First off, I would like to say that I have always been a fan of Kodak cameras. That being said I think that this camera is terrible. I believe the other reviewers must work for Kodak or something for it is not at all as described. Besides that it breaks easily (I have had mine repaired 2 times in the past month alone), the LCD screen is not of good quality. This would not matter so much except for the fact that the picture quality is not great either. Indoors, outdoors, nighttime, anywhere, the pictures are fuzzy. As I said earlier, I have gotten it fixed twice in the past month alone, which does not include the other three times plus the time I exchanged it for a new one. Even after all this the camera still does not work. I even have friends who were misled by the reviews and bought this camera, and guess what, they all say the same thing, that this camera is bad. The one good thing I happen to like about it is its color but that is no reason to buy a camera is it. Please save your money and time and buy something more worthwhile with better customer service.

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 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.

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.

I first used the Kodak EasyShare V550 on a trip to Alaska. Even with the various climate changes, the camera worked fabulously. I especially appreciated the large LCD viewing area. From taking photos to reviewing them, the LCD screen was everything I had read about and more. The wide angle/telephoto button not only allowed me to zoom in on scenery and objects, but later on upon reviewing photos, I could zoom in and out, move from left to right and actually see things I hadn't realized were in the photo.

EasyShare is all that it is cracked up to be and more!

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.

I bought this camera mainly because of the fact that it takes video. I have never been more pleased. It works great, the picture and the video quality is wonderful, and it is so easy to use. I highly recommend this for a family camera.

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.

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.

...because the LCD screen on the 550 is magnificent. The camera itself is about the size of a deck of cards and the screen fills much of that space. Easy to scroll thru the menu for the gazillions of options. Yes, you need a steady hand when not using the flash; however, I disagree that the pictures are dark. When you download thru Easyshare software and edit a picture, just choose 'enhance' if it seems dark and the result will be excellent. Also, the video is sharp...and it's helpful to have such an inconspicuous video camera. If you keep the camera charged on the dock I don't think a second battery is needed, either. Overall, just a great, fun camera that provides excellent results.

I wish people wouldn't write good reviews about this camera. For the amount this camera is, you can do a lot better. I love the video feature, but taking pictures indoors is horrible. The flash is not very good and the pictures come out dark. And don't even try to take pictures without the flash because they are going to come out extremely blurry. You have to have a very steady hand if you want the pictures to come out good, and that's if the subjects aren't moving. I have tried the various scene modes in the camera, and it still doesn't do anything, infact, if you use the indoor portrait mode and you take pictures with the flash on, they are still blurry. I would go with a Sony if you want bright pictures. I'm thinking of buying one and selling this one.

I could not wait for the package to come in the mail. I must have checked the UPS site five dozen times before the V550 arrived at the door. I must say, this camera has not disappointed me whatsoever.

The controls and general operation of the camera is very good. The 2.5 inch screen is what makes this camera great. I also have been able to take some amazing pictures in a short period of time. The scene modes work very well. I have tried about every special setting to my satisfaction. The sports setting works great, no blurry pictures, even with my sons playing and running around. The auto setting works well in about every situation. It is almost impossible to take a bad picture with this camera.

Taking scenic pictures is easy as well. I was riding my bike on the local bike trail and caught some great pictures of a train crossing a bridge. I was riding fast while taking the pictures, not very smart, but they turned out great.

I have read many reviews stating that the battery life on the V550 is poor. I have not noticed this problem. I have taken up to fifty pictures, including video, and the low battery indicator never showed up. I will be purchasing an additional battery for vacations, but I will not need it for ordinary use.

The camera dock is convenient and easy to use. It is very handy to come in the house and simply place the camera on the dock. The V550 is always charged and ready to go.

I chose this camera over the competitors for a couple of reasons. First, it has an awesome display screen. Second, it takes awesome 5.0 megapixel shots and it comes with a camera dock and rechargeable battery.

I currently use a 256m sd card but will be upgrading to at least 512. I want to be able to shoot video on trips and have plenty of room for pictures as well. I almost forgot, another reason I chose this camera is that it records video at 30 fps. The video looks great on my laptop! I will not be looking to buy a camcorder now, the video feature is outstanding.

I'm very pleased with this camera and I highly recommend it!

