Getting the fullest picture possible has sometimes been a problem with single-lens digital cameras, especially in close-ups. This new dual-lens concept, which combines a 23 mm ultra wide-angle lens with a 39-117 mm optical zoom lens, tackles that problem head on. Getting everybody in the picture on that group shot is a sure thing with the 5 megapixal V570.

Another great feature is the in-camera panorama stitching that allows you to create a wide-angle 180-degree picture with just three shots (and an easy to use zoom button on the back of the camera). This is a great feature when taking pictures of rooms in a house, for example, where very simply you can get half the room in a single image - very impressive.

The high resolution LCD screen produces clear, sharp images; the color quality is excellent. Also helpful is the picture blur alert and distortion correction feature inside the camera that reduces poor-quality pictures. The camera also has 32 MB of internal memory and can play video and photo sideshows on the LCD screen, though I haven't done any video yet. Of course, in terms of editing, organizing, and printing pictures, the V570 can do what any top-notch single lens can do. Also the sleek black camera body is very classy, and it's no heavier or wider than a single lens.

One fault is the need to use a dock (which is included) to hook up the camera to a computer with the USB cable. It's not that much of a big deal, but is another space-wasting piece of equipment and can get in the way in a cramped workspace (like mine).

It looks to me like this is only the beginning of what's to come regarding dual-lens camera technology, so some might want to wait for what's ahead. But anyone looking for a great camera purchase today, let me pull your coat to this superb new wide-angle/small size/great resolution dual lens creation, the EasyShare V570. It's a beauty.

The dual lens is nothing but a bait and switch. I was pretty excited about the camera at first, until I went home with one and took it through the paces.

First, here's what I liked:
- Size
- Close proximity wide angle shots (definite plus)

And here's what I didn't like:
- The LCD is grainy... something that seems to be quite common with Kodak cameras
- If you use the zoom while recording a movie, you'll be able to distinctly hear it, regardless of the noise in the movie.
- The skip from the wide angle lens to the regular one while zooming is strange - catches you off guard at first, but there's a setting for this
- The door that secures the SD Card is so flimsy, and I cannot for the life of me understand how that was left like that in the final design
- The flash is a little on the weak end
- The zoom button is soo hard to use, leading to my next point
- It is so easy to mistakenly put your finger in front of the lens while taking a photo
- The battery life is very questionable at this point and only further testing can yield different results
- The photos are not so great, especially with the 23mm where the distortion is a little more on the higher end, even if this is common with such small lenses.

I feel bad coming down so hard on this camera considering the new innovation, but it is what it is. I say wait for version 2 (if any) of this type of camera.

I'm already on my second one. The monitor broke on the first one--luckily within the first 30 days so I just mailed it back. I hope it's not a recurring product defect (the screen went crazy), because I love the camera for its wide angle lens and high quality video. I'm used to using the Canon elphs--a far superior camera in both fit, finish, and photo quality, but I really need the ultra wide angle, not only for my work, but it's a format I much prefer. Please make one Canon!
A couple of design issues: When you pull it out of your pocket, you have no idea whether it's rightside up, upside down, or backwards--it's enough of a chore to figure out you might lose the photo if you're in a hurry. Also it's a good thing it's digital because the shutter button is so easy to press accidently, a good portion of shots are mistakes. The menu system is very clumsy and slow to navigate, and when you finally settle on one besides the default, you 'll inevitably turn the camera off--thus resetting to the default--because all the buttons are alike.
This camera doesn't do RAW. If it had RAW capture, you wouldn't need to muck around with any camera settings--that you do later on the computer.
I'd recommend it to anyone who's been desperate for a wide angle pocket camera. Everyone else wait until either the 2nd generation, or when Canon decides to copy it.

I was feeling a bit lazy and wasn't going to post a review of this camera, however, after reading a few of the other reviews I felt I had to put in my two cents.

First off, a little history. I searched for weeks and weeks to find a nice compact camera to replace my aging Canon S30. I was looking for something very compact in the 5 to 6 megapixel range. I finally settled on the Casio S500. After using the camera for a few weeks I returned it (see my review for my thoughts on that camera). I started searching again and found the pre-release information on the Kodak V570. I was quite interested so I checked out the V570's predecessor the V550. I found this camera to be quite nice and liked it enough assume that the V570 would be a good camera. I've had the V570 now for about two weeks and I must say that I'm quite pleased. Is it the perfect camera? No, of course not, but it is a camera that will meet most of your needs and do it in style.

Following is a list of what I consider to be the camera's pros and cons. I'll address a few of the other reviewers' opinions also.

PROS:

-Large bright LCD screen. The LCD on the V570 is quite bright and very large. The viewing angle on it is quite wide meaning that you can view the LCD from above, below, left, right or straight on and it will not wash out or go substantially dark. This was something that caused me to pass on a few Panasonic models. The LCD is NOT grainy except in very low-light conditions and this is normal with ALL cameras of this genre. The LCD is, after all, only a viewfinder!

-Nice, well designed controls. The Zoom button is NOT hard to use for anyone with normal sized hands. If you have very large hands then possibly it could be a problem, however, most compact point and shoot cameras would have the same problem. Personally, I find the zoom button and all the other buttons to be well placed and easy to use. The menu system is simple to navigate and is NOT slow. It's quite responsive, in fact. I do wish the camera would automatically save your custom settings on power down but I understand why it doesn't. I think there's an easy way to save your settings but I haven't explored that aspect yet.

-23mm wide angle lens. This is the camera's single best feature. I love to use wide angle lenses. They make pictures more dynamic and allow a much greater range of creativity than normal lenses. I do have one word of caution regarding the zoom on the V570. Go into the setup menu and disable the digital zoom. By default the V570 uses digital zoom to bridge the gap between the 23mm lens and the normal zoom lens. Digital zooms are bad! Optical zooms are good! Digital zooms simply crop in on the digital image and enlarge it to fill the same space as the original. As you would expect this destroys image quality. This is not a problem unique to Kodak so don't berate them for it. All camera and camcorder makers use digital zoom as a marketing gimmick. With the digital zoom disabled the camera will indeed "skip" from ultra-wide to normal range. I didn't consider this "strange" in any way. There is an expected amount of pincushion distortion when using the 23mm lens but it's not excessive or distracting. One additional feature when using the 23mm lens that I really find amazing is the camera's ability to take multiple image panoramas and actually stitch them IN the camera. I've played with this a bit and after only three tries I started getting quite nice results with this. The panorama feature isn't one of the things that really figured into my purchase of this camera but it is one of the things that made me say to myself, "very cool", when playing with it.

-Image quality. One of the biggest problems I had with the Casio S500 was image quality. Specifically, the Casio simply couldn't focus reliably in low light and the images were very noisy. The Kodak V570, on the other hand, nails focus each time and the images are high quality. Obviously, when shooting at high ISO settings image quality does go down but is still quite nice.

-Video mode. Most digital point and shoot cameras have a video mode nowadays. This is an awesome feature that might allow you to leave your camcorder at home on occasion. The video quality is excellent and is actually higher resolution than your standard television. You can hear the zoom if you use it when recording, however, most cameras don't allow you to use the zoom at all when in video mode so just accept it. Remember, this isn't designed as a primary video device but as a still camera with the ability to take videos. When you need the best video you can get pull out the camcorder. When you want an occasional video and don't have the camcorder with you...hey!!!...pull out the V570 and record away.

-Internal zoom mechanism. Most point-and-shoot cameras on the market have an external zoom lens mechanism. What I mean by this is that the lens extends out of the camera an inch or more. The V570 has an internal mechanism. What this means to me is that I don't have to worry about mashing the extended lens into something and potentially breaking it. I recall that with the Casio S500 that I had for a bit the owner's manual actually mentions several times to be very careful not to bump the lens into anything. No worries with the Kodak.

-Appearance. I really like the V570's looks. The design is a bit Art Deco. This is, of course, a very subjective thing but I find it attractive.

