- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 44 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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11 out of 11 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Great compact camera, Compare to Pentax Optio"
Pros: Good video compatible with Mac, stylish
Cons: compression results in inconsistent picture quality
Summary: I have been an avid user of the Pentax Optio series and have used three models. When mpeg4 movie compression came out, I anxiously awaited Pentax to update their models. I bought the Optio S5N, but was disappointed that their movie mode (saving the mpeg4 within an AVI shell) is not compatible with current Macintosh software. Kodak got this one right, opting to save their mpeg4 movies as .mov, which is totally compatible with Mac (and PC), and iMovie. In fact, I don't have to convert any files at all, just drop into iMovie and away you go.
Compared with the Optio S4, the Kodak V550 looks nicer, but is heavier. The 2.5 inch screen is nice, but frankly, I don't think this is entirely necessary since it burns battery life faster.
Also, the images on the Kodak V550 are very good, but I prefer the crisper look of the Pentax images, which are also somewhat less saturated with color. The Kodak does not allow you to change the compression ratio. Fortunately, this is okay most of the time since the camera defaults to the ISO 80 setting where possible which has the greatest resolution. However, zooming in on some photos taken with lower light levels or slower shutter speeds reveals more noise than I would prefer to see in a 5 megapixel camera.
Overall, I think the Kodak V550 is a terrific camera and while I am still adjusting to it, I am very happy with it and recommend it to anyone looking for a good quality digital camera that takes great movies compatible with Mac and PC.