I purchase this camera a couple of months ago for my wife, but I think I have used it as a pocket camera more than she has rather than lug my 10x 4MP Kodak camera. The camera has a very large and bright LCD display. There is also a small optical viewfinder, but you will never use it with the bright display that works well even outside. The camera has lots of preprogrammed modes, which are easy to access. This makes it easy to switch from normal to inside party mode. Like all of my previous Kodak cameras, it is very easy to operate and takes very nice quality pictures.

Picture quality is very good. Being such a small pocket camera the flash is not very powerful which is driven by how small it is. You either need bright light indoors or be close to your subject. You can play with a lot of options from ISO settings to burst mode. The camera also analyses the image after each shot and gives you a green/yellow/red indicator in the corner of the preview mode of how much blur is in the image. When you are in a busy situation, it is a nice indicator if you possibly should consider retaking the picture. You can also even crop the image within the camera which makes it much easy later when you upload the pictures and makes you look like a pro, but the original image in the memory in case you get carried away.

The V550 records videos with sound in either 640x480 or 320x240. I use a 1GB card and use the fully 640x480 mode which records at 30fps and is QuickTime compatible. I can get about 30 minutes of video. It is compressed very well with very little issues of quality. Action videos of my son's hockey are very nice as long as I lock down the focus. Compared to my older Kodak DX6490, the increased resolution is very nice as a trade off for the decrease from 10x optics from the DX6490. You can change the zoom during the recording and the recording length is only limited by the amount of memory and the battery. The camera also generates a 9 picture (3x3) matrix of thumbnails showing a time-lapse of the video just recorded. It is stored in memory right along with other JPG pictures. It is a nice picture to put in your album in case you can't grab images from the QuickTime movie.

Being a very small camera, it also has a very small battery. Plan on buying a second battery. I even have a third now for long trips or numerous hockey games in a single day. Between the shelf life from the time you charge the unit to when you use it, as well as the actual drain from the camera from compression and flash usage, the battery is going to run out on you. You can get a lot of standard pictures like for a party on a single battery, only if you charged the battery a few days before and you don't run a lot of videos. The charger is a travel charger too. It is used to power the base unit, but can be unplugged and plugged directly in the camera while on a vacation.

I give this 4 stars for the quality of the 5MP pictures, the ease of use, sexy style, overall size, and nice pedestal docking station. It would have gotten 5 stars if the battery lasted longer and the flash was a little more powerful. I do love this camera.

I don't know what this camera has to offer, other than sleek size and sexy looks. Frankly, that's not enough to seduce a real photographer to own one of these tricky gagits. The photo quality was not as good as my old 3.1 Kodak Easy Share product. The indoor shots were often off color because of the not as powerful flash. Outdoors, the colors were hit and miss. I did not experience any workmanship problems with the unit, although, one day is not a real test for longevity and quality.
One day was enough for me to recognize I should try another digital product. I currently have the Nikon Coolpix 7900 now and I am very impressed with its capabilities. My Nikon photos look richer, have greater detail and seem to be acceptable, for a point and shoot travel camera.
Naturally, if I want to take "real" photos I will still use my 1975 Minolta 35 mm SLR camera that takes pictures that can't comepare to these digital things....
One more thing to consider about this Kodak...its very slim and can easily fall out of your grip if you are not aware of it...I think if it hit the cement ground a couple of times...it would be a pile of aluminum and plastic! The Nikon is much easier to hold on to....and all the complaints about low light focusing problems have yet to materialize in my experience. Sorry Kodak, I'd rather own American than Japanese, but Nikon has this product beat. Even if both cameras are now "Made in China"!!!

I purchased this as a gift for my husband. The V550 takes very high quality photographs and is small enough to slip in his pocket. He's very pleased with this camera.

Just like they planned its very easy 2 use. Software is great and easy 2 upload. Be careful of water though. I got water in thru the flash and it fried whole camera. This is my 3rd kodak and I will be getting the new V570 when it comes out. Viewfinder on this thing is amazing & fits in my pocket just like a little cell phone. Great Item.

I'm a grad student, so giving up $300 for a camera was a tough decision. But I don't regret it! The camera just arrived a couple days ago, but I've already shot tons of pictures and video and used the dock to load them to my computer.

The camera is tiny (about the size of my palm). It's also light, but it feels solid enough that it's not impossible to hold still when you're taking pictures or video.

The screen is amazing. It's so much easier to see than many digital camera screens (any light, any angle). And it's big, almost as large as the camera itself.

What amazed me most is how simple it is to use. I've taken pictures and videos, I've used the dock to load the images onto my computer, and I've plugged it in to my TV. But all of it was totally self-explanatory.