-Battery life. While not the best camera in regards to battery life, the V570 does just fine. The reviews I read state a life of around 170 pictures and from personal experience this seems accurate. This is an improvement over the V550. While some cameras can do better let's all be realistic here, 170 pictures in a day of shooting for the average amateur is a lot. If this isn't enough simply have an extra battery on hand. After all, Kodak has some of the lowest prices for extra batteries of anyone.

CONS:

-The flash is a bit on the weak side. The Kodak is a bit wimpy here but when you're within range the exposure is very accurate even when using for extreme close-ups. I actually took some close-up photos from a distance of about 2 inches and the flash exposure was right on. I was actually so close that the flash only covered the left side of the picture.

-The SD card door is indeed very poorly designed. I can see that if you intend on removing the SD card a lot you might eventually damage this. I initially planned on transferring images to my computer by pulling the SD card and using a card-reader but I've found that using the camera's dock is just as easy. I'm surprised that Kodak's engineers left this design flaw intact. Do yourself a favor and buy a 1 gig SD card and just leave it in the camera. Use the dock to transfer images and you shouldn't have a problem.

A FEW CLOSING THOUGHTS: I just wanted to address a few things about some of the other reviews I've read here. First off, there is nothing gimmicky about this camera and just exactly how is this a "bait and switch"? Second, this camera doesn't do RAW because it's designed for amateurs and is a point-and-shoot camera. The average person doesn't even know what a RAW format is or what to do with it. Get real people. If I need to shoot in RAW format I'll grab my Canon 5D. When I want to take a small camera out for vacation or just day to day family pictures I'll take the V570 and leave the heavy hardware at home. Third, every single camera I've ever owned or looked at has at least one feature that I would think of as a "design flaw". Whether that feature is enough to keep me away from it is another matter. To say that this camera is a "typical poor American design" is simply rude and inaccurate. My goodness, I almost laughed when I read the comments about not knowing what side was up when pulling the camera out of your pocket. My God man, OPEN YOUR EYES. OK, now that I got that off my chest I can relax. This is a solid camera that I think most people would be happy with.

I 100% agree with Jeffrey's review. My two cents: This camara is perfect for realtors, professional organizers, or anyone who needs to takes pictures of rooms in a house. With the wide-angle and/or the panorama-stitch function you will get most of a room in a shot. I got my camara two weeks ago after two months of research. I almost got the Canon Powershot S80, but glad this one came out the day before my purchase. Perfect size to wear on a neck strap while working or playing. I love it! Note: The included camara case is just made out of fabric with a drawstring, get a nicer one!

I have not had this camera very long, but I do not regret buying it. It has tons of features, especially like the dual lens. Like other reviewers posted, I would have to agree that the door for the SD card is rather flimsey and may break after awhile of use if your not really carefull, so i would say to get the 1gb card so you wont need to pull it out and just use the dock to transfer photos over. But Dont use the supplied kodak easyshare software. Its a resource hog and does not work all that well. If you want to do photo editing, then you could buy adobe photoshop or the equivelent for around $80. Or you could also get Picasa 2 from google which is also good for editing and its free.

The screen on this camera is grainy. While the picture quality might be okay, and the wide angle feature is very desirable, I am returning it because of the screen. It is not a pleasure to use. Also, the pedestal that you need to load your pictures onto your computer is less than ideal and when you eject the memory card, it will spring and fly across the room or across the sidewalk if you are so unlucky. Sorry Kodak, I'm going to order another Canon.

Strengths: 1, fast start-up 2, wide angle len 3, stitches pictures for you to form a super ultra wide angle view (bravo!!) 4, excellent movie mode with stabilization, which also work for still photo shots 5, compact 6, easy-to-use software 7, stylish design 8, excellent built quality.


Summary:
It does what other slim cameras cannot do: i.e. 1, taking wide-angle photos (very handy in group photo or a nearby building or statue) 2, stitching photos together to form a single picture. (Bravo! this makes the Kodak one of a kind) This fuction gives you the power of more creative photography, something which has only been accessible to professional photographers before. 3, 5X of equivalent zoom. (other slim digital cameras can only zoom optically up to 3X) Thus, this V570 gives you more power to take photos or movies from farther away of the object.


This Kodak starts up quickly. Press the "on" power button, you can immediately take photos. Focus is fast in bright light and sunlight, it is noticeably slower in dim light as with most slim cameras. AF assist is decent, yet not as good as those costing $600 upward. Colors are not saturated and are amazingly pretty accurate. Taking photos at night time turn out to be fairly good. It takes in enough light if you use longer exposure. Yet, limited manual control really cost in getting superior night shots. Having said that daytime photos are superb! Vibrant colors, vivid and elaborate details, as if you are there watching things in the photo! Print a 20" X 30" photo and you will understand! The digital image stabilization also helps in longer zoom range when your hand is shaky and you need a good photo.

Image stabilization is definitely a big plus with higher zoom cameras like this Kodak.



The movie mode is handy. 30 flips per second with full screen TV quality filming capability. You can also zoom during filming. Aren't these what a camcorder is supposed to do? And now, it just eliminates the need for a big and heavy camcorder. Therefore, this V570 Kodak is not just a subperb digital camera, but it is also a great digital camcorder!! And you don't have to waste money on buying 8mm non-reusable tapes. Just get a bigger 1GB and you can take more than 1 hour long of movies!!! The JPEG-4 movie format helps to make it possible by compressing the movie taken. And, you can view the movies right on the 2.5" TFT LCD screen of the camera with sound!


It does, however, record the sound of the zoom len when you zoom it during filming. Yet, I have not heard of a digital camera which does not record the sound of a zoom len during filming when the zoom feature is used.




Boy, the wide angle len has helped me to take photos of 15 people in a small living room already!!! It is wonderful. I retire my old Sony Cybershot which only took 9 out of the 15 people I tried to "sqeeze" together. Still the Sony couldn't do it.

Besides, no fingers of mine have even gotten in any photos taken with the 23mm wide angle len of this wonderful V570 Kodak. I don't understand why the other reviewer says that he easily get his fingers in the photos.... And, the other review continues to say negatively about this superior Kodak V570 without going into much details.... hum..... A salesman of any brand who is gealous of Kodak's invention?

To my surprise, this Kodak also has a photo stitching capability. You take three consecutive photos, it stitches them together to form an ultra-super-wide anle photo of almost 180 degree!!!! I moment I found that function out, I was so surprised!!!! It is a wonderful piece of invention and technology!!! After you have taken the first photo, it guides you on the LCD screen to take the second one, then the third one. It, then, magically lines up things, smoothes out colors before letting you review the gorgeous 180 degree photos!!!!! Boy, what an amazing power to have!!! I have been enjoying taking creative shots now, something "NO" other camera can let you do with.

It has about 20 photo modes, ranging from landscape to moving objects, from flowers to night time mode. Boy, it take sharp photos with true colors even in this pre-set modes. It is simply point-and-shot. The image stabilization helps especially in taking photos with higher zoom.

Daytime photos are marvellous with vivid details, more than enough for your eyes to notice. Colors are not saturated, they are just smooth, nice and truthful. Night time photos are sometimes hurt by the "strong" flash. The flash is bright!! It lights up my bedroom of 100 sq. ft.


I don't understand why the other reviewer says that the memory slot door is filmsy, it is sturdy!! And the camera feels very solid in the hand. Buttons all have quality feel to them. This is very good and the LCD is of 'high' resolution and gain light in dim light situation. It is very good!

Kodak even gives you a camera bag so that nothing can sratches your camera when you put it in a bag. Nice!




All in all, when you look at its capabilities, wide angles, image stabilization, photo stitching for creative and professional photography, excellent movie filming features, 5X equivalent zoom ability, excellent design with superb built quality, you should wonder how Kodak can sell this below $400. My uncle works for TV production and understands all the expensive technique used in photography..talking about a camera which does all the angles matching, colors matching when you use the photo stitching feature? He said that he is surprised that it does not cost at least $600.

