The interface of the Kodak V570
relies entirely on the 2.5 inch monitor, be it to inform the
user of the current camera settings, or to make it possible
to change settings. Under most lighting situations, such as
indoors or in shaded areas, the monitor is sufficiently bright
to be legible, and in turn the interface of the V570 is an
effective tool. Outdoors under a summer sun however, the monitor
becomes difficult to decipher, and in turn interacting with
the camera becomes a bit of a chore that requires shielding
the screen to see it while trying to manipulate the joystick
to make settings.
The V570 seems designed for a point-and-shoot use above all
else, as anything that is beyond that requires some fiddling
on the part of the user. For instance, shooting a series of
night time photos requires reinitializing the self-timer for
every single shot to avoid any camera movement. Moreover,
accessing the Custom mode — the only mode that
recalls most user settings — requires going through
the Auto mode first, a process that entails a time
penalty that can cause a lost shot.
Still, in some other aspects, the interface of the V570 is
efficiently designed. For example, the Setup menu —
the place where most basic camera settings are made —
is accessible whatever the shooting mode. In addition, all
menus loop, meaning that while they open at the first option,
pushing the joystick up navigates to the last option, which
with this camera is the access to the Setup menu:
Return: returns to the previous menu, be it the
recording menu or the playback menu.
Camera Sounds provides settings for two items:
Themes: which can be used to apply different
but similar sound effects to all functions (None, Default,
Animals, Fantasy, Music or Sci-fi).
Individual which allows the user to choose
a specific sound effect for each individual function:
Start-up, AF lock, Shutter, Self-timer and Error.
Sound Volume: serves to adjust the volume of the
sound produced by the V570 (low, medium, high or Off).
Digital Zoom: On or Off. Controls the 4X digital
zoom. Once selected, the setting is retained even after
the camera has been turned off.
LCD Dimmer: serves to select the time delay until
the monitor dims to conserve power (10, 20 or 30 seconds
or Continuous).
Auto Power Off: sets the delay before the camera
automatically turns off after a period of inactivity (1,
3, 5 or 10 minutes).
Date and Time: to set the internal clock and calendar
of the V570.
Video Out: selects the video out signal (NTSC or
PAL).
Photo Frame serves to select slide show settings
that will be used when the camera is docked on the EasyShare
Photo Frame Dock 2: Interval (between 3 and 60 seconds per
image); Loop (On or Off); Transition (sets the transition
effect between frames); Image Source (Auto, Internal Memory,
or Favorites); Run Time (from 1/2 hour to 12 hours in 1/2
hour increments).
Distortion Compensation: On or Off. When On the
distortion compensation corrects the barrel distortion that
would otherwise be more noticeable when the 23 mm lens is
used.
Orientation Sensor: orients photos so that they
are displayed the correct way up. Three options are offered:
On, Off, or On Transfer which only orients the photo when
it is transferred to a computer.
Red-eye Pre-flash: On or Off. Worth noting, the
camera automatically corrects images for red-eye internally
whether or not the pre-flash red-eye reduction system is
used.
Date Stamp: On or Off. Decides whether or not the
date will be permanently superimposed on images.
Video Date Display: On or Off. Displays the recording
date and time of the video at the start of playback, and
allows selecting the date format.
Blur Warning: On or Off. Decides whether or not
the camera shows an indication that the image might be blurred
when the shutter speed is below a certain threshold.
Language: selects the language for the interface
and the menus (English, German, Spanish, French, Italian,
Portuguese, Chinese, Korean or Japanese, Swedish, Danish,
Finnish, Polish, Russian, Czech, Turkish, Greek, Dutch).
Format: to format either the internal memory or
the memory card.
About: displays information about the camera, including
the Firmware's version number.
The printed manual included with the Kodak EasyShare V570 is
somewhat disjointed, making it harder than it should to locate
and understand specific camera functions. For example, while
a list of menu options is provided for both the capture and
setup menus, the review (playback) menu is not presented anywhere.
Likewise, the manual lacks consistency, and while some functions
are explained in a logical flow that follows the way one would
experience them using the camera, others do not. And, even more
importantly, some functions are entirely glossed over, appearing
only as a short description in an irrelevant section of the
manual.
Software
A single CD-ROM is bundled with
the Kodak V570: Kodak EasyShare Software (version 5.2
for Windows and 4.0.5 for Mac OSX).
EasyShare is primarily an image browser that serves
to download images from the camera when it is docked or connected
directly to a computer via USB.
Images can be organized into
albums and seen as adjustable-size thumbnails, or sorted using
keywords that have been assigned previously.
The task bar at the top of the program’s window provides
buttons that can be used to change image orientation, burn
photos to a CD, print images either on a printer at home or
through an online service — Ofoto is offered during
the installation — or even prepare them so they can
be attached to an e-mail.
Images can also be edited. Once
opened in the editing window, eight buttons at the top of
the window provide tools for:
Crop: provides presets such as cropping the image
to a 4x6 inch size for printing, or do freeform cropping.
Rotate: serves to rotate the image in 90° increments.
Redeye: automatically corrects the red-eye effect,
or allows correcting it manually by clicking on each eye
in turn.
Enhance: brightens the image and adjusts the contrast
automatically.
Scene Balance: provides sliders to adjust exposure,
shadow, and highlights.
Colour Balance: automatically adjusts the colour
balance of the image by having the user click on a grey
area in the image.
Scene Effects: serves to convert the image to Black
& White, or Sepia, or enhance it by selecting:
Forest: which enhances greens,
Scenic: which enhances all colours,
Portrait: which softens sharpness, enhances
flesh tones and warms the image,
Sunset: which increases red saturation, warming
the image.
Fun Effects which offers special effects:
Spotlight: darkens the frame with the exception
of the centre,
Colouring Book: renders the image as black
lines,
Cartoon: renders the image as a colour drawing,
Fisheye: magnifies the central portion of the
image.
Interface & Software