I just bought this camera and I love it. I know it is great since I'm actually taking pictures with it. I'm not usually much of a picture taker since I hate carrying extra stuff with my, but this camera fits in my jeans pocket and thats what I need. The picture quality is good and it isn't difficult to use or set up. Since I don't like to put a lot of bother into my technology this was the perfect fit for me. It also is a nice weight and size for taking pictures even though it fits in your pocket.

I recently purchased the Kodak V550 primarily for my 12 year old son. He absolutely loves it! The video function was the biggest hit with him! All the functionality on the camera is easy to use and understand. We immediately bought a memory card for the camera; the card is not included in the package. We also purchased an additional battery for the camera; the battery life is short lived. I would buy this camera again.

I am a very active photographer.I have a few digital cameras,some are better than other's not all are the same in the same area's. This camera is really very impressive, beautifully made, a delight to use and constantly delivers very good photographs.To say that I use it for everything would not be true. I use a Panasonic with a 12x optical zoom for alot of my outdoor shots(and some indoor). I bought this camera after reading alot of spec's and reviews and studying up on line. Many Many hours and it was worth it.This camera fits into a nich that needed to be filled in my camera bag. I didn't want to take a big camera to my nephew's wedding a couple of weeks ago(wanted to enjoy myself if you know what I mean)but I wanted to have some good shots. This camera fit right into that "nich". If you don't want to use the flash, just up the speed to 400 asa( up to a 8x10 size, noise isn't bad)it has alot of preset scenes and the pic's came out great.There also is a external battery charger(but not from Kodak even though they list one)To buy a charger and you should buy one plus an extra battery go to -----------TitanNotebook.com-------put in KLIC-1001(that is the battery for the V550)or put in the part # BCYKDIC7001 and you will find one for about $26 dollars and the battery for about $27 dollars This is a great camera,I am very glad I purchased it, have no regrets at all, great job Kodak.

P.S. this camera does use up it's battery's life quite fast if you leave the LCD on.Set it to turn off in a short period of time( it turns on fast by just touching any button)

With so many cameras on the market, trying to research the various brands and models proved to be overwhelming. My father and sister both have Kodaks and recommended them. So after researching the v550 and seeing that it got good reviews I bought it as it met my requirements--compact, point and shoot, and no shutter lag.

I am very happy with the camera. It is very easy to use, and my pictures have come out great. I take most pictures on the auto setting which is truly point and shoot. There are many other settings such as candlelight, beach ect. I used the beach setting and it took great pictures as well.

I have not had any trouble with indoor low light pictures--when using the flash they have come out just fine.

The only difficulty I have had is taking pictures of a dance show in the evening. I could not get a sharp picture. I don't know if it was the movement or the lighting, but I couldn't get a decent picture.

Another nice feature is that a symbol comes up after you take a picture letting you know if the picture came out or not. You know right away if you should retake the picture.

The display screen is large and has great resolution.

Also, the viewfinder came in handy on our vacation when taking pictures in the bright sunlight.

I like the kodak easyshare system which makes it very easy to email pictures or to upload pictures to the kodak website and then send invitations to friends to view the pics.

Also, once pics are uploaded to the kodak website, you can order prints online with the option to pick them up at your local CVS or have them delivered.

I can only judge this camera from a total amateur's perspective, but is really easy to use, really easy to carry, and takes great pictures. The ease of use comes in handy when asking passerbys to take a picture of you.

The one problem some people could have is that the buttons are very small. Its not a problem for me as I can use the tip of my fingernail, but could be for big hands, stubby nails. The button to push to actually take a picture is normal size so it's not a problem taking the picture--just reviewing the pics ect.

There is a low battery life. However, I forgot the charger and spare battery on my vacation, but still got over 100 shots.

This is my second digital Kodak camera, I love it. I wouldn't change to any other brand. I just bought a 1gb sd Card for the camera and I can store up to 1600 pics in 3MB resolution. It is super amazing. With the same card I cad record up to 1 hours and 10 min of video in low resolution.

I do not like to much the carrying case, it is a crappy fabric bag, I would like to have something in real leather but trying to keep the same small size of the camera. The screen is super big but the resolution of the screen is not so good but that does not matter so much because that is not the real resolution the pics.

Very good price for the value !

Recommended...

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!

God, I love this thing. It's nice, small, versatile, has all kinds of bells and whistles, and is teensy. I just wish I'd waited to get the dual-lens model.