Connecting the camera to computer via the accompanying docking station is easy. Yet, could be even easiler with just the use of a USB cable. Kodak probably wants to keep the camera ultra-slim by eliminating another plugging slot for the USB cable. This is understandable. The dock also recharges the battery inside the camera automatically and the blue lights on top of the camera let you know the charging progress and when it is fully charged. You can also press the review button on the dock, then the camera turns into a digital photo album for you and let you see photos and movies which you have taken. Pretty neat!


The Kodak software is the best in the industry. Ask J.D. Power Associate, Kodak receives awards for this with industry's highest users' satisfaction. It group photos by date automatically after your uploading the photos and movies. It also let you edit your photos, such as to make them brighter, or with more color contrast, or crop the photos, etc. Also, to email photos to friends, or burn photo and movie CDs. Very easy to use.

........................................................

Suggestions:

1, turn off the digital zoom feature, which makes outcome of photos worse.
2, switch to 4.4 Mega Pixel picture. It is best for 4" X 6" photos and viewing on computer screens.
3, buy at least one more Kodak's lithum battery since you will find yourself taking more and more photos and movies with the creative photo stitching features and excellent movie mode, so that you need more battery for more photos and movies.
4, buy a big MMC or SD memory card for the same reason as for 3. since you will be taking more photos and movies with this easy-to-use Kodak!

.................................................................
Areas for improvement:

1, battery need to store more energy
2, only support 2.0 USB transfer, make it support high-speed USB transfer.
3, stitch 6 photos instead of just 3 so that we can have 360 degrees, this will definitely a creative way to take photos!!! Yet, it is already a break-through with 3 photos stitching for now.
4, could use even more zoom as the saying goes "it's never enough!" Perhaps use equivalent 8X optical zoom for the next replacement. Yet, 5X is already leading the industry in ultra compact camera designs.

Strengths: 1, fast start-up 2, wide angle len 3, stitches pictures for you to form a super ultra wide angle view (bravo!!) 4, excellent movie mode with stabilization, which also work for still photo shots 5, compact 6, easy-to-use software 7, stylish design 8, excellent built quality.


Summary:
It does what other slim cameras cannot do: i.e. 1, taking wide-angle photos (very handy in group photo or a nearby building or statue) 2, stitching photos together to form a single picture. (Bravo! this makes the Kodak one of a kind) This fuction gives you the power of more creative photography, something which has only been accessible to professional photographers before. 3, 5X of equivalent zoom. (other slim digital cameras can only zoom optically up to 3X) Thus, this V570 gives you more power to take photos or movies from farther away of the object.


This Kodak starts up quickly. Press the "on" power button, you can immediately take photos. Focus is fast in bright light and sunlight, it is noticeably slower in dim light as with most slim cameras. AF assist is decent, yet not as good as those costing $600 upward. Colors are not saturated and are amazingly pretty accurate. Taking photos at night time turn out to be fairly good. It takes in enough light if you use longer exposure. Yet, limited manual control really cost in getting superior night shots. Having said that daytime photos are superb! Vibrant colors, vivid and elaborate details, as if you are there watching things in the photo! Print a 20" X 30" photo and you will understand! The digital image stabilization also helps in longer zoom range when your hand is shaky and you need a good photo.

Image stabilization is definitely a big plus with higher zoom cameras like this Kodak.



The movie mode is handy. 30 flips per second with full screen TV quality filming capability. You can also zoom during filming. Aren't these what a camcorder is supposed to do? And now, it just eliminates the need for a big and heavy camcorder. Therefore, this V570 Kodak is not just a subperb digital camera, but it is also a great digital camcorder!! And you don't have to waste money on buying 8mm non-reusable tapes. Just get a bigger 1GB and you can take more than 1 hour long of movies!!! The JPEG-4 movie format helps to make it possible by compressing the movie taken. And, you can view the movies right on the 2.5" TFT LCD screen of the camera with sound!


It does, however, record the sound of the zoom len when you zoom it during filming. Yet, I have not heard of a digital camera which does not record the sound of a zoom len during filming when the zoom feature is used.




Boy, the wide angle len has helped me to take photos of 15 people in a small living room already!!! It is wonderful. I retire my old Sony Cybershot which only took 9 out of the 15 people I tried to "sqeeze" together. Still the Sony couldn't do it.

Besides, no fingers of mine have even gotten in any photos taken with the 23mm wide angle len of this wonderful V570 Kodak. I don't understand why the other reviewer says that he easily get his fingers in the photos.... And, the other review continues to say negatively about this superior Kodak V570 without going into much details.... hum..... A salesman of any brand who is gealous of Kodak's invention?

To my surprise, this Kodak also has a photo stitching capability. You take three consecutive photos, it stitches them together to form an ultra-super-wide anle photo of almost 180 degree!!!! I moment I found that function out, I was so surprised!!!! It is a wonderful piece of invention and technology!!! After you have taken the first photo, it guides you on the LCD screen to take the second one, then the third one. It, then, magically lines up things, smoothes out colors before letting you review the gorgeous 180 degree photos!!!!! Boy, what an amazing power to have!!! I have been enjoying taking creative shots now, something "NO" other camera can let you do with.

It has about 20 photo modes, ranging from landscape to moving objects, from flowers to night time mode. Boy, it take sharp photos with true colors even in this pre-set modes. It is simply point-and-shot. The image stabilization helps especially in taking photos with higher zoom.

Daytime photos are marvellous with vivid details, more than enough for your eyes to notice. Colors are not saturated, they are just smooth, nice and truthful. Night time photos are sometimes hurt by the "strong" flash. The flash is bright!! It lights up my bedroom of 100 sq. ft.


I don't understand why the other reviewer says that the memory slot door is filmsy, it is sturdy!! And the camera feels very solid in the hand. Buttons all have quality feel to them. This is very good and the LCD is of 'high' resolution and gain light in dim light situation. It is very good!

Kodak even gives you a camera bag so that nothing can sratches your camera when you put it in a bag. Nice!




All in all, when you look at its capabilities, wide angles, image stabilization, photo stitching for creative and professional photography, excellent movie filming features, 5X equivalent zoom ability, excellent design with superb built quality, you should wonder how Kodak can sell this below $400. My uncle works for TV production and understands all the expensive technique used in photography..talking about a camera which does all the angles matching, colors matching when you use the photo stitching feature? He said that he is surprised that it does not cost at least $600.

Connecting the camera to computer via the accompanying docking station is easy. Yet, could be even easiler with just the use of a USB cable. Kodak probably wants to keep the camera ultra-slim by eliminating another plugging slot for the USB cable. This is understandable. The dock also recharges the battery inside the camera automatically and the blue lights on top of the camera let you know the charging progress and when it is fully charged. You can also press the review button on the dock, then the camera turns into a digital photo album for you and let you see photos and movies which you have taken. Pretty neat!


The Kodak software is the best in the industry. Ask J.D. Power Associate, Kodak receives awards for this with industry's highest users' satisfaction. It group photos by date automatically after your uploading the photos and movies. It also let you edit your photos, such as to make them brighter, or with more color contrast, or crop the photos, etc. Also, to email photos to friends, or burn photo and movie CDs. Very easy to use.

........................................................

Suggestions:

1, turn off the digital zoom feature, which makes outcome of photos worse.
2, switch to 4.4 Mega Pixel picture. It is best for 4" X 6" photos and viewing on computer screens.
3, buy at least one more Kodak's lithum battery since you will find yourself taking more and more photos and movies with the creative photo stitching features and excellent movie mode, so that you need more battery for more photos and movies.
4, buy a big MMC or SD memory card for the same reason as for 3. since you will be taking more photos and movies with this easy-to-use Kodak!
5, when using the wide angle, there is a function to setup to help you digitally minimize distortion. This really works! So be sure to use this function.

.................................................................
Areas for improvement:

1, battery need to store more energy
2, only support 2.0 USB transfer, make it support high-speed USB transfer.
3, stitch 6 photos instead of just 3 so that we can have 360 degrees, this will definitely a creative way to take photos!!! Yet, it is already a break-through with 3 photos stitching for now.
4, could use even more zoom as the saying goes "it's never enough!" Perhaps use equivalent 8X optical zoom for the next replacement. Yet, 5X is already leading the industry in ultra compact camera designs.

