Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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153 of 157 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty slick little device, September 15, 2007
In brief, this camera is very cool - but not perfect.
Let us start with the downsides.
The first is Kodak itself. They have selected Quicktime MPEG-4 as the format for their videos. As a result, incorporating video with typical video editing software will require a conversion that can cause the quality to degrade.
Kodak has also made a small mess by choosing only a proprietary port on the bottom of the camera to connect it to a computer (without a base) and that little adapter is small enough you'll surely lose it within a year.
By the way, if you like Kodak's Frame Dock II you are out of luck - although it claims to support the V1253, there is no adapter available for it. I called Tech Support; I was embarrassed for them.
I am also a firm believer that the timer feature should be controlled by a physical button and on this camera, it is not.
Now, capturing HD quality is amazing, but be ready to train your mind to frame photos differently because you cannot print in 16:9 format.
12 megapixel is a little misleading, too. You will probably default to 9 megapixel because it is the only size that will support HD and the 16:9 format. Otherwise you get vertical letterboxing - wasting real estate on the beautiful LCD.
This camera is not a point-and-shoot. Although really it is, until you get the settings just right and understand how to use the flash, ISO and stabilization, your first few photos will likely be blurry.
If you are like me, you like to access your camera through Windows. When this camera is connected, only the Kodak Easyshare software can see it. That's a drag if you like Picasa. You could always read from your memory card directly but if you get the Extreme III card like me - because it is the fastest and largest on the market - most card readers can't see that either. So much for backwards compatibility.
The icons and such on the screen are fine, but for some reason they are fuzzy. Although the psychological effect makes you think your photos are even more clear, anything unclear on an HD camera seems lame.
Now, let's move to the positives (less negatives).
Any new camera without face detection is not a real camera, I think. This camera has it and does it as fine as any Canon camera I have ever uses. It can even detect two faces at once. It's great.
The video quality is the best video quality I have seen on a camera or even on a video camera. It's stunning, stereo, and in amazing HD. It's not like Monday Night Football good, but it's better than anything you have ever created before (for the price, I should add).
You know that delay digital cameras have when they start up and before you can take the first picture? Sometimes you even miss the shot (especially with kids). This camera has two seconds to first shot. In my opinion this is a far improvement from earlier Kodak cameras, but there's no question the Canon Sureshot's one second time is better.
Kodak reproduces the best color of any camera I have EVER used. I am dedicated to Kodak regardless of their lame software and the imperfect user interfaces as a result. The final product (the photo) is all that ultimately matters, and Kodak simply delivers. Canon is a far cry from the best. Sony's good, though Olympus is better. Kodak still rules.
If you are familiar with how to focus a digital camera by holding the shutter button half way down - then you will be able to overcome any delay that is classic with digital cameras. This camera has some delay but it also turns the screen to gray once it takes the photo which is a real disorienting feedback.
Switching between photos and video in review mode is amazingly slow. Although it is fast compared to how fast my mobile phone can do it, it's still a little slow. To be fair the resulting images are nearly 2MB and the video is terrifyingly large. So, I can give some mercy on this point.
It is not my preference to have the zoom as a shuttle control surrounding the shutter button. I prefer it in the top right of the back. It is also not my preference not to have a physical view finder. However, each camera is different and in the end it is just a preference I have.
Finally, it seems to me that the battery might not be as long lasting as I have seen the Canon Sureshots last. They really are a fine camera. Even so, it seems to last an all day excursion. Of course, without a base charging it requires a computer.
To be fair, Kodak has an HD base just for this camera. However, it is intended to expose this and other media to an HD television. A base that is not connected to a computer? Couldn't they have added WIFI or something? Dumb.
Conclusion
I bought this camera because I like cool things. This thing is cool. The video is amazing. The photos are great. The size is nice and small. I bought the IPod white one (which you have to get directly from Kodak) and I love the look of it.