The camera takes bright, sharp pictures, fits in a shirt or jeans pockets, and offers an amazing array of options for any camera geek. I reccomend getting an extra battery, though, because with the bigger SD cards you can run out pretty fast.

I bought this camera after much review. I waited to own this for more than 6 months to give it a fair chance before I reviewed it. Well this honeymoon is over!

I had a slim Canon that my husband took for a swim. I loved that little camera, but after reading about some of the Canon issues, and talking to the experts at the camera store I thought I should move on. This Kodak had everyone talking and it seemed like such a great purchase. My husband was surprised I went with a Kodak, but all I heard was how much Kodak has done to improve their products and move ahead of their competitors! Everyone tells you how wonderful this Kodak is - has all the features. It really wowed me when I looked at it. All I can think is they haven't experienced anything else. Now I'm not pro, but I take lots of pictures, so I consider my self an amateur expert. I have had digital, big and this small for 5 years. This camera is not worth the money. The only photos that seem to turn out are those with absolute perfect outdoor lighting. Forget about taking a picture indoors and forget about anything close. Don't try to capture your kids in action or blowing out their candles on their birthday cake. Don't try to take a photo of that beautiful flower in your garden or you childs toothless smile. They are either blurry or bad lighting. I have a pretty steady hand and it takes me forever to get a good picture. I post a lot of things for sale on the internet and I get so frustrated trying to take a simple shot in my self made studio that I could scream at times. I haven't complained much out loud about this camera, because I made such a big deal with everyone about my research. I believed what I read from everyone else here and elsewhere. Big mistake. I will be selling this or sending it for a swim with my husband very quickly.

My advice, make sure you have a return policy you can use with this.

This is my second Kodak digital camera, I love it. I wouldn't change for any other brand. I just bought a 1GB SD Card for the camera and I can store up to 1600 pics in 1,8MB resolution. It is super amazing. With the same card I cad record up to 1 hour and 10 min of video in low resolution.

I do not like to much the carrying case, it is a crappy fabric bag, I would like to have something in real leather but trying to keep the same small size of the camera. The screen is super big but the resolution of the screen is not so good but that does not matter so much because that is not the real resolution of the pics.

Very good price for the value !

Recommended...

This camera is good looking and compact. However there a few things I did not like. The power button is flush with the camera and very small making it difficult to power on. The battery does not last long at all. I strongly suggest a second or third battery. Most importantly, I rec'd the camera and the 1GB SanDisk Ultra SD memory card. I inserted the card and assumed it was working. Upon using the camera for about 25 pictures I got a message saying internal memory was full. Trying to access the SD card via the menus gave me a "No memory card insterted error". The card works fine in other cameras, and in an external card reader. I called Kodak, who stopped just short of asking for my first born in exchange for them admitting that their camera was the problem. They informed me the camera would have to be sent in for repair or replacement AT MY EXPENSE. They said if it had to be replaced, it would be replaced with a refurbished unit. I of course told them that I refuse to pay shipping on their defective product, and would return it for another brand before doing so. They simply responded that it was my choice to do so. So I called Amazon. Let me just say that Amazon customer service was incredible and Kodak should take note. Kodak, you get two stars [...]

I was torn between getting a 10x zoom camera and this one for my trip to Europe, but ultimately, the compact size and large viewing screen owon out in favor of this Kodak model.

I haven't been disappointed. This camera is incredible easy to use. The menus are great, simple and straight-forward, the docking station is one of the most well-designed I've seen, not an eye-sore or clunky piece, but a joy to look at, and a simple button transfers pics to the computer.

My only beefs:
1) short battery life, but I know that before buying (The 10x zoom camera I looked at, also by Kodak, has excellent battery life)
2) the butons on the top of the camera next to the on/off switch could be designed a little easier to press
3) the delay between pressing the button and the picture taking... I've lost a few great shots that way, I've had to repose.

None of these things really disappoint me enough to wish to buy another camera. My whole family is enjoying it, and we're snapping away like mad.