I used this camera for a week and it is going to be returned.

Like MP3 players, we have to send a loud and clear message to portable electronics manufactures we want them to stop using proprietary connections for data transfers. For example, why would anyone release a camera with a non-standard connection to connect to your computer? Also, why would anyone release a camera now which would not allow you to transfer photos via a drive letter? The manual with the camera explains that you can buy a smaller docking piece that goes between the camera and a regular USB cable but it did not come with the camera.
USB and mini USB have been out long enough that Kodak should have known better to include a proprietary connection for data and power. I should be able to bring the camera on a trip and not worry about bringing the large docking station or special adaptor so that it will connect to another computer via USB.

The good news is the battery and memory card are easy to find a standalone charger and memory reader for but the camera should be able to handle this for you without the additional devices.

Transferring files: To make matters worse, once you hook up the camera with the bulky circular docking station, you then expect a drive letter to pop up so you can start transferring files. Nope, you must install the Kodak bloatware software to move your images and videos over. I understand why Kodak does this, they want you to use their software so you also might use their print/share service and generate more income but at least give me the option to transfer files with a drive letter (same goes for portable MP3 players).

If you are looking for a portable camera with a good video mode don't look here. First of all it produces .MOV files instead of .MPG files. The videos are grainy and choppy. Sure, you can't expect DVD quality video from a standalone camera but I have seen .MPG files taken with the current Canon in this price range that are stunning. I hear Kodak makes a small camera with a good video mode but this is not it. .MOV files might be the standard on a MAC but on the PC side (95% of the computer users out there) most editors and video utilities are geared towards .MPG files more than .MOV files.

If all of the above does not matter to you this camera takes nice looking pictures and has a lot of user settings. It got great battery life one night that I used the flash for at least 50 pictures.

Send Kodak a message that you won't stand for having to use their software to transfer images (as opposed to a drive letter) and that you want a real USB connection on the camera.

I have to preface this review by saying I love film, I prefer film, I mostly use film to shoot. The quality is better, the control of the image is better. I have a dozen SLRs including two very nice Nikon Digital SLRs and I prefer film. That said, this camera is absolutely amazing. It is VERY small. And as much as I love my SLRs, it takes dedication to lug them around (film or digital). I love SLRs because you can use wide angle lenses - I love the journalistic feel of wide angle and the second, wide angle lens on this camera actually seems wider than my standard Nikon lenses attached to a digital Nikon D100 or D70 (something about the film plane changes the aspect ratio). Anyway, the zoom is pretty normal for a digital camera (although, again, it's REALLY small). But the thing I love is the "stitching" feature that lets you glue three pictures together into a panoramic picture...in the camera. It's incredibly wizzy and fun and it lets you do all sorts of creative things (it sounds complicated - but it's actually VERY simple to do). The combination of the stitching software plus the extra lens in this itty bitty camera is just fantastic. It goes where I can't take my best cameras and it does things my best cameras can't do. Kodak really, really did a great job with this one - and it's quite reasonably priced.

if you are interested in this camera, do yourself the favour and read Jeffrey Picard ("Photo Guy")'s comprehensive review. i had been playing with the idea of adding this camera to our 'camera-collection' but was having second thoughts after reading some of the other reviews. i found them to be either amateurish or simply off-putting. then i read his...

eventually, i bought the v570 and am quite delighted with the results this camera produces. bear in mind that this is a p&s -camera and you will not be disappointed. investing another 20$ into a second battery is a good idea if you are a semi-professional and want to take this camera seriously.

about the sd-card door: since i don't like working with the 'easy-share' material that comes with this camera and don't want to carry the docking station with me either, i have to rely on a card-reader. kodak would do a great job by offering a usb-cable for direct connectivity. until i have found a solution to this i will have to use the door. so far, and by handling it with some care, i didn't find it to be of any problem. the hinges are a kind of pull-out and push-back mechanism that has to be handled carefully. even in case that the door would give way: another of my p&s-cameras/gadgets (mobiDV) leaves the slot exposed and it has never been a problem. ejecting the card is simple and the card pops out only slightly (without taking off! - who writes such bs?!)

about the panoramic view of things: the stitching inside the camera is indeed a nice thing. i only wish the v570 had an old-fashioned viewfinder in addition to the lcd (what happened to swivel-screens??). i find it difficult see the pictures (and therefore to overlap them accurately in panoramic mode) in bright light conditions. the lcd also tricks you since it does not always represent the true quality before vs. after the shot. this is ultimately not a big deal and the kodak makes up with a comparatively huge screen.

kodak suggests a tripod for taking panoramic pictures, by the way, but i don't see this as a solution to the problem described since a p&s-camera is all about portability and no matter how small the tripod, it still does not fit into my back pocket...

your own customs settings can, however, be saved in custom mode which is the very last feature in a row of custom settings.... another very nice feature is the fact that the camera rotates pictures to landscape mode automatically - and saves them this way. very smart. thank you, kodak!

the video has video artefact which makes the images pixelate (break up & scramble) while panning, but the images are clear and crisp otherwise. i am hesitant to recommend the v570's video performance, though. another little gadget (again the mobiDV) does not pixelate (yet zooms as well - without the noise...) but does not handle differences in light as nicely as the v570 either - whose zooming sound is indeed quite noticeable. you will have to judge for yourself if any of this is a problem.

all in all, i find the kodak v570 close enough for a do-it-all camera to carry it around most of the time. its small size and stylish exterior makes this a joy! jeffrey picard writes "art deco" but i would argue: jugendstil... ;-))

I am a Realtor in Florida. This Kodak V570 has turned out to be a wonderful camera for me both as a Realtor and for just taking regular pictures. The 23mm wide angle lens is the ticket for taking pictures of the interior rooms of the homes I am listing. With a normal camera you can't back out of the door far enough to get the whole room in the picture. With the Kodak V570, it's not a problem! The picture quality is super, great color and very clear and sharp pictures. The camera is small and easy to use.
The Kodak V570 has many features that I'm sure you can read about here on Amazon.com. I would reccommend disabling the digital zoom. The pictures will turn out clearer.

I have a different model Kodak camera, however they all use the same EasyShare software. Running Windows XP, I could not get the software to work properly. After several hours on the phone with Kodak tech support, they couldn't get it working either. They said they are aware of the problem on some computers running Windows XP. It is now several weeks later and they still don't have a fix. They don't really seem to care either.

It might not be a bad idea to consider other brands, instead of Kodak. Since, if the software won't work properly, then what good is the camera?

I bought this camera specifically for a two week tour of China and it did not disappoint! I highly recommend it, but it is not quite perfect.

Positives:
Great looking camera and great size.
LCD is bright and a great size as well.
Camera turns on VERY quickly and is ready to take the next picture very quickly also.
Video Mode is awesome. If you are not a serious videographer and just want clips of several minutes here and there, this camera is for you! The quality of the video is surpisingly good and stable. It does not take up a ton of memory on your card either. From what I understand it is at the better end of the scale by the way it compresses, but it will certainly eat up a little more memory than you are used to with regular pics.
The wide angle lens is truly a wide angle lens. It's amazing and works great.
The stitching feature, where you can take three pictures to stich together a 180 degree panoramic picture is really special and captures the feeling of some places that you would otherwise not be able to.
The camera is really easy to use and very simple.
Overall, for the basic person taking pics on a regular basis, this is a great camera, with some outstanding features that are not just tricks, but truly items of value.

Negatives:

Some of the pictures we took were a little blurry. You really need to concentrate to make sure that the person holding the camera is fairly stable. You would hate to have someone take a great picture of you at the Great Wall of China, only to have it blurry. Perhaps there is a mode to help with this, but I have not found it.

The picture quality is 5MP, which is very good, but the actual pics look just that...good. I think with the 6MP version of this camera being released soon, that one could be the ticket. I'm not sure what kind of difference that would make, but it would be nice to see a bit better quality on the photos.

Overall, if the special features are interesting to you, the more than make up for the fact that this camera is one of the more expensive point and shoot 5MP cameras. It is HIGHLY recommended.

