EasyShare V750 review

The Kodak EasyShare V570 is the first compact camera to include two separate lenses and CCD sensors. There’s one set for wide-angle shots and another for telephoto. However, this approach has drawbacks as well as benefits.

On the positive side, the two lenses enable the camera to offer a long zoom range without having a lens protruding from the front. The two lenses (a fixed 23mm lens and a 32mm-to-117mm zoom lens) give a combined zoom range of 5x, while most compact cameras provide only a 3x zoom. The wide-angle lens can be a big plus if you’re taking group shots, too.

The downside is that the camera must change from one lens to the other while zooming, and this results in an annoying pause of a half-second or so.

Another annoyance is that the two lenses and sensors take up space, which may be why the camera only captures images at a 5mp. This is low by today’s standards – most new compact cameras shoot at 6mp or higher. Of course, resolution is not the key to image quality, but having the ability to enlarge images is helpful.

Despite the disadvantages, the V570 turned in impressive image quality for a sub-£300 camera. In our tests, it produced sharp images that exhibited bright colour and accurate exposures. The small built-in flash was weak, though.

• Topics
• Cameras,
• Photography,
• Hardware

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