Kodak M550 Review

The Kodak EasyShare M550 digital camera is based around the combination of a 12 megapixel CCD image sensor, and a Kodak-branded 5x optical zoom lens with 35mm-equivalent focal lengths ranging from 28 to 140mm. Unfortunately, the Kodak M550 doesn't include true mechanical image stabilization, relying on software blur reduction instead. Kodak's spec sheets don't list the aperture range for the lens.

The Kodak EasyShare M550 doesn't include an optical viewfinder of any kind, instead selecting a 2.7" LCD display. The EasyShare M550 can store images on either SD or SDHC cards, and also includes 32MB of built-in memory. Power comes courtesy of a Kodak KLIC-7006 lithium-ion battery, and unusually the M550 can also be charged with a standard USB charger.

Kodak's EasyShare M550 includes the company's face detection technology, capable of detecting up to five faces in a scene. In addition, the face recognition function can be programmed to automatically recognize the faces of twenty specific individuals, who can then be automatically tagged when their face is detected in an image, allowing quick location of their photos in-camera or in software that can read the tags. Other features of the camera include 30 frames-per-second VGA (640 x 480 pixel) QuickTime MotionJPEG standard-definition video capture, ISO sensitivity to 1,600 max., and three-image in-camera panorama stitching.

Available from March 2010, the Kodak EasyShare M550 is priced at around $150, and can be purchased in five body colors - dark grey, purple, tan, blue and green.