This is an excellent digital camera that I would highly recommend to anyone.

I've never owned my own digital camera before, but have used many other people's and figured out what I don't like and what I do like. (I've used three different Olympus cameras, two different Canon cameras, a Nikon camera, a Vivitar camera, and a Casio camera before, with work or friends/family.) So when it came time to buy my own, I did a lot of research to find the one that suited my needs and most of my likes. I wanted one with SD card capability (because that's what I use with my PDA already), toggle zoom button, adjustable flash modes, adjustable white balance (for shooting artwork), good battery life, decent LCD, and small size. This camera is it!

Pros:
~great design
functions are easy to get to, menu is easy to navigate and understand, reviewing the pictures on the camera is nice, easy, and fast too
~zoom toggle:
placement of button is smart, button is quickly responsive, even with fat fingers it works great
~F-Stop
adjustable! and easy to adjust without even going into the menu options, as easy as manually zooming (and the button is right below the zoom toggle, so it's easy and efficient), a nice added bonus
~power on
powers on very quickly, returns to settings used before it was powered off
~long battery
except for the first use after the initial charge up, this battery lasts a long time, and the battery slot is quite sturdy
~shots
shots come out beautiful and professional looking. great for photographing artwork, people (portraits, close-ups, groups, etc.), landscapes, action (like sports), etc. clear and crisp end results
~panoramic
shots come out beautiful, and it's actually a really fun and cool function to play with

Cons (pretty minor):
~SD card slot cover
the SD card slot itself is quite sturdy, but the cover is the only flimsy part of the camera that I would like to see changed. it does make me nervous sometimes that I'll break it when I switch out cards
~protective bag
if you plan on using this camera frequently and taking it lots of places with you in a purse or your pocket or something, you should consider buying a better case to carry it in. that's what I did. I use the bag now as a cleaning device for the LCD when I leave fingerprints on it. . .
~kodak software
the software was a little finicky on my machine, but that might be a problem on my end. software does make it a little more difficult to get the pictures online to any site other than kodak, though.

Seriously consider this camera. It really is awesome. I'm so happy I did all the research I did and found this one. Love it . . .

I bought this camera to replace a Canon SD400 that was no longer working. I spent about a week shooting everything, from my one year old son to panoramics in the country. Unlike most digital cameras I have used, this one produced uniformly noisy pictures, even outdoors in bright light. Low-light shooting was just plain awful, but I thought perhaps it was the standard settings I was using. I turned off digital zoom and then did a series of test shots. They all came out noisy. I am not sure if the other reviewers are used to having noisy results, but I am not. The panoramic feature is actually pretty limited in that you can only do 3 images stitched together, and if you don't get it right, the resulting image will be wrong. The way it does this is after you take the first picture, it puts a sliver of that image on the LCD screen and then you have to line that up with the element in the shot. It's a little tricky, but after a lot of trial and error, I got it. The problem is that the wide-angle lens distorts all of the images and the wide-angle panoramics take on a fake, fish-eye quality. I returned this camera and got the new Canon SD700, which is a far superior camera. The Canon implementation of panormic is far superior in that you can stitch together as many images as you like and instead of a sliver, it shows you a third of the original imge for you to line up, which is much easier. In addition, since the stitching is done with software (the camera comes with its own panoramic, but I prefer to use Photoshop's stitching for best results) you can do full 360 degree panoramics, which are very impressive when printed. This isn't the worst camera I've used, but it doesn't take very good pictures, which is really the only thing to judge a camera on, I think.

if you are a realtor, this is the camera for you...i was using a sony mavica 10x that i bought in 1998...i bought a wide angle lens for interior pix and was ok with it...(i make photo pages to go with my listing packages)...i wanted a smaller camera, but didn't realize (or just hadn't thought about it) how far these things have come...until i went to a best buy to look at them and try a few...it hit me, when i realized there were over 2 doz. to choose from, that i had an "antique"....the key to this camera is that it has a very good wide angle lens built in...i hesitated to buy it (thinking it might have a few flaws or not be "as good" as my sony....DUH!!!)...it has a lot of features, easy to use and TINY....fits in a shirt pocket or purse easily...just incredible...ALSO...buy a chip/card as it doesn't come with one.....some of these other reviewers are into some fine details about what it may lack or what could be better ...i guess, no one camera can have it ALL or be perfect.....but, this is very, very close....you won't regret it....TRUST ME!!!! i've been a camera person all my life starting with the boxes to 35mm to 2 1/4x2 1/4...

I have a Canon EOS 6.3MP camera that I think is great and that I use when I want to pretend to be a great photographer, but it's just too large to mess with for quick weekend or business trips. And my old Olympus D-490 2.1 Mp digital looks (and weighs) like a brick contrasted to the newer technologies. So when my Olympus flash finally broke ... it was time for the plunge to another pocket digital camera.

I learned of the Kodak V570 after I was trying to confirm my resolve to buy another Canon camera (Powershot D450) and stumbled across a review in Kiplinger magazine. Attracted to the Kodak's design (and it was a top choice in their review), I decided to check it out.

I was hesitating on buying the Canon only due to it's fit with my hands for the controls/buttons. The quality of the camera, the resolution and balance of the photographs and everything about it seemed great ... and I have a friend who loves his with the exception of its flash.

But this Kodak V570 turned out to be a wonderful shocker:
> it was from Kodak (I've been a Canon and Olympus guy for 20+ years from the AE into the digital age and thought Kodak was only for great film and for Brownie's);
> it's ergonomic design and ease of use is simply the best I've encountered. Small enough to fit in the pocket, but great ergonomics on the switches, buttons and menus;
> the use of ultra-wide and non-projecting telephoto make the camera fun, versatile, and can even pull off some shots I can't do on my Canon EOS (without buying yet another lens);
> intuitive exposure settings that are simple to use and effective;
> the panoramic view feature, in camera, pulls together a 3.1MP photo that beats what I've been able to do with Photoshop;
> and, it simply is cool-looking. Friends literally have had the same reaction to it as when I first showed around my iPod when it first came out a few years ago.

I've been shooting with it a little over a week now and am having great fun. The dock critiques I read on this camera have not been a nuisance to me, the camera integrated seamlessly without installing software on my Mac (2Ghz G5, OS 10.4.6 with iPhoto 6.03). The camera powers fast, shutter lag is minimal, the quality of the photography is very good (in low light to sunlight), and the video feature (including storyboarding) is very useful when I don't want to mess with my Sony Handycam.

The only nits I have with this camera is the memory card door does indeed seem flimsy (noted by others), I have no clue what my battery charge level is and I occasionally capture the carrying strap in a lot of shots due to a combination of the length of the strap and the ultrawide lens. But these are minor nuisances at most.

Form with function. Well done Kodak!

God, this is a wonderful camera. It's small, it's light, and it's got a genuine wide angle lens. You can still together shots for a 180 degree view, which is truly nifty, and it's got video capability and everything. On mine, however, the LCD screen proved vulnerable for reasons yet to be determined but depending on Kodak's response, I'm reserving judgement. These are awfully awfully nice cameras, tiny and high quality. I'd have a hard time getting anything else after this experience, even with the screen self destructing.

This camera is pocket-sized and shoots super-wide shots that really pull in the scenery. the colors are Kodak marvelous...
the BEST thing is....you can shoot three shots side-by-side and the camera stitches them together without having to use a computer!!!
Wide REAL panoramic shots that make scenery magic.
Just check out the sample pictures posted above.
An truly innovative camera. unique/compact/user friendly.

This DC has a very cool appearance. The only thing I'm not satisfied with is the interval time between taking pics. When you take a picture, you have to wait at least 10 seconds to take the next pic. However, it is still a good camera overall,with nice pic qualities.

I have had this camera for a little shy of a month now, and I am thoroughly impressed with it. The screen is big and bright, and can instantly see the picture I took in perfect quality. The panorama function is great and certainly a unique quality of the camera. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I like the dock for connecting and charging, and transfering pictures to my computer through it is simple.

