A great camera for the price
Written: Dec 23 '03
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Pros: Good photos from a small camera - and it automatically rotates portrait photos. Great price.
Cons: Lens cap
The Bottom Line: Good camera that is very easy to use, takes very good photos in most all situations, small and costs so little, you'll be able to buy a larger memory card.
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| laddb's Full Review: Kodak EasyShare DX4530 Digital Camera |
I'll admit that I've never been a fan of Kodak cameras. In my mind, their 35mms never seemed to match the Canons and Minoltas. I've always owned Olympus and my last digital camera was a 3 year old Olympus D490 that took fantastic photos. But it was time for a new camera.
We have small children, so the most important features for me are automatic point & shoot operation and small size. Also, as with all small cameras, red eye can be a problem, so the red eye reduction must be good and quick (small FAST children).
Got the Olympus stylus and it was no good. Red eye reduction flash was too slow and the camera was actually too small - especially for my wife and her long fingernails.
I was lost. I did not know what other camera to buy. I picked up the Kodak because I already had rechargeable AA batteries and a memory card that it could use. When I got it home and tried it, I was very impressed.
I thought the flash was fine and the photos are crisp and clear. I've taken over 500 photos thus far, in all sorts of settings, and it takes very good photos.
What I like:
Good quality images at 5 megapixels, allows me to crop tightly. They print out beautifully on Shutterfly. Normally, 5 MP is probably too much for most people. It means you need bigger memory cards, larger hard drive, longer load times, etc. But for me, cropping (or digitally zooming after the fact), is important, so I wanted every Megapixel I could get.
The small size of the camera is a plus when carrying it around.
Fast and effective red eye reduction flash.
Uses relatively cheap SD cards for memory and only 2 AA size batteries. Buy NimH rechargeables, and save the lithium that comes with the camera as an emergency backup.
Battery life is good - I'm able to take 300-400 photos (without using the LCD).
It has internal 32m memory which I see as a nice extra capacity that can be used in a crunch.
My favorite feature is the automatic tilt sensor. If you take a photo with the camera rotated vertically, it will automatically rotate the photos for you.
Now the negatives:
The lens cap. It pops off to easily. I'm going to buy a protective UV filter for it leave the cap off most of the time.
The selector dial can be hard to operate sometimes.
Not a problem for me, but some people want more control over functions. You have no real control here. Most everything is controlled by the camera, and it does a very good job. I wanted Point & Shoot, so again, not a problem for me.
Other Stuff:
Yes, this camera takes video too, but go buy yourself a video camera and don't count on this still camera for your video needs.
The night scene mode and long exposure settings work good, but you'll need a tripod or very steady hands.
Overall, I'm very impressed by this Kodak camera and can't believe I got it for only $270. Sears had them on sale for $300 and then 10% off. I'd recommend to anyone looking for a worry free (no manual adjustments) digital camera who also does lots of cropping or wants the option.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 270
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
laddb
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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