Kodak Easyshare C530

[HarleyGirl]

Has anyone purchased this camera yet? I cannot find any reviews since it's fairly new--even on Amazon.com! I am just wondering about the picture quality and ease of use. Please let me know your experiences with it! Thanks!:p

[Dr. Crash]

This camera has a few things you might be? dissapointed with

fixed focal lens.... means it doesn't actually focus! it has a fixed lens like a disposable camera. it is permanantly focused at 8-12 feet

only has digital zoom... digital zoom will degrade the quality of the pic very fast!,

1.5" LCD... Very small!

 

here is kodak spec sheet info on the C530,

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=9/19/32/7496/7498&pq-locale=en_US

 

 

Try looking at this one for a couple dollars more,

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3650602#Item+Description

[zackiedawg]

It doesn't look very good, to be quite honest. The fixed lens isn't necessarily the worst of it - that means you won't have any optical zoom capability - it will still focus fine.

 

But the two factors to me that really limit this camera are:

 

The minimum aperature of F4.5. This is NOT going to perform very well at all in low light - it is basically a daylight snapshot camera only. Ideally, for a mixed-use, all-purpose camera you want to see a minimum aperature of at least F2.8 or so at wide angle. Beware of some of those slim cameras too...like the Sony T series, Casio Elixim, and Nikon S1...they also do not perform very well in low light situations, due to their F3.0-3.5 minimum aperatures, very small lenses, and very small sensors. They are not bad - they actually take very nice daylight photos...but indoor no-flash shots and evening shots often come out a bit blurry from handshake due to slower shutter speeds, or too dark and grainy because the camera couldn't get enough light.

 

The poor flash performance - when you are already limited in low-light with that F4.5 aperature, you at least need a respectable flash performance to make up the difference when shooting portraits, pics of friends, dinner table stuff, etc. But with a flash effective range of only 7 feet...this flash is not very powerful.

 

Along with the lack of manual controllability, no white balance control, no metering control, 2 seconds shot-to-shot speed, and a minimum shutter speed of 1/2 second (night shots are out of the question), this is truly not much more capable than a cardboard disposable camera.

 

I think if you are going to invest in a digital camera - even a very cheap one, you'd do better to spend just a little bit more money and move up to one of the slightly better Kodak C360, which has a 3x optical zoom, or the even-better V530, which has 3x zoom plus wide angle and a slimmer design.

 

Or check out some other manufacturers for their lower-end models - Sony, Canon, and Nikon all have decent models under $200 which are much better all-around cameras...such as the Sony S90, Canon A520, or Nikon 5600. A new Sony camera called the S600 has 6MP and image stabilization for under $200. Any of these will be better overall cameras, and not cost that much more than the C530.

 

Now, if you meant the V530...that looks like a much more interesting camera! Having a fixed wide angle lens AND a 3x optical zoom is a very creative idea, and should make it a pretty good all-around point and shoot cam.

[*floridian*]

While the Kodak EasyShare V530 may not take the best pictures, they are certainly not the worst...and I would like to think that mine are actually remarkable good. You can't get a real good up close shot of say, insects, but not many amateurs can pull off that shot anyhow. The easyshare is very easy to use, easy to download the pics to your computer, can fit into your pocket, and is an overall user friendly camera. I have had one since September of 2005 and I know that I have taken far more pictures than I would have with another camera just b/c of it's so easy to use and to carry around with me. I just throw it in my pocket or purse. Also, I think that it has 5 megapixels at least. I think the better question to ask yourself is what you are going to primarily use a camera for? Quality over Quantity? Ease of use?

 

I recommend this camera to all of my friends.

 

Also, there is an easyshare model that is an upgrade from the V530 that may interest you more.