However, I don't like Kodak's software and hate that it appears I am stuck with Easyshare. Even so, this appears to be the next big thing in photography - stunning quality, small devices, and cheap prices.
Right now, there's nothing else like it out there.
In this round of wanting a new camera for myself, this is my third purchase. I have sent the first two back. This one is a keeper. The quality, the color of the images, the small size, the big screen, the video, the cool factor (and color). And it's only $300 (Sept 07).
PS: I know the specs say this camera comes with a camera case. But just think "soft camera sack" and you won't be disappointed.
[UPDATE - late September]
My original observation about the battery life was correct. You might as well make plans to buy an additional battery (which is incredibly small for the size of the screen) and also buy a battery charger so when you are on vacation you can charge the camera up without toting your laptop all around.
Another down-side to this camera is that when the battery dies, the camera just freezes. It looks like it's a glitch to me. No warning, just black screen and no response - it doesn't even bring in the lens.
Yet another downside is that the above freeze issue seems to be recreatable. If you take many photos in quick succession, it seems to freeze pretty reliably. I am hoping for a firmware update to correct this craziness.
I would still buy this camera. However my previous comments on video quality might be adjusted since my recent experience. The quality is very good and the size is quite nice, but it does not seem to handle high action very well. There's likely no fix to that - it's likely a flaw in the quality of the MPEG encoder.
Even still, the quality of the stills is even more stunning that I initially thought. They are tremendous (even at 9MP) and the HD format really is cool.
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Camera, October 20, 2007
I was leery to purchase this camera one month ago after some negative reviews that cited issues such as slow picture time, blurry, no A/C adapter and that it does not come with a memory card but instead with internal memory storage (with option for SD memory card). However, I figured the best review I could get was to open the box and use it for a month myself. The time to take a picture is not slow. I have a new baby and I push the button down half way to focus wait for the perfect moment and I get the perfect timing every time as opposed to prior cameras. So I am happy with that. Only one out of fifty pictures are blurry and that may be because of a poor focus or other issues. I am happy with that. It doesn't have an A/C adapter but that cuts the price of the camera for those who don't need it. If you want one pull out ten dollars and get one. It does not have a memory card include however that too reduces the cost up front for those who don't need one. Most people are upgrading cameras now days and already have a memory card from a prior camera. I love the operation system. It is very easy to navigate and to download onto your computer. I also like the software that it comes with. It is all very simple and user friendly. The weight and design are nice. It has a large picture viewer. I have used it for every day around the home and traveling for a day use and have not yet noticed any battery drain. (I suppose that could change with more frequent use)
My pictures are taken in wide format with 9 mega pixels and that is the format and detail that I have become to use. However I do change to standard 12MP at times and I took some close up pictures of my wife's flowers at that level and the picture quality was perfect.
The negatives are that after taking the picture, my camera takes about 1 to 5 sec with gray screen to record the shot. I have found that to be okay though because we already got the shot we wanted by holding the focus and taking the picture at the right moment. After the gray screen the picture shows up for view for 3 sec but can be easily by-passed by clicking the action button half way.
Good camera... Good price.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
V1253 review, October 11, 2007
I purchased this camera a week ago and I am completely satisfied with it. I have read a lot of negative reviews about this camera and I am really shocked at how people are reviewing it. I'm no photography expert, but i have used digital cameras throughout the years and have come to the conclusion that this one has exceeded every camera i have used. I hope those giving negative reviews have FIRST upgraded the camera's firmware from kodak's website, because all SLOW writing issues and time between shots have been addressed. I use a 4gb class 6 SDHC card and have no issues between shots. It even saves the HD movies at incredible speeds, i'm talking 200+megs in under 4 seconds, thats unheard of. As far as focusing and sharpness is concerned, people have complained about blurry images. Could it be something as simple as holding down the shutter before taking the picture first so it focuses and locks on? When you master this you can take crystal clear pictures very quickly. Minor complaints usb charging, but you can pick up the AC adaptor for 10$. For the first HD video pocket cam, this camera is a hit.
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