This camera takes fantastic pictures, although I don't like the Kodak quality printing, so I use a different photo program.
This is the first digital cameral I have owned, and it was much easier to use than I had ever hoped it would be. (And I hate trying new things.) The only drawback I have encountered is not so umch with the camera as with Kodak. The rubber USB / A/V port cover fell off and got lost after only 2 months. (It appeared to be held by a rubber "pop-in" corner that rotated to let the user move the cover aside to access the port.) It does not surprise me that it fell off. I knew right away that the cover was a poor design.
I contacted Kodak. They gave me a name of a company in Illnois (I am in NJ!) that I can send my camera to for repairs. Very nice, but I do not want to send my absolutely-working-fine camera 1200 miles away so they can pop in a new rubber USB cover. They do not mention reimbursing my shipping cost, either. I will probably just live with the camera without the cover as I am happy with the performance and size, and my husband assures me that the missing port cover is not a problem. (I don't think he knows - just tired of listening to me!) Maybe I will send him to Illinois and keep the camera.
I would not let the port cover be a factor in whether to choose this camera, or not. It is still a very nice camera.

This camera is superb. This is my 2nd Kodak digital camera. My first Kodak yielded many, many great pictures. When it was time to find a new camera, I read so many great reviews of the Canon SD550. I figured Canon is a big name in the camera business and it received rave reviews, so I bought one. I only used it a couple weeks because the colors were horrible compared to my Kodak cam. Almost every picture had red eye even with the red eye help. The shot to shot speed was too slow for me and I missed a lot of great shots of my daughter. So that brings me to this wonderful gem. I chose the V550 because I wanted a Kodak that's small with a huge 2.5" high resolution LCD. The video is great at 30fps. One of my favorite features is being able to make a still photo from any video frame. None of my pictures have that red eye problem...a problem that plagues many cameras this size. The glass Schneider-Kreuznach lens produces clear, crisp photos. This camera is lightning quick.

I love the cool blue lights on this camera. The dock is a neat way to show off your camera with the slide show and charge the battery at the same time.

I highly recommend this camera. I don't know why someone would spend $200 more for a camera that doesn't have the Kodak Color Science chip.

Plus
1- This digital camera does much more than I need - I really like the small "shirt-pocket" size. I tend to carry it more often so I am less-frequently without the camera when a good photo opportunity arises.

Minus:
1- The software takes over your PC and is not flexible to use.
2- The camera's video is a proprietary format (Quicktime) and Kodak does not provide software to save or convert the videos to a more standard format that can be burned to a CD or DVD and viewed on a DVD player. I had to spend over $50 on 3rd party software that is difficult to use and it is a pain to have to do the extra conversion step with each video.
3- Kodak does not support the most popular printers in my office (HP color 2500). It seems they want you to buy their printers even if you already have a printer that is superior.
Because of these closed-system, incompatibility issues, I rated the camera package and Kodak LOW.

- If you are advanced and can support yourself with other software, it is a great camera.
- If you are a beginner and want to just buy all Kodak compatible stuff and have Kodak software always running on your PC, it is also great.
- I really dislike that, to allow use of this software, Kodak forces a user to have the software launch on their PC. Don't they understand that we users are trying to use this sometimes at work and would like a more discreet software package that will not pop up randomly (yes it does) on our screens, stay resident in the icon tray, etc?
Geez...

I absolutely love this camera. I take at least 20 photos everyday. It's small and lightweight, it looks good, and the display screen is large and vivid. It's extremely easy to use, takes great photos in many different modes and I use the in-camera crop feature a lot. I could go on and on but I don't think anyone really reads the reviews entirely anway!!!

I wanted a small, pocket sized camera for a recent trip. I have the larger Kodak DX6490 which I love, but its a bit too big. Did lots of research and stuck with Kodak because of my luck with the first camera and glad I did. Everyone on the trip looked at my camera and loved it. They really loved the large, very clear LCD screen when showing them the pics in review mode. After printing them at the local Walgreens (I use Microsoft Picture It software rather than the included Kodak software, but the Kodak is OK, to enchance the pictures if needed before saving onto a CD to take to the drugstore) everyone was amazed at the shots. I got the comment "This looks just like a postcard" more than once. The sunset settings worked great, the back light setting worked great, the burst could have been a bit faster but worked fine. I really don't have any negative to say. I'd buy it again, and in fact am. One of the couples on our trip who loved my camera just found out they are pregnant with first child so I've buying this again off of Amazon for a present.

Nice Kodak, Nice Pix, easy to use and works well with the dock. Fits in pocket or pocketbook. Very user friendly.

More than I expected-I was hesitant to go digital-but wonder how come not sooner.=-Perfect size and downloading is a breeze.

This camera has a lot of features and works well for the most part. The first thing you'll notice when you see it in person is how small it is. That's really nice to be able to fit it in your pocket, however, people with average to large hands will have a hard time pressing the buttons and navigating the menus.

