Kodak EasyShare V530

Viewfinder (0.0)
One of the biggest differences between the Kodak EasyShare V530 and the flagship V550 is that the V530 does not have an optical viewfinder. Instead, the Kodak V530 has a 2-inch LCD screen with a high resolution of 230,000 pixels. Optical viewfinders on point-and-shoots are famous for their inaccuracy, so one is certainly not missed on this model; the LCD is accurate and provides a smooth view.

LCD Screen (7.75)
The LCD screen on the Kodak V530 has a lot of resolution at 230,000 pixels and a smooth view. The resolution is the same as the V550, but the V530’s screen is a half-inch smaller. The 2-inch screen has an anti-reflection coating and a wide 170 degree viewing angle so the image pretty much always looks good. The brightness of the LCD screen can be adjusted in the setup menu with Auto, Power Save, and High Power options. The High Power setting keeps the LCD bright at all times and drains the battery more quickly. The Auto and Power Save options seemed quite similar to me. The screen was brightly lit when buttons were pushed, but the screen dimmed after a few seconds of inactivity. I looked in the user guide to try to find out the difference between Auto and Power Save and found that the manual omitted that section of the setup menu. Anyway, it is sufficient to say that there are battery-saving brightness modes for the LCD screen. Also in the setup menu is an LCD Dimmer option with options of 10, 20, and 30 seconds, as well as Off. 10 seconds seemed way too short for me. I’d frame a shot and before I could take the picture the screen would dim. Perhaps I’m slow, but I prefer the 20-30 second options. The actual intensity of the brightness of the screen cannot be adjusted, but it didn’t seem to be needed with the excellent resolution and anti-glare coating. Overall, the high-resolution LCD screen is one of the best features on the Kodak EasyShare V530.

Flash (5.75)
The Kodak V530 has a few features that are positioned differently than they are on the majority of compact cameras, the flash being one of them. Most compact models place the flash either directly above the lens (which is ideal) or to the top right of the lens. The V530’s built-in flash is placed to the far left of the lens. This keeps fingers from wandering into the way of the flash, but also makes the brightest point in the picture slightly right of center.

The tiny flash does not light the scene evenly. There is a bright spot right of the center and the lighting gradually decreases and fades into darker shades in all four corners. The flash is quite weak as well. When the lens is at its widest, the flash reaches from 2-9.2 ft. When the lens is zoomed in on a faraway subject, the flash only reaches 2-6.3 ft.

There aren’t many flash modes available: Auto, Fill, Off, and Digital Red-eye Reduction completes the V530’s selection. The red-eye reduction mode doesn’t send out a strobe of flashes (unless the pre-flash is selected in the setup menu), but only flashes once like the other modes. The difference is that the camera digitally removed the red eyes after the picture was taken and before it was recorded. It worked better than I’d expected; my subjects retained their normal eye color. Still, this mode is just one bright spot on a disappointingly weak flash (oh yes, pun intended).

Zoom Lens (6.5)
While most other slim models have tiny lenses that stay tucked within the camera body, the Kodak EasyShare V530 has a 3x optical zoom lens that extends from the camera in three segments. The lens is a branded Schneider-Kreuznach C-Variogon lens, but it does have some noticeable barrel distortion (close-ups of faces are not flattering at all!). The lens is equivalent to a 36-108mm zoom and users can tap the see-saw-like toggle on the back to control it. The toggle really only lets users zoom to five positions within the 36-108mm range, which is a little disappointing. When the zoom control is tapped, the camera seems to zoom more than intended sometimes. Just as a side note, the Kodak EasyShare V530 does have 4x digital zoom but I don’t recommend using it. Digital zoom makes pictures look like the blurred faces of victims on the news. Scary.