Customer Reviews

Kodak Easyshare V550 5 MP Digital Camera with 3xOptical Zoom (Silver)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is my third kodak camera and second digital one. I love the kodak line. The pictures have always come out great. I bought this camera to replace and upgrade my 2MP Cx7220, which I loved but scratched up quite badly while in Europe. It still worked fine but I decided to take the opportunity and upgrade.

This camera is great. The LCD screen is pretty big for a camera this size. Much bigger than the Cx model. You can also adjust the brightness of the LCD screen to your liking or for certain lighting situations. You can set the screen to go off after a certain time period or not at all and comes right back on with a touch of a button.

This camera is very easy to use (there is no need to read the manual to figure out how to use it--no frustration) and I love all the features it has. What I love the most of course is it's size. I really wanted a camera that I could take with me everywhere since I love taking pictures, but I didn't what to have to drag a big bag around with me to do so. This camera fits into my relatively small purse along with my wallet, a PDA, keys, pocket calendar, tissues, etc, everything I consider to be esstentials without making the purse hard to zip or bulky.

The camera has several settings for just about any lighting condition, situation, and activity. And the pictures come out just as good on high zoom as they do on no zoom. You can also zoom in WHILE you take videos, a feature the Cx model, as well as a lot of other brand cameras do not have. To make room for more pictures you can lower the picture quality to 4.4MP, 4.0, 3.1, and 1.8. To conserve battery power (which is very good I must say) you can use the viewfinder which takes a picture of exactly what you see in the viewfinder, nothing is cut off.

Another great thing about this camera is that it doesn't take a long time to boot up. You can take a picture a second or two after turning it on which can be very convenient.

I love that this camera comes with a dock (for recharging and/or transfering) and a very nice one at that. It also comes with a photo printer dock insert, a wrist strap, and a carrying case. It's not the kind of case that will protect your camera if you drop it, which is find for me cause I keep it in my purse, and it's thin enough that it doesn't take up any extra room, while offering some protection from anything in my purse that might scratch it. (I really could have used a bag like this in Europe.)

The only downside to this camera is that the internal memory does not hold very many pictures on the 5MP photo quality option. That is not too big of a deal since most people automatically buy memory cards for their cameras. I have a 512MB memory card and it hold 308 photos on the 5MP option, 344 on the 4.4MP option, 379 on the 4.0MP option, 469 on the 3.1MP option, and 757 on the 1.8MP option.

There is also some editing that you can do right on the camera before you transfer it to your computer. The Kodak photo editing software is okay; it's basic and fun to play aroung with. I just use HP Image Zone and transfer the pictures using the camera wizard since I have XP. I had the software installed on my old computer but don't have installed on the one I have now because I didn't need it.

In conclusion, this camera is well worth it's price and it has everything and more that a non-professional photographer could ever want or need. ^_^

I am a very active photographer, all digital now, had quite a few digital cameras, some good, some not so good, never thought I would see the day I would buy a Kodak digital camera.
Now that day has come. this little machine is really very impressive, beautifully made, a delight to use and constantly delivers very good photographs. I have put my other equipment aside and strictly stay with the Kodak, it is a joy to use.
Now for some technical stuff, the flash appears is much more powerful then in the Kodak Specs. on most of these small cameras with large viewing windows you can still get blinded, not with the Kodak, you have an optical window, very few have that, it really is a necessity.
I am very glad I purchased it, have no regrets at all, nice job Kodak.

If you want a compact "point-and-shoot" camera that is one of the easiest to use and has a great 2.5" display, then you can't go wrong with this one. I've had it for couple of weeks and have shot about 200 pictures under various conditions. The display is the best I have seen so far; and in my experience with digital cameras, the display is really important because you end up sharing more of pictures right there on the camera's built-in screen than any other way. (One other Amazon customer is complaining about the display. He must have a bad unit!).

The pictures came out quite well for me too. The camera has lots of pre-programmed picture settings. I've tried most of them and they have worked quite well. Another thing that stands out on this camera is the build quality - which is excellent. Almost everyone of my friends who know cameras and who've handled this one, have commented about its high-quality touch-and-feel.