My only complaint is that you cannot see your battery life until it's low on battery - this, however, is a minor inconvience, as the battery holds a lot of life in it.

Highly recommended. This is the camera for the amateur user, both experienced and beginner.

The features of the camera are great. But, the zoom lenz did not work. Only the wide angle lenz worked. I had to leave for an international trip the day after I received the camera. While I my trip, I could not get the zoom lenz to work. When I returned 3 weeks later, I contacted Kodak customer support. They confirmed the camera was not working. I called Amazon's support contact company. They have a policy that you can not return an item for replacement more than 14 days after purchase. I did not have an opportunity as I was out of the country for 3 weeks after purchase. They refused to take the camera back. Amazon has lost me forever as a customer.

It was the first time I bought a product using amazon and I'm completely satisfied. The camera arrived in time and in a perfect condition.

Basicly everything that "Jeffrey Picard 'Photo Guy'" mentioned is absolutly correct with the camera. Also according to toehrs the panoramic option isnt as great as you'd expect it to be, but i disagree. Of course you'll need some practice to get the knack of it but once you do the reward is some wonderful panoramic views! The camera door is weak and if you drop it the door opens and the impact might even make the memory card come out. so be careful with it, and dont just be a klutz. Another thing to mention is that despite popular belief you dont need to bring the Kodak Stand on your travels in order to charge your camera. NO! All you have to do is bring the AC Adapter cable with you [which is included, the same one you use to plug in the stand] because there is a hole in which you can plug the adapter into your camera and charge it.

Besides that. The camera is small enough to fit in your pocket comfortably, sturdy enought so that you arent as afraid that you'll break it easily, and the LCD screen is great size and the pictures come out with amazing colors that arent washed out at all [unlike with some other cameras]. Plus i find that all their picture taking options cover all your picture taking needs and have cool color features that allow you to change the color of your photographs to black and white and sepia as well. I'd have to say that the thing i like the most is the dedicated buttons on the camera that let you review, share, delete and take pictures very quickly and efficiently.

I love my new camera and recomend it.

I had this camera for about a month. It works well. Shoots great video, I love making movies on the go with this thing! Can zoom in and out during filming. I'd say camera is better at filming than taking pictures. Pictures are good, however, forget about taking good quality pictures at evening on the downtown street. Daytime pics are good, could use an image stabilizer though. Blurry warning doesn't quite cut it. Camera design is awesome, the dual lens does not extend, I like that a lot! The only problem with that is if somebody else is taking a picture of you for instance they might accidentally put their fingers ON the lens. Happened to my camera, thankfully no damage. The docking station is cumbersome and unneccessary, invest in SD Card reader. 3X optical zoom is not enough. Wide angle lens is awesome. Overall - good camera for the money.

If you are interested in portable digital point and shoot cameras, since Canon discontinued the Power Shot S-80, this one is one of THREE digital point and shoot cameras on the market that I know of that have a "true" WIDE ANGLE lens of 28mm! (Or in this case a 23mm super wide angle lens!) (The other two are: The Canon Power Shot SD800 IS for $400 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01 for $250)

So, you ask, "who needs a 28mm lens?" You do! Most people concern themselves with how LONG is their telephoto lens. But, most people who "know" know that it is the WIDE ANGLE lens that is most important---most of the "best shots" are made with a WIDE ANGLE lens. For example, you're in Europe and you are trying to "get a shot" of that Cathedral of Notre Dame over there. You NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the California Poppy Fields and you want to get the expanse of the golden-yellow poppy flowers with the huge blue sky filled with white clouds above---you need a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are sitting at thanksgiving dinner and you want to take a photo from the foot of the table with everyone sitting on the left and right---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the garden of the California Mission and you want to take a photo of the ENTIRE garden surrounded by the mission walls---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. It's Christmas day and you want a photo of the ENTIRE GROUP of visitors in front of the Christmas Tree---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. This is where the 28mm lens on THIS camera comes in! So, you NEED THIS CAMERA! Otherwise you'll be cutting off heads and leaving Aunt Sylvia out of the "Christmas Group Photo" this year---and she'll disinherit you and you'll live a life of poverty and misery! :o) If you agree or disagree or know of ANY other digital point and shoot camera that has a WIDE ANGLE lens please write, Email:boland7214@aol.

I have had this camera for around 6 months now. It is not my first digital camera, but I am also not a photo expert. This is a good compromise camera for people in similar positions.

I bought this camera primarily for hiking trips because you can't ask those mountains to back up to fit in the picture. It is wonderful for this purpose. Outdoor shots, especially on a sunny day, are crisp and colorful. I never realized how much I would use the wide angle lens. I use it for almost everything now.

Panorama stitching is not hard to use. However, because there is no viewfinder, one must attempt to stitch using the screen. On a sunny day outdoors, this is extremely difficult. However, as others have mentioned, the stitching would be just fine for realtors or other indoor use.

However, indoor shots are this camera's weakness. The colors never look quite right, and most pictures appear somewhat grainy. I have used other mid-tier consumer digital cameras, and I know that many have this same problem. If you want the camera for taking photos of your kid's first step, maybe another camera would be better.

Picture taking is fairly fast. It's not the fastest, but I can finally get shots of my dog, who was always out of range with my slow focus older camera.

The video works well, and the mic is fine as long as there is no wind. Our indoor graduation videos were perfectly audible, despite the distance, but my outdoor videos on a breezy day were almost inaudible.

Some complain about it, but I actually like the docking station. I can quickly recharge and upload without digging up separate cords, which means I never forget to recharge. The battery seems to last pretty well too.

Once, in the middle of a trip, I turned on the camera, and it could not read the memory card. After a minor freak-out, I popped the card, put it back in, and everything was working. Plus, none of my pictures were lost.

The silent and flash-less "museum mode" is mixed in with many other scene options. I wish it were easier to locate when one is in a hurry.

A stabilizer would be better than the blur notification. Also, I would love a viewfinder because I hold the camera more steady that way and because the screen is hard to see on a sunny day, even though it is a bright screen compared to most. But I suppose there is just no room for a viewfinder in such a small camera.

It's not the perfect camera, but it is small and simple for those on the go, and the wide-angle lens is definitely worth giving up a lot of other features.

This one is one of THREE digital point and shoot cameras on the market that I know of that have a "true" WIDE ANGLE lens of 28mm---23mm in this case! (Or in this case a 23mm super wide angle lens!) (The other two are: The Canon Power Shot SD800 IS for $400 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01 for $250)

I tried out the above camera today, The Kokak EasyShare V570. There are over 30 reviews of the V570 which is "the same camera" as the V705 except that it has fewer pixels and the telephoto is 3X instead of 5X. On this web site of the V570 there are some people who LOVE the camera and some who say "the pictures are noisy" or "the pictures are not sharp with the 23mm lens". Then someone else raves about the pictures made with the V570. And, Consumer Reports rates the prints made by the V570 as having "excellent quality" (the full red circle in Nov. 2006 issue). Thus, I decided to find out for myself what this camera can do.

My first impression when I took it out of the box was: "This is so small. It's like a "toy" instead of a "real camera". But, once I turned the thing on and it started to take beautiful wide angle photos, my impression changed and I thought: "This thing is 'for real'"!

I took quite a few photos especially with the 23mm wide angle lens. They were all at least very good as far as I was concerned. If you want me to send you some "samples" by email write me at: boland7214@aol.

