Kodak was on the forefront of the film camera market for many years, a household name, and the manufacturer that everyone wanted to buy their cameras from. Once the digital camera market boomed, Kodak slipped away, known for their film and disposable cameras, and not much else.
That has changed, and Kodak is pushing hard on the digital camera market, with cameras ranging from basic point and shoot to prosumers. Their most successful line is the EasyShare, with over ten cameras offering their own unique features.
One of the newer models in the point and shoot category is the V1253. This digital camera offers high definition 720p video recording, which allows you to quickly and easily grab high quality footage without having to lug around a camcorder.
If you’re looking for a small and light digital camera with HD video recording capabilities, then this camera is definitely a contender. Read on to find out if this camcorder is worth the price and if it will meet your needs, as well as any other issues you need to be aware of.
Body
The body of this device is sleek and small, and it can be slipped into any pocket – it measures in at a small 4″ x 2″ x 1″, which qualifies this as a compact. It is available in two colors, black and white, and offers a widescreen display on the back. The back of the camera features you basic controls – except the navigational button is controlled with a small joystick. There is also a Favorites button, which allows you to tag photos that you especially like.
Features
This camera has a 12 megapixel sensor, which will offer very high resolution photos for those who like to make large prints of their pictures. You can also take photo’s in widescreen format, but they are cropped to nine megapixels.
You can shoot 720p high definition footage, which looks very nice. You can’t do any editing to it, but you can shift through the frames individually, looking to make sure you’ve gotten what you wanted.
The ISO ranges goes from 64 to 3200, which noticeable noise at higher ISOs. There 3x optical zoom and HDMI out if you use the Kodak HDTV Dock.
Cons
The camera has to be charged with a USB cord pulled into a computer. You can purchase an AC adapter, however, for about $12.
There is no image stabilization, which isn’t ideal. However, there is a very shutter speed, so blurs will be kept to a minimum.
Finally, there is come vignetting when using the zoom in widescreen mode, which could ruin an otherwise good shot.
Conclusion
The HD video recording is a nice feature, and one that will added to more cameras over the next couple of years. If you are just as concerned about video recording as you are about snapping pictures, then this is no doubt an excellent option.
Remember that there is image stabilization, which could prove problematic for certain types of shooting.
By: Blair Mathis