You will want to upgrade both the EasyShare software and the device's firmware when you first get it. Before I did, I had the camera freeze on me once, but it hasn't happened since. EasyShare is not my favorite organizational software, I prefer HP ImageZone which comes with their PhotoSmart cameras. I do like the ability to tag pictures with e-mail addresses, but it does take several steps, it's not a one-click operation.

I haven't gotten a 1Gb expansion card yet, but I don't think the battery would last long enough to fill up the 1Gb card anyway. As long as you set it back on the dock every time you're done using it, the battery won't get low and the memory won't get full.

Recording movies is acceptable, but with limited zoom and audio capability, this camera is not a replacement for a camcorder. The QuickTime .mov files it creates cannot be imported into Windows MovieMaker without conversion.

- the flash is SO quick...unlike other digital cameras that take a while to take the picture
- sound with the video is good...not so great when replayed on camera but when uploaded to the computer it is good
- very easy to turn flash on and off with a quick press of a button on the top
- turns on really quickly...fast upload
- almost identical to the v530 in size, but you can tell the difference in the weight, the v550 is definately heavier
- charger makes it so much better! dont ever have to worry about changing the batteries and it charges relatively fast...usually takes me less than an hour
- better than the v530 because the screen is bigger and with the v530 you have to put it in the dock in order to transfer the pictures but with the v550 you can just use the chord or use the dock
- without a memory card it can take 17 pictures or 44 sec of video
- with a 1 GB memory card it can take 640 pictures or 30 minutes of video
- easy to change from one mode to the next with quick buttons (the top has a button to switch to video and one that brings up the menu to switch to night vision, sport, landscape, closeup, snow, beach, text, fireworks, flower, self-portrait, party, chilldren, backlight, panning, candle light, sunset, or set your own custom settings)

DEFINATELY RECCOMEND

i love this camera. i am so glad i purchased it, no buyer's remorse here. i am a student and there are so many moments that i want to capture and this camera is perfect because:
1. it's lightweight, and small. i often carry it in my pocket or purse. even with the case i purchased it's extremely easy to carry around.

2. the screen is huge and i thought that i was going to need the viewfinder and i've never used it and i use my camera everyday

3. it's so so so easy to use. the different options for different sceneries/landscapes/people shots are great. i used my camera to take pictures of the fireworks and they turned out great!

4. it's so easy to use, i haven't even looked at the manuel yet. and it's really easy to transfer pictures to your pc.

5. i've read other people's comments about how fast the battery goes. i haven't found that to be a problem, but it would probably be a good idea to get an extra battery. and i think that the dock does charge the camera relatively fast.

6. you have to transfer the pictures by loading the camera on to the dock, which some people find annoying but then your camera is charging at the same time you're transfering pictures so i like the set up. traveling with it could be an issue, thus the extra battery.

7. the internal memory holds about 40 pictures, which is good, but i definitely suggest buying a memory card.

i purchased it when it was 225.00 and it was worth it, and i still think at it's current price it would be worth it. but shop around and look for special deals.

I bought this camera yesterday and I'm 90% sure I am returning it tomorrow.

The indoor picture quality is not what I was expecting. I tested out a few pictures of my pets, they didn't seem so bad, but when I tested it out on people...they were awful. They looked like the picture quality of the basic kodak digital camera. If someone had glasses, the light would reflect off of them everytime. Outdoor pictures are good, but you can't always go outside for every picture you take!

Great camera, replacing an older 3MP Kodak easyshare. Old camera came with the printer dock - new camera can still use it thanks to a plastic insert that came in the package - great deal!! Pictures look amazing, movies also look equally stunning. Great audio/video capture.

When someone buys a camera they should take into consideration the MP (Megapixels), Flash Range, Picture quality, battery life, and anything else they think is important.

First of all you are getting what you are paying for. Its a small camera. Fits in your pocket. Great. Now since its a small camera the flash isn't that great as larger cameras but thats what you want a smaller camera don't you? Maybe the pictures do come out dark in indoor places but it isn't 100% of the time (Just clearing up all those other reviews). Maybe 50% and if they do, you can easily take it again or just enhance the picture making it brighter. Pictures do come out great. The quality is superb.

By the way, for being a small camera its very stylish. I've had it for a month now and everyone who has seen it has been impressed and made them want a similiar camera.