Nothing in the world is "perfect" so if you are "picky" you might say that the "on/off" button is small and "the docking system" is something I'm not used to using and the software is just alittle "confusing" at first but it can be "worked around" after you get used to it, and so forth. But, if you don't expect absolute perfection, I think you'd be happy with this thing! AND DON'T BELIEVE ALL THE "NAYSAYERS"---they must be "plants" or if not, they might have some gas pains or something that put them in a bad mood when they wrote their review! Don't believe them...believe me! :o)

So, you ask, "who needs a 28mm lens---or 23mm in this case?" You do! Most people concern themselves with how LONG is their telephoto lens. But, most people who "know" know that it is the WIDE ANGLE lens that is most important---most of the "best shots" are made with a WIDE ANGLE lens. For example, you're in Europe and you are trying to "get a shot" of that Cathedral of Notre Dame over there. You NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the California Poppy Fields and you want to get the expanse of the golden-yellow poppy flowers with the huge blue sky filled with white clouds above---you need a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are sitting at thanksgiving dinner and you want to take a photo from the foot of the table with everyone sitting on the left and right---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the garden of the California Mission and you want to take a photo of the ENTIRE garden surrounded by the mission walls---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. It's Christmas day and you want a photo of the ENTIRE GROUP of visitors in front of the Christmas Tree---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. This is where the 28mm lens (or 23mm on this camera) comes in! So, you NEED THIS CAMERA! Otherwise you'll be cutting off heads and leaving Aunt Sylvia out of the "Christmas Group Photo" this year---and she'll disinherit you and you'll live a life of poverty and misery everafter! :o) If you agree or disagree or know of ANY other digital point and shoot camera that has a WIDE ANGLE lens please write, Email:boland7214@aol.

One more wide angle candidate: Kodak EasyShare V705 7.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Ultra-Wide-Angle Dual-Lens Optical Zoom I think I'd prefer the Kodak V705 over Kodak V570---for about $50 more you get more pixels enabling you to make larger enlargements AND the regular lens is a 5X optical lens which goes all the way to 180mm telephoto!

I bought this for someone else. She likes it a lot. She chose it among others (at Compusa) because it provided the best (most realistic) colors. Compact, lots of features.

We really love this camera. The dual lenses is great to have. It make taking picture inside perfect and works well outside too. Also, low light shots are better than previous models. Highly recommend.

I bought this camera 8 months ago and liked it enough to buy another for my son for Christmas. If you want a camera that does it all, is easy to use, and is compact enough to put in your pocket "comfortably" then go no further. Sure it has drawbacks. The worst thing about it is Kodak's customer service. They don't care, at all, so don't expect an intelligent answer if you email them. While taking video if you zoom you will hear the whir from the motor. I find it rather unique and amusing. The default sharpness setting is normal. If you want it set high then you need save it as a custom setting and access it that way. While taking video I had a couple of instances where the video was corrupted in the camera, possibly due to a bad memory card. I changed it and haven't had the problem since. So why do I like the V570? It stiches panorama pictures in the camera. You can take close-up fisheye type distorted images of people. TV quality videos. It just plain looks cool. It feels good. I drop it and it doesn't need repairs. The LCD screen is big. It doesn't have space taken up with wasted features like a view finder. The lenses don't go in and out like a trombone slide. Somebody was thinking when they made this little beauty. PHOTOGRAPGHY IS NOT ABOUT THE CAMERA, IT IS ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH. This one takes very nice photographs. For me, 5 megapixels is more than enough. You can even take long exposures with this camera.

As a realtor, I was very excited about this camera. Even though interior shots for the web and printed brochures don't need to be all that great, the pictures from this camera I consider well below average. Yes, you can get a great wide angle of a room, but if you would like to capture any decent detail, this camera won't do it for you. It will, however, do the job for you and since it's going for around $275 now, I would say it's worth it for realtors ONLY! In the camera's defense, I have taken pictures with my Canon EOS 35mm with a Sigma wide angle lense and interior shots have turned out poorly as well. It's a real challenge to get enough light inside a house to take good wide angle shots.

Kodak has made a camera with a lot of features. It took great pictures for about four or five months. Yes then the "Camera Error #45" appeared which is a problem with one of the lenses, making the camera useless. I searched the internet and found others with the same problem. It was great camera when it was working. Now I hope I can find the reciept for the one year warranty. If you only need a good camera for a short period of time this is the one to buy and make sure you keep your receipt nearby. Kodak needs to improve the quality of the internal parts of this and it appears other models of their digital camera line. I am told this is a $150 problem when its not covered by a warranty almost as much as the camera didn't think I was buying a disposable camera if I owned it over a year with no warranty think I would just buy a different camera. Are you listening KODAK.

I have a very nice Olympus digital camera is a notch up from the point-and-shoot category, and just purchased this camera to supplement it. The decision came down to 4 thing: 1) good video capability; 2) compact size; 3) low price; 4) good still-photo capabilities.

I have to say that people who complain about this camera's low-light and indoor capabilities have a point. The combination of a "slow" lens and very weak flash mean that it's just not very good indoors. However, I think the former is a limitation of many compact zoom cameras, not just this one. What is a "slow" lens? It's simply a lens that doesn't let in much light and therefore causes the camera to compensate with slower shutter speeds (resulting in more blurring due to camera or subject movement) and/or a higher ISO (resulting in grainier pictures). A slow lens is one characterized with a high "maximum aperture" f-stop number. For this camera the value is f3.9 for wide-angle and f4.4 for telephoto. A good SLR camera, by comparison, would have values around f2.0 or lower for wide-angle. This makes sense since the tiny lens a compact camera (especially in a non-protruding design like this one, perhaps) trades off aperture for size. But it means that low-light and indoor capabilities suffer. I compared the stats of this camera with a few other compact cameras and it appears that others do a little better in this regard, but I don't know if it's enough to make a difference. However a compact camera with a slightly better aperture rating and a less-worthless flash would likely take noticably better indoor pictures. The flash on this camera has an effective range of something like 9 feet. I took a picture from my kitchen into the living room and they came out dark and with a camera-shake warning.

Interestingly, taking video in the same location turned out fine. Presumably the lower resolution for the video (640x480) allowed the camera to compensate for the (relatively) low light. It looks like the video capability will meet my needs of having being able to record simple videos of my kids' events with a device I can carry in my jacket pocket.

I'll still use my bulkier Olympus camera for certain types of pictures since it offers more control and is better for indoors. But it's nice to have a camera that much more compact and that can take good video. The combination of 60 fps (frames per second) and MPEG-4 compression means this can take more fluid videos while using less memory. A couple Olympus alternatives I looked at had neither of these, so the video should be of lower quality (arguably; quality depends on more factors than just fps) and take up more space (meaning fewer minutes of recording on a memory card).

Don't worry about this camera being "only" 5 megapixels unless you typically print bigger than 8x10 pictures or if you tend to do aggressive cropping when you work with the pictures on your computer. If you just point, shoot and print, you will never see a difference between a 5 MP camera and one with more pixels. Or if you do it's not because of the pixels is because of other technologies that the more expensive or newer camera bring with it.

One final note: this camera has excellent power-on-to-first-picture and button-to-picture times, much better than my other digital camera. In other words, you can turn the camera on and take a picture nearly instantaneously, and when you press the button to take a picture it immediately takes the picture. On my Olympus there is a frustrating pause between pressing the button and having the picture captures. If you're taking a picture of something moving (e.g., someone jumping into the pool) you literally have to anticipate the shot and press the button before the person is in position. That is much less true with this camera. If the recent Consumer Reports figures are correct this camera is perhaps the best compact camera in this regard.

The Kodak EasyShare V570 is a really great camera. I've taken some pretty decent pictures with it, and I have absolutely no knack for photography. The "stitch 3 pictures into 1 panorama" feature really works, and is pretty easy to use. I've actually been able to take pictures of my dog, too. Dog owners out there know that any time you try to get your dog's attention so it is looking at the camera, the dog immediately runs right up to you, so poochy is too close to you to take its picture. Not with this camera. With the wide-angle lens, your dog can be right on your feet and you can still get a shot, sometimes even a good one.

If you have a newer (OS X) Mac, it "just works" with iPhoto; there's no need to install the Kodak software.

The one thing I don't like about it so far is that the dock that comes with the camera is huge and literally gets in the way. If you buy the Kodak "USB A/V Connector" (1002633) on-line from Kodak for fifteen bucks including shipping, you can throw out the dock, as this tiny adapter lets you plug the USB cable (plus connector) straight from the camera to the computer. This connector is a must-have for travellers who want to transfer their pictures to their laptops without lugging the bulky dock along.

Has all functionality you will ever need in a small camera. The dual wideangle lens is so handy when traveling or in cramped spaces.

