Kodak C533 Review

The Kodak EasyShare C533 combines a five megapixel CCD imager and a Kodak-branded 3x optical zoom lens with a fairly standard 37 - 111mm equivalent focal range. For framing images, there's both a 1.8" LCD display and a real-image optical viewfinder - an increasingly rare option these days and one that adds a good degree of versatility, letting you get the shot when you can't make out the LCD in bright sunlight, or save battery life by disabling the LCD when accurate framing isn't vital. Images are stored on Secure Digital / MultiMediaCards, or in 10MB of internal memory.

The Kodak C533 has 12 scene modes to help beginners achieve the results they're looking for without the need to understand subtleties like shutter speeds, apertures and the like. The C533 determines exposures with a center-weighted TTL metering system, and offers 2.0EV of exposure compensation in 1/2EV increments. Four white balance settings are available including an auto mode, and ISO sensitivity is controlled automatically or manually, ranging from 80 to 400 with the ability to trade resolution for a higher ISO of 800 at 1.1 megapixel resolution. The EasyShare C533 also offers a movie mode, capturing VGA or QVGA clips without audio, at a framerate of 11 fps in QuickTime MotionJPEG format.

Images and movies captured on the Kodak C533 are transferred to your computer over a USB 2.0 Full Speed connection, rather slower than the USB 2.0 High Speed connections offered on many cameras these days. Power comes from two standard AA batteries - either alkaline or lithium disposables, or NiMH rechargeables. List pricing for the Kodak EasyShare C533 is set at $179.