Battery life is quite decent. I didn't have much of a problem. I went to a party from 7PM-1AM and I was taking pictures and video every now and then. The battery died when I was home. I didn't mind much. People still were viewing videos and pictures and even then it didn't turn off.

It also takes video which is quite nice. Since its supposed to be a digital camera, the video is quite nice. Just comes out in AVI format.

The camera itself is very easy to use. Right out of the box I was using it already. Buttons can be small but you get used to them.

If you want a small stylish camera, you can go ahead and buy this one. Its great for the price. Buy with a 1gig SD mem card and your ready to go.

To get 5 stars it would need a slightly higher flash range and maybe a little longer battery life.

After researching cameras for months, I decided on this one to replace my old HP 3 mexapixel. One of my main requirements was the lag time between clicking the button and the picture being captured, because that drove me crazy with my old camera. This one is great! It takes long videos that are fabulous, and the various settings are very cool -- fireworks, different night modes etc., many of which I used recently on a cruise and allowed me to capture pictures I never could have gotten with the old camera. Size and weight are great -- I keep it with me all the time now! The only problem I've had is getting red-eye even with the red-eye setting on, but not sure if it is operator error. This is a great all-purpose camera for anyone who wants an easy to use, convenient high quality camera.

We had never bought from this retailer before and we got our camera right on time...excellent product as well!

This camera was well worth the money. Shutter Lag is non-existent, the colors are perfect, its rugged, and its pocket-sized. I recently brought this camera on a 9 day Caribbean cruise and I must see these are some of the best pictures that I have ever taken. I compared a lot of cameras before making this purchase and the research definitely paid off. It is extremely simple to use yet has some impressive features, such as the 5 shot burst mode and the camcorder quality video mode. And it was definitely worth the extra money to buy the 550 instead of the 530. I found myself using tyhe viewfinder very often because it was too sunny or I wanted to save batteries. This camera is definitely worth a serious look before any purchase is made. I know I couldn't be happier with it.

Love the size and the ease of use this camera. Outdoor photos are very good; but, the screen is difficult to view in very bright sunlight. The biggest disappointment is the VERY limited flash range of this camera. Also, I just returned from a trip to Italy and used the "museum" setting (no flash) quite a lot. Most of the photos on the museum setting exhibit quite a bit of camera shake and movement. Overall, I'm disappointed.

I had an older Kodak 7440. This one was lighter, smaller, with larger view screen. The movie is much higher quality, and you can zoom while filming (though at times the zoom sounds like loud scratching on metal on playback, other times you hardly notice even if there's no other background sound).

Unfortunately, it has terrible battery life. This is a fatal flaw; whatever else a camera may offer, if you can't use it when you need it, it's garbage to you. I have missed a ton of shots due to discovering my camera was dead, or having it die on me while I'm out with it. Contributing to the problem is that kodak doesn't given a charger (as it did with my prev camera), you have to charge the whole camera, meaning even if you go buy a second battery, how are you going to charge it if you don't also buy a second charger? Also compounding the problem is that the 7440 accomodated a larger backup, so you could get double life with it; this one takes only a second one the same size, which, as mentioned, is inadequate.

Secondly, this camera seems to have a lot of problems with it's zoom. I had to send mine in for factory repair after 5 months of use; it no longer retracted. There are posts all over the internet about it. Missed all the holiday photo opportunities due to this problem; again, if a camera isn't there for you, all the other features are meaningless.

Feature-wise, I thought 3x zoom was way too limiting, and odd given the current state of technology, but buyers know this going in, so I guess one can't really complain about it.

This camera is better than others because it has both a large LCD to view pictures and an optical viewfinder to frame pictures when the sun washes out the LCD. The latter is essential, no matter what manufactures say about the new screens being bright enough to handle direct sun on them. They are not. You still need an optical viewfinder for many outdoor pictures, but most cameras with big sceens don't have one. The Kodak V550 takes great pictures easily.

After going through a lot of options, my dad and I finally settled on this camera to give my mom for her birthday present. She absolutely loves it -- the sleek black design, compact size, and big preview screen. Though she was once an amateur/intermediate photographer (with a niiice Nikon SLR and various lens extensions) she seems satisfied with this "point-and-shoot" digicam. The flash seems powerful enough, and there are still a great number of settings we/she hasn't played with yet. We also haven't taken pictures off using the dock, but there's the usual A/V out cable receptor on the side, so we might not use the dock at all.

