Lucky eight
8 megapixels and affordable
Last year, Kodak staged a comeback with its promising dual lens cameras. Now it's making a serious bid to regain its throne in the compact digital camera world with the V803.
For those familiar with the dual lens cameras of Kodak – the V507, V610 and friends – this isn't one of them. Instead of the compact folded optics design of previous models, this has a more conventional zoom lens that protrudes from the front. With no second wide-angle lens and no second CCD, the V803 has more pedestrian powers than its predecessors, but it also means that Kodak has been able to lower the camera's cost. For eight megapixels, you normally pay much more; this camera can be yours for just 15K
3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD screen may be middle of the road features nowadays, but the V803 does come with some juicy nuggets. Our favorite has to be the panoramic shot feature, which stitches three photos together for an ultra-wide picture. It's so easy to use and seamless that it stole the show (we couldn't stop playing with it). There's a high ISO mode (for shooting in low light situations), which produced unacceptably grainy photos. There's also image stabilization (digital, not optical), which didn't always work, but at least there's some kind of image stabilization available. Movie mode produced some very good 640 x 480 pixel videos.
The V803 is, of course, one of those “easy to use” cameras that Kodak is famous for. Though it doesn't have the usual digicam layout, the controls are easy to get around nonetheless. 24 scene modes mean that there's a choice for almost every shooting situation you can think of. Picture quality turned out excellent, with lots of detail, vibrant colors, and decent performance in the dark. With minimum fuss, this is a sexy little compact that provides great value for money. Vince Sales
KODAK V803 | P16,995
www.kodak.com.ph
TECH 8-megapixel CCD. 36-108mm (equiv) Kodak Retinar Lens. 3x optical zoom. 2.5-inch LCD. 24 scene modes. 640 x 480 videos. 32MB internal memory. SD card. 103 _ 54.5 _ 25mm. 141.5g.
LOVE Lots of megapixels at an affordable price. Excellent panoramic shot feature and movie mode.
HATE High ISO mode is noisy. Digital image stabilization doesn't always work. Weak flash.
WE SAY If you're looking for something simple yet excellent, with megapixels to spare, look no further.
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T3 Magazine Philippines - May 2007 Issue
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 KODAK V803
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