I have a Kodak EasyShare V570!

It’s a loaner for the part-time gig and, man, I am digging it. It has a 23mm lens that allows you to take some really interesting pics, really widening your field of view on close shots. In a world’s first, the camera also has a second lens for that works in the 39mm-117mm range!

What else? Well, it is a 5 mega pixel camera with a quality Schneider lens, large 2.5 inch LCD and a lithium-ion battery, stuffed into the small package of 2x4x.8 inches. It shoots VGA video (640×480) at 30 frames/sec. and you can use the zoom while you shoot. There is also this new blur detection technology that helps make sure that your pictures come out looking good and this awesome panoramic option where you take three pictures and the camera stitches them together to give you a 180 degree view.

So do I sound like a Kodak marketing rep yet? Even so, I am really excited about this camera and look forward to demoing it at the retails, ’cause I think that this camera can stand toe-to-toe with any camera out there. When I put it up against my roomy Nick’s new Lumix DMC-FX8K it’s an even heat in a lot of ways. The Lumix has optical image stabilization a bigger Litium-Ion battery and a clear protective cover for the LCD monitor, features that my Kodak just doesn’t have. The only one of those options that I am jealous of though is the bigger battery. The LCD cover is a good idea but not necessary and I am not convinced that OIS is going to help that much with image quality, perhaps in low light, but that’s it. Still, it is forward thinking to have those options available and I appreciate that.

The Lumix doesn’t have that 23mm capability though, nor blur detection technology and doesn’t let you use the zoom in video mode so that are all plusses in the Kodak camp.

It really comes down to preference. I think the 23mm lens is dang unique and gives Kodak an edge on any of the compact digitals out there. Feel free to disagree.

I never took pictures much before this job with Kodak but I imagine that I will be turning into a shutterbug now. Look for me on Flickr soon:)