Anyway, not a complete review, but based on the couple months we've had it, we're quite satisfied. :)

This camera does a few things well... But only a few.
The first, is that it does take decent candid videos. But even my phone can do that. I'm looking for better photos and this camera does not perform well. You have to have an incredibly still hand to take decent pictures with what seems like a VERY slow shudder. Inevitably, I get blurry photos. The reason I give it 2 stars is because of its form factor, and some of the features that can make it "cool". When I broke the LCD, I bought a canon and couldn't have been more happy that I busted this thing.

This is a good camera but buy the newer kodak. I don't even think they make this one anymore. Think they are up to the v600 series now.
A tad slow in shots but this was my wifes and I use a Rebel XT so not fair to compare to a D-SLR.

Bought the Kodak Easy Share V550 about a year ago because I need the simplest most dependable camera I can find. Up front, I need to say that I'm pretty much a complete idiot when it comes to photography. While my husband, who is an amateur photographer has gotten some pretty good photos, my experience has been hit and miss. I find the teeney tiny buttons, some just pressure pads, difficult to use. Also, I don't think the icons clearly indicate the button function. The main selection button on the back has so many options, its staggering. I will say that the warranty service is very good. The LCD screen wasn't working properly and there were some other problems. I contacted the service center listed at the Kodak website and received promptly friendly replies. Camera was sent off, repaired and returned without any charge to me other than the initial shipping.

This camera is awesome. I love the fact that now I can carry my camera with me everyday and not have to lug an extra carrying case. The pictures are sharp and clear and it it easy to use. I do suggest using the wrist strap as my husband had a hard time with the "smallness" of the camera. I did not find it hard to use or handle. The picture on the LCD is clear and easy to see in all lighting conditions.

I love this camera sooo much. I have never taken as many pictures as I do now. I have had this camera for over a year now and still find it a pleasure to use. This camera is sleek, very user friendly and allows me to capture video and digital moments for long lasting memories. I love it!

LOVED this camera until it broke one year later. I mean it completely broke. It's dead. The battery power died during a photo shoot and killed the camera. Now it won't even turn on. See my post in the forum on this page for more info. The short of it all is, do NOT buy Kodak. My GF has a Canon Elph and it's far more amazing than anything Kodak makes. Plus if you ever have to deal with Kodak's customer service...well, let's hope you never have to.

Bought the Kodak Easy Share V550 about a year ago because I need the simplest most dependable camera I can find. Up front, I need to say that I'm pretty much a complete idiot when it comes to photography. While my husband, who is an amateur photographer has gotten some pretty good photos, my experience has been hit and miss. I find the teeney tiny buttons, some just pressure pads, difficult to use. Also, I don't think the icons clearly indicate the button function. The main selection button on the back has so many options, its staggering. I will say that the warranty service is very good. The LCD screen wasn't working properly and there were some other problems. I contacted the service center listed at the Kodak website and received promptly friendly replies. Camera was sent off, repaired and returned without any charge to me other than the initial shipping. UPDATE: The camera worked okay for only about 2 months and since then I've had nothing but trouble. Battery freshly and fully charged, but camera freezes after 2-3 photos - lens won't retract, camera won't turn off - have to remove battery to get camera to shut off and lens retract. Recharge, start over, same thing happens. Can't turn LCD screen on to use instead of view finder. Handbook says just press the main control button - no help. Sister-in-law has an earlier version of Easy Share and loves it. She can't figure the V550 out either. Something is very wrong here - I'm guessing there is something wrong with the circuitry. Apparently, there is a quality control issue, as some people seem to have had great experiences with the V550 and others, like me unfortunately, have had very bad experiences. I paid over $300.00 plus accessories and only got a few dozen so-so photos. The Warranty was only good for one year.

this camera worked well, until the lens stopped working one day. now it just makes a grinding noise. from looking online, this is a common problem. the outside is metal, but the gears inside are just soft plastic.

This is a great little camera if you do a lot of outdoor photo shoots of still objects. I have 3 small children, and it doesn't work too well for my photo needs. I take lots of indoor pictures which most of the time turn out pretty dark unless I have it super bright in my house, but that isn't very often. I tried to take pictures at my son's kindergarten graduation in his classroom, but it was too dark to get even one shot. I had to get video of him to be able to see him at all. Not so great for kids in motion either, they are blurry.

Video option is great though. I guess I use this option most on my camera. I have had this one about a year, and I am going for a canon with IS (image stabalization) now. I will retire this camera to my husband.