There are two things to watch out for if you go for one of these slim, compact cameras: weak flash coverage and short battery capacity. On the former, this camera does very well. Just use the "party" setting. On the latter, it does NOT do very well. With the display on all the time, many on-off cycles, and lots of flash pictures, you'd be lucky to take 100 pictures on one charge. Normally, you would want the battery to last through a short (3-4 days) trip. This one may not. So, definitely buy a spare battery and keep it charged and with the camera.

If long battery life is very important to you, then don't buy one of these slim cameras - of any brand. Go for the next bulkier class of cameras that use AA batteries. Also, if you want to shoot pictures often with manual settings (aperture, shutter speed, etc.) then go for something else - this camera is NOT intended for lot of manual control.

To close, this camera is all about: ease of use, great display, small size. If these are your top three requirements, you'll love this camera.

After a trip to Disneyworld this past January, I realized it was time to upgrade from our Kodak CX7530. It was our first digital camera, and was great. However, there were some things lacking as far as features go. So I started researching for a new camera and wound up with a V550. One reason the V550 was top on my list is because it's a Kodak. Now having owned 2 Kodak cameras, I can attest to their absolute ease of use. The menus are extremely easy to navigate and very simple. The camera as a whole is also simple to use. Like the CX7530, I never picked up the manual for the V550. I just started playing and withing 30 minutes was familiar with everything. The appearance of the V550 is very sleek and sophisticated. I have the black model, and it's very sharp looking, more so in person. When the blue light are lit on the top....nice!! It has nice silver accents, and a matching black hand strap.The size is just right for me, compared to some of the more 'squat' cameras like the Nikon Coolpix line. The camera also feels very solid, almost like it's made out of strong metals. Our CX7530 didn't. The battery/SD card compartment is now one, and has a much stonger sliding cover than the SD door on the CX7530. I recently just started using all the features of Kodak's Easy Share systems. From the camera, I'm able to mark photos to go into certain folders, be emailed or printed upon transfer. VERY cool. I also love the extensive range of modes on this camera, double that of the CX7530. Overall, I'm EXTREMELY satisfied with this camera, and with Kodak as a whole. So satisfied, we will be purchasing a second camera, the V570.

Some of the things about our CX7530 I didn't like that has been improved on the V550:

-Mode selection. The CX7530 had a rotary on top to move between modes, and power. This proved to take quite a bit of time switching between modes, especially if having to go past power (the lens would retract in and then back out). The V550 has 4 'buttons' on the top of the camera (backlight in a gorgeous blue). You use the buttons for auto, portrait, video, and the 'scene' modes. Once in scene mode, you navigate with the directional arrows-no delays.
-Video feature. The video feature on the CX7530 was great-used it A LOT. However, you couldn't zoom in and out. So you'd have to stop the video, zoom, and start again. Thus you end up with several short videos. On the V550 you can zoom in and out DURING the video. The V550 is also MPEG4.
-Dock size. The CX7530 had a rather large dock. The V550 has a very small dock, about the circumference of a coffee can and takes up much less space.
-Screen size. The screen on the CX7530 was OK, but the screen on the V550 is positively HUGE. This makes it very easy to take and also review photos and videos.
-Camera size. Like the screen, I didn't have much problem with the size of the CX7530. The V550 though is much smaller, and is more convenient to put into a pants pocket. It's so much smaller that I could keep 2 V550's in the camera case I had with the CX7530!!
-Charging the battery. On the CX7530 we had rechargeable Kodak batteries that recharged on the dock. When we went to Florida, we had to take the whole dock because the AC cord didn't fit the camera. Well, the AC cord for the V550 fits the dock AND the camera. Also, the V550's buttons light up on the top as the camera charges-all four buttons and the camera is fully charged.

