Kodak EasyShare V530

 

Model Design / Appearance (7.75)
The Kodak EasyShare V530 is competing with the slim and trendy portion of the digital camera market. It is offered in four colors – midnight black, red shimmer, silver essence, and absolute pink – to appeal to trendsetters. The V530 is thin and flat so it can be stuffed in the pocket of a faux fur jacket and taken to a party. The design is sleek, but is still one of the bigger-boned models of the slim market. The appearance is enhanced by the cool color offerings and the simple-looking button setup.

Size / Portability (7.5)
While the V530 will fit into the pocket of a faux fur jacket, it’ll be a lot harder to stuff it into the pocket of those leather pants. With measurements of 3.6 x 2 x 0.9 inches, this EasyShare is thicker than most models in the ultra-compact market. The lens extends from the camera as well, differing from the many internal lenses slim cameras now have. The Kodak EasyShare V530 is proportionately light at 4.6 ounces without its battery (which is also quite light) and memory card. The V530 is not the smallest camera I’ve seen but is still compact and lightweight.

Handling Ability (5.5)
Having flat surfaces is great when it comes to sliding a camera into pockets, but a bit of a disadvantage for handling. There are hardly any ergonomic features on the Kodak V530. On the front, there is a polished silver highlight that gives the right middle finger something to grab onto, but that’s a stretch. The highlight is smooth, so it isn’t the best gripping material. Many compact models have subtle divots in the surface of the camera that allow for thumbs to rest easily around buttons and such, but there is nothing like that on the V530. The LCD screen is slightly raised, but other than that, this camera is as flat as Iowa. Handling is further complicated by the placement of the buttons on both sides of the LCD screen and the functionality of the single-paneled multi-selector.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (5.0)
At first glance, the buttons on the Kodak EasyShare V530 look neat and nicely laid out in a linear fashion. The organization is easy on the eyes, but not on the hands. Control buttons are located on both sides of the LCD screen, so both hands have to be at attention at all times. The oft-used Menu button is in the bottom left corner – perhaps the most inconvenient location. When shooting, it is most comfortable to put the left index and middle fingers atop the camera and the ring and pinky finger on the front with the thumb at the bottom for support. If changes need to be made within the menu, the button is closest to the thumb – but then support is lost and the camera drops. Try reaching with the index finger, and you'll find it's not comfortable at all. So while the layout looks nice, it isn’t very functional.

The multi-selector is also placed to the left of the LCD screen. It is made of a single panel with an OK button in the center. The single panel is square shaped, which is a bit strange. Navigating just isn’t as simple with this setup. There is no mode dial; instead, there are three mode buttons atop the camera: Favorites, Movie, and Auto mode. To its credit, the Kodak V530’s buttons are nicely sized and kept to a minimum.

Menu (8.5)
The Menu button eliminates the live view and throws the EasyShare V530 into a blue-screened menu system with large font. As users scroll through the selected option titles (e.g. Tungsten), the names of the features (e.g.. White Balance) appear at the top of the screen.

Auto Mode Menu - The Auto mode menu is longest as it is, ironically, the mode with the most manual functions available. The following options are available: Self-timer, Burst, Picture Size, White Balance, ISO Speed, Color Mode, Sharpness, Exposure Metering, AF Control, Focus Zone, Long Time Exposure, Set Album (still), and Image Storage. There is also an option to enter the setup menu. When the menu is entered from a scene mode, it has most of the same options from the previous list but leaves out a few. Most scene modes don’t let users choose white balance, ISO or metering.

Setup Menu - The setup menu has a lengthy list of options to customize the camera: Camera Sounds, Sound Volume, LCD Brightness, LCD Dimmer, Auto Power Off, Date & Time, Video Out, Photo Frame, Orientation Sensor, Red-eye Pre-flash, Date Stamp, Video Date Display, Video Print, Blur Warning, Language, Format and About.

Photo Frame - Most of the options are self-explanatory except for the ambiguous Photo Frame. Users can select this to change slide show settings for when the camera is docked in the included Kodak EasyShare Photo Frame Dock 2.

Playback Menu - The Playback menu is the shortest of the set with the following options: Album, Crop, Slide Show, Multi-up, Copy, Protect and Image Storage.

Share Menu - The Share menu is also short: Print, Email, Favorite, Print All and Cancel Prints. Menus are intuitive, but navigation isn’t as ergonomic with the square-shaped single-paneled multi-selector. I miss live views and easy navigation, but the large font and high screen resolution is especially nice.

Ease of Use (8.0)
The Kodak EasyShare V530 has both pros and cons for its ease of use; it doesn’t pass this with flying colors like many Kodak cameras do. First, the pros: The V530 has a ruby colored Share button that brings up a menu that allows users to choose email addresses for certain pictures (this works with the EasyShare Software), transfer images directly to a printer and play slide shows and such. Now for the cons: The physical handling of the V530 is complicated by the control button positioning on both sides of the LCD screen and the square-shaped dysfunctional multi-selector. Still, if ease of use simply means being able to pick up a camera and take great shots with it two seconds later, then the Kodak EasyShare V530 is still easy to use.