You will really enjoy using this device.

The sleek black metal exterior and elegant touch of the controls of the Kodak v570 has the rich feel of a Rolex. Even the docking station is a work of art worthy of the coffee table. The internal dual lens system that does not extend externally adds to the sleek apperance and the clever internal lens cover rapidly opens and closes with a quiet -zzzt-.

The wide angle lens is quite a treat. I am able to take a photo of a myself and four other people while holding the camera at arms length. The wide angle photos look more depthy and real. This really stands out from all the other digital cameras I've had.

The colors in the photos are rich and have no decernable compression artifacts when printed at 8x10.

The warm up from off to ready to shoot is a fast 3 seconds and when you depress the shutter button the shot is taken instantly. So this is a good choice if you need to be quick on the draw.

All this at a remarkably low price. I could not be more pleased with this purchase!

Though very impressed with the form factor , dual lens etc, I was very unimpressed with picture quality in low light and indoor conditions.

I really wanted to hold on to the camera inspite of the low light quality issues because I liked the form so much. But then happen to compare the image with Canon SD600 and I couldn't justify keeping it.

So returned the V570, and placed an order on Amazon for SD600. Waiting for its arrival.

Here are the Pros and Cons:
PROS
1.Stylish Form Factor
2.Wide Angle Photography

Cons
1.Cannot connect the camera to a PC without that docking cradle
2.Even if you connect, the camera memory storage doesn't appear as a drive . Instead you need to run the Kodak software to transfer the image.
3.Poor Indoor Image quality.

I have owned this camera for about an hour now. If it breaks I'll change my mind, but so far I'm THRILLED. It's just what I wanted -- a little digital camera with a really wide-angle lens and lots of automatic settings.

I can understand a lot of the criticisms here, and here are my responses:

Not the greatest pictures, especially indoors:

So far I've only taken pictures inside. What I have learned is: I have to play around with the settings. I've taken some lousy, dark pictures, but I've also taken some GREAT pictures! This depends upon flash settings, what "scene" I'm choosing, and a few other variables I'm learning to manipulate. I just took a pretty great picture of my cat close-up, in artifical light. This camera can take some great indoor pictures but I see I have to do some research/practice to get it to do its stuff.

That stupid "door" on the SD holder:

It isn't just flimsy, it's bizarre. I will be careful with it. However I'm going to use it a lot, which brings me to the next thing:

You have to use the dock to charge the battery and get your pictures into your computer:

You sure don't. You can easily charge the battery by plugging the AC adapter into the camera (somebody else mentioned this, but people still seem to think it's an issue); AND you can get the pictures into your camera by simply transferring your SD card into your computer. I happen to have an SD slot in my laptop. If you don't have one, get a card reader, they've become very cheap. I just put the SD card into my computer and the Wizard (WinXP) copied the pictures into My Pictures in about 30 seconds.

In sum: you can ignore that dock if you want to. And the Kodak software.

Shortish battery life:

I don't know about this yet since I've only charged it once, but I already see I can get a replacement battery clone for about $13 in a whole bunch of places on the web, and that's what I'm going to do --- and probably a little separate battery charger so I can make sure I have charged batteries lying around

The fuzzy LCD screen:

True, but I can live with that.

The panoramic shots:

This is incredible! I love it. It makes the camera so great. It's why I bought the camera in the first place. (that is ,the super wide angle lens).

You have to wait 5 seconds before you can shoot another picture:

No you don't. If, right after you take your shot, you push down hard, through TWO clicks, on the button, you can take another picture immediately. It tells you about this in the manual -- it's an "override" for the 5-second review thing.

You can't save your custom settings for the next time you turn on the camera:

Yes you can. Push the "scenes" button and scroll down til you see the yellow wrench (I think that's what it is) and push "OK" and your setting s will be saved.

You can't do RAW and this and that:

Of course not. It's not that kind of camera. It's a point-and-shoot automatic camera, basically. I have other cameras for other things (such as the Olympus C-2100 10X Classic Phallus Zoom to take pictures of birds).
This camera is so great for what it does, though! I think it's unique.

I just hope it stays alive for awhile, it seems a little delicate.
But I would highly recommend it.

the camera is nice, and provides good quality photos compared to its compact size. however, i am disappointed to be forced to use the kodak easyshare everytime i load pics to my laptop... it does not even have a usb port to directly connect the camera to the pc. whenever i travel out, i need to carry the stupid easyshare dock along with the camera - losing the benefit of buying the slim camera...

I am probably repeating previous comments, but:

1. The super wide angle lens is the nicest feature on the camera. No more backing into walls to get everyone in the shot.

2. The camera doesn't handle low light situations well. I consider most indoor situations without really bright lights or a large window nearby as "low light". The flash handles close portrait shots OK, but everything else left something to be desired. No matter how steady I hold the camera I will get slightly blurred image. Even when the "blur indicator" indicates a good shot, it is slightly blurry on the computer monitor or 4x6 prints. My three-year old Canon S400 yields better low light pictures.

3. I put the docking station back in the box after one use. Charge the battery directly with the cable included; use a card reader for the SD card. The references to flimsy SD card cover are probably referring to the plastic hinge on the cover. We have the same type plastic hinges on field surveying equipment that get heavy use daily and they holdup fine.

I am keeping this camera to throw into a coat pocket/wife's purse when we want to travel light. I'm upgrading to the image stabilized Canon SD800 when the quality of the indoor pictures means more.

P.S. Check out the V705 for not much more $'s

This camera is very functional, there are many options that help in an great resolution.

I have to say that I really wanted to like this camera. It takes good pictures and the ultra-wide lens is a nice feature. It is quite compact and has a nice screen. The software is reasonably good and has a nice presentation to the user interface.

Why 2 stars? Ok here's the bad stuff:

1) In the first shipment I got, the normal mode (non-ultra-wide angle) didn't work. The images were garbled and almost unrecognizable. The ultra-wide images were fine. I attributed it to getting a random lemon and returned it for an even exchange. The second V570 I got from Amazon worked fine until about 5 months later and then the normal mode crapped out on me. So, I don't think it is just a random problem. There appears to be a reliability issue with the non-wide angle part of this camera since it seems statistically unlikely that I would randomly get two cameras with the exact same problem. My V570 is now a nice-looking paperweight and I use a Casio Exilim EX-Z70.

2) The stand seemed nice at first until it came time to travel. You have to unhook the whole thing and lug it around with you if you want to charge your camera or download pictures and movies without a card reader dongle. Also, since you have to charge the battery in the camera, you can't charge a spare battery while you are taking pictures with the other. For comparison, my new Casio EX-Z70 has a USB cable that is easy to stick in the pocket of my bag and has an external battery charger. So, if one battery is dead I can leave it behind in the charger while I take pictures with the spare.

3) The movies that you take with this camera are stored in MOV format instead of AVI or MPEG. While it does play in most PCs if you have installed Quicktime, it is not supported by my streaming media player (D-Link DSM-320RD) and is difficult to work with in the video editor/DVD creator SW I use (Sonic MyDVD). I can't say how widely MOV is supported compared to AVI and MPEG, but that format created problems for me.

So, I applaud Kodak for not clinging to the sinking boat anchor of the photographic film business and going digital. But I think a few more usability studies and more attention to reliability would help make this a winner in future iterations.

Have used this several times now and LOVE the wide angle lens.
Stitching of panorama shots is good (better with practice pivoting rather than panning camera)
Quality is acceptable for a point and shoot but not as sharp or clear as my Canon DSLR.
Battery life is good, start up time is decently quick (~1.5 sec.)
Transfer to PC is one touch easy. Many (almost too many) picture modes.
Cons: Flash is weak, and low light performance is marginal at best.

Overall, good pocket camera for daytime parties, landscape and impulse photography. Superwide angle lens is a huge plus for those situations that warrant it (Real Estate pics, group photos, vacation panoramas).

RGUARD

This camera works very well. It's small enough to fit in my purse (about the size of my cell phone) & it takes good pictures. The zoom works good & the preset settings are n