Likes:
Video Mode-zoom in/out, can make photos from video, camera automatically makes 7 photos
Screen-HUGE and easy to see and view
Scene Modes-the number of them and ease of getting to them
Extras-different sounds (normal camera sounds/animal/music/sci fi), Burst mode (up to 5 photos in seconds), Easy Share
Size & Looks-convienent and great looking! LOVE the inset 'buttons' on the top that are also backlit in blue. Also small dock takes up less room.
Software-pretty user friendly with useful editing tools
Ease of use-Kodak is the reigning champion for the ease of operation in their digital cameras (and I've played around with other brands to compare)
Blur indicator-After photo has been taken, an indicator appears telling you whether the photo was blurry or not.
Image Stabilizer-Great feature available on the video setting. Helps reduce the jerkiness of camera movements.

Dislikes:
Buttons-The top buttons are a wee bit difficult to push, though I think this will get better as I get more used to them. The directional arrows and ok buttons are also rather small, making it difficult (though not impossible) to use.
Video photos-the 9 photos the camera automically takes from video show up as a thumbnail sheet vs 9 individual photos. Also making photos from video is very tidious as you have to advance frame by frame from the beginnging. You can't just take it from any point.
Battery life-I knew the battery life wouldn't be great before I got the camera, so I'm not faulting it. But if battery life is important to you, this may not be the camera for you. Using the camera for setting up options, and playing with ALL of the options, I managed about 2 hours of battery life before the flashing battery icon came on (camera didn't die). Our CX7530 had excellent battery life. We are just simply going to purchase a couple back up batteries, and that's fine for us.
Image Stabilization-There is no image stabilization available for photo modes. I really think this is a sellable feature for cameras. We both have shakey hands, and this feature would help a lot.

Overall, I love my new camera. If you are an everyday, amateur photographer, this is a GREAT camera. Size, features, price, ease of use-you can't go wrong. For those wanting some a bit less expensive, check out the V530. Or for a bit more there's the V570 with wide angle lens. And the upcoming V630. You won't go wrong with Kodak!

Just picked up this little gem of a camera today, and Wow am I impressed. I've always been a fan of the Kodak line of cameras, but they were always too big and bulky to carry around comfortably all day.

Until the new v550 made it's way in.

This thing is so compact! The screen is gorgeous, buttons are well laid out and i love the touch sensitive illuminated buttons on the top of the camera.

So many Scene Modes to choose from, Great Optics, and believe it or not, amazing video w/ sound as well.

The Camera does have 32mb of Interal Mem. but I'd highly recommend picking up at least a 512mb Sd card, or heck go with the 1gb, and you'll never have to worry about running out of pictures. The 32mb will get you about 20 pics at the 5mp setting.

You can also adjust the resolution on the camera: 5.0mp, 4.4mp,4.0mp,3.2mp etc... In reality it's like your getting 4 cameras in one!

The Photo Frame Dock is cool, Your all-in-one charging station and computer syncing station. All one button operation.

Kodak has a winner w/ this line of incredibly compact cameras, and I hope there future cameras continue to follow this trend.

pick one up today, and you'll see what I'm talking about!

I agonized for weeks over which compact digital camera to buy to replace my trusty Olympus D-550 Zoom for an upcoming trip to China. My dilema was that my Olympus was bulky and slow but took great photos (day and night). I wanted something small without compromising image quality. After reading several reviews I decided to purchase the Kodak V550. Overall, this is a good camera. I love its small size, ease of use and fantastic 2.5" LCD. Picture quality is generally good although the low light performance of the camera is unimpressive and the range of the flash is limited. Some of my photos were overexposed due to closeness of the flash or high contrast due to the sun. The video performance is good, no complaints there. Battery life is low so buy a backup. The good news is that an extra battery will only cost you $25.

Bottom line is that this is a good camera but not a great camera. Choose it for its small size, great screen, sylish design, ease of use and generally good image quality.

We were looking for a pocket sized digital point and shoot.

The Cannon had display scratching and breaking issues, others were a compromise in terms of size or not having modes, smaller screen, less megapixels, no movie mode, no viewfinder, etc.

