Kodak V570 Design

Kodak V570 Design

The V570 is an eye-opener in the Kodak EasyShare lineup, featuring a dual-lens design that offers an extremely wide, 23mm lens setting. Its stylish black metal panels, low-profile controls, and very thin size rank the V570 among the more fashionable digital cameras in the marketplace. Included with the V570 is Kodak's newest generation EasyShare Photo Frame Dock 2, with a round, thin design equally as stylish. Measuring only 4.0 x 1.9 x 0.8 inches (10 x 4.9 x 2.0 centimeters), and weighing only 4.4 ounces (125 grams) without the card or battery, the V570 is at home in shirt pockets and small purses, and comes with a teensy wrist strap to save it from damage should it slip out of your hands.

The Kodak V570's dual lens platform is dead center on the camera's front panel, with an automatic sliding lens cover that remains just below flush with the front panel so that there are no protrusions to hang on pockets. The lens remains behind the front panel when powered on, keeping the camera extremely low-profile, even while shooting. In addition to the lenses, underneath the lens cover are the camera's microphone and a tiny Self-timer/AF assist lamp. The only other elements on the front panel are the flash and a teensy-tiny raised bump for a fingergrip.

On the right side of the camera (as viewed from the rear) is the SD/MMC card slot, covered by a minimal flap that simply pops in and out of place with your fingernail. The compartment door remains tethered to the camera body via a small plastic strap. If not replaced securely, it can work loose and flop around; one of our least favorite aspects of the design. Below the compartment is the exposed DC In terminal, great for dock-less charging. Also on this side of the camera is a tiny eyelet for the wrist strap.

The opposite side of the camera is featureless.

The Kodak V570's top panel is flat with low-profile controls. From left to right, the Favorites, Movie, Auto/SCN, Power, and Shutter buttons remain flush with the panel. Cool blue LEDs light the mode buttons when the camera is powered on. When the V570 is plugged into a power supply or sitting in the cradle, these lights serve as a gauge of how the charge is progressing, starting with one, and ending with all three lights illuminated. It's a nice touch.

The rest of the camera controls are on the rear panel, along with the 2.5-inch LCD monitor. A Zoom rocker button in the top right corner controls optical and digital zoom. Directly below that is the multi-controller, which actuates up, down, left, or right, and navigates menu options. Pressing the center of the button acts as the OK button. The up and down controls also adjust the monitor display and focus modes, respectively. Lining up on the left side of the LCD monitor are the Flash, Delete, Menu, Review and Share buttons. A tiny LED lamp above the Flash button lights to indicate camera focus or flash status.

On the bottom panel of the Kodak V570 are the tripod mount, dock port, and battery compartment. The metal, threaded tripod mount is just off-center and too close to the battery compartment for quick battery changes while working with a tripod. The battery compartment features a locking, hinged door, which slides forward to open. Inside, a small ejection lever locks the battery in place or releases it. The dock connection jack connects the camera directly to the EasyShare dock for quick image downloading.

Kodak V570 External Controls

Shutter Button: Located on the far right of the Kodak V570's top panel, this button sets focus and exposure when halfway pressed, and fires the shutter when fully pressed. In Playback mode, pressing this button returns the camera to the selected Record mode.

Power Button: Just left of the Flash button, this button turns the camera on and off.

Auto/SCN Mode Button: To the left of the Kodak V570's Power button, this button enters the Auto exposure mode when pressed once. A second press enters SCN mode and displays the SCN menu. Options in this mode are Panoramic L-R, Panoramic R-L, Sport, Landscape, Night Portrait, Night Landscape, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Manner/Museum, Party, Children, Backlight, Panning Shot, Candle light, Sunset, Close-up, Text, Flower, Self-portrait, and Custom preset shooting modes.

Movie Mode Button: Directly to the left of the Auto/SCN button, this button enters Movie mode, for recording short video clips with sound.

Favorites Button : The final button in the series on the Kodak V570's top panel, this button puts the camera into Favorites mode, which lets you view images tagged as "Favorites" in a type of digital photo album.

Zoom Rocker Button: In the top right corner of the camera's rear panel, this two-way rocker button controls the optical and digital zoom in any record mode. In Playback mode, the lever controls the amount of digital enlargement applied to captured images, to a maximum of 8x.

Multi-Controller and OK Button : Located in the lower-right corner of the Kodak V570's rear panel, this joystick-like rocker button navigates through menu screens and options. Pressing down the center confirms menu selections. Outside of the menu system, the right and left buttons adjust the exposure compensation. The up button controls the LCD display mode, while the down button cycles between Normal AF, Macro, and Landscape focus modes.

In Playback mode, the controller scrolls through captured images, when moved left and right. Pressing the button down activates the index display mode.

Flash Button : The top button in a series lining the Kodak V570's LCD monitor, this button cycles through the Auto, Fill, Red-Eye Reduction, and Off flash modes.

Delete : Below the Flash button, this button calls up the Delete menu in Review mode. You can delete individual images or all images on the card. There's also an option to cancel.

Menu Button : Next in line below the Delete button, this button displays the settings menu in Playback or Record modes.

Review Button : Beneath the Menu button, this button activates Playback mode when pressed in any record mode. Once in Playback mode, pressing the button again, or the Shutter button, returns to the Record display.

Share Button : The final button in the series on the left of the LCD monitor, this button lets you tag images for printing, emailing, or as a favorite image. (A heart icon appears on "favorite" images.) Pressing this button in Record mode automatically enables Playback mode, and displays the Share menu with the following options:

• Print: Designates the number of copies of the current image to be printed.
• E-Mail: E-mails a low-resolution copy of the image to a recipient, based on a saved address book.
• Favorite: Marks the current image as a "favorite."
• Print All: Prints one copy of each image on the memory card or internal memory.
• Cancel Prints: Cancels a print order.