In summary here are the highlights:

Pros:
* very compact
* Can be used out of the box with little instruction needed
* Focus confirm system is excellent (brackets turn green and move to show item being focused on, if its not right, don't take the picture)
* Multiple modes - multiple focus options
* Reviewing pictures is simple with a "review" button and
* Huge display
* computer cable and stand/charger included
* rechargable battery included (although tiny)
* exposuere can be changed manually by +/-.3 Fstop increments on the fly by using the rear control and see effect on the viewscreen. Great for like shots that require some manual intervention w/o having to use a menu to select a different mode such as "backlit".
* Solid construction
* Great value for price given size and capabilities
* Lens is high quality
* Movie mode easy to use and decent quality
* Has a tripod mount

Cons:
* Display does not appear to have an "off" mode to conserve batteries and if you're conventional like me, I don't like to use it or have it sucking power except when I am reviewing shots taken.
* Does have a bag, but it won't protect the camera from much, however this camera is not designed to be carried like you might a bulkier one, so perhaps its moot point.
* So compact, that the controls take some getting used to they are so close.
* Flash is pretty weak compared to our older 4300 Kodak digital camera. Don't expect to get good light from shots more than 5' away.

i bought one for my wife and i am using it just as much as she does until my P880 arrives. i just love the Kodak colors--rich and vibrant. my wide likes it because it performs well and is stylish to boot! this camera works well with the Kodak easyshare printer. it prints without need for a computer in seconds. if hooked to a computer, you can send e-mails at the touch of a button. the prints have a clear coat protection that prevents smudges and fading -- a problem with some ink jet photos. anyhow, love the camera and recommend it highly.

I have another larger digital SLR type camera that takes fine detail pics. I choose this smaller V550 for its size, features and good look. Most of all is for the Schneider lens. This little guy does take sharp detail pics in auto mode. If you feel like to max out the potential of this camera, there are also a lot of manual adjustment settings you can play around with. It is not as sexy as the Sony Cybershot DSC-T7 but the Kodak V550 sure take much better pictures then the Sony. Both cameras have weak flash for taking indoor pictures, but what more do you want from a camera in this size. Both cameras have worst then average battery life. An extra battery would be a must for both of this camera. Keep in mind, the Sony battery cost around $60 and the Kodak battery cost less than $20.

I bought this camera as a general snapshot camera for work (I take photos of whiteboards with diagrams), after-work fun, and family events. I use some photos to publish on the web or use for company websites so good, crisp graphics for web-display was important. Also, the camera needed to be very small and portable to keep in my pocket and available.

I was not impressed with the Canon Elph digital I borrowed from a friend, nor was I pleased with a Sony Cybershot camera my wife has. Both were soft or had digital artifacts that I didn't like. I had an older Kodak DC240 that took better photos for the web. So, I went with Kodak again for image quality and I have not been dissapointed.

Other considerations were that made this tiny camera appealing were the real viewfinder, good quality glass lens, and metal case.

It's not perfect but it's as close as I've found. The 2.5" screen is a little blurry or 'soft' to me. It's not as sharp as any other 2" screen I've seen. My guess is they just use 2" software to enlarge the viewing image, thereby losing a little clarity. No big deal to me.

One bonus feature I didn't think of was the video capturing. It's outstanding and almost as good as a digital camcorder. It's not great in low light but otherwise it's fantastic and impressive. You can zoom while shooting video, the audio is great... it's just amazing to me.

The only issues I have with using this camera (and may be remedied with a phone call to Kodak or by reading the manual)... are: When you want to review images, the camera defaults to 'favorites' mode. Kodak assumes you want to categorize your favorite images and that's all you want to review. This is a poor assumption in my opinion... and I think Kodak is going too far with its 'Easyshare' proprietary system by making me adhere to their organization methods. It's not a big deal, just a little annoying. Also, I'd like to see a battery life meter so I know with more warning when the battery is going to die. I'm spoiled by my cell phone. ;)

By the way, when I first got this camera, it blinked out a few times and needed to be turned off and on to work. It happened more and more and eventually would not operate. [...] who only has a 10-day return policy... even for exchanges, defects, etc. I should've bought from Amazon... oh well. However, Kodak was great at turning around the repair. I called, got an RA number shipped it, and had it back in a week. No big deal.... and the camera works great... as it should've from the start. Everything on it was a little quicker, tighter, and better... and of course no weird problems either.

Anyway, I highly recommend this camera to anyone. Kodak stands behind its products and delivers on quality.