PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
We have to tell you, wide-angle capabilities in a point-and-shoot digital camera are a revelation. Does this camera have that and more? Sure does. Dual lenses, so that it goes from a wide 23mm equivalent to a 117mm equivalent (6x zoom) without a protruding lens? Check. A large, beautiful LCD? Sure thing. An in-camera panoramic stitch that makes the most of both those features? Oh, yes.
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The V570's wide-angle lens creates interesting effects.
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The V570 is also incredibly compact. We carried it in a front pant pocket while traipsing around London, in a jacket pocket on the ski slopes, and in a cargo-pant pocket on mountain climbs. The V570 is very portable, and it's so inconspicuous in its small size that we felt secure with it in a front pant pocket while strap-hanging on Mexico City public transportation.
And then there are the pictures. We love that the wide-angle setting allows us to fit so much into the picture. It also creates some interesting stretching effects in close-ups, as with the photo of cakes at left. In addition, color reproduction is stunning: blue skies are faithfully rendered, bright colors remain bright even in low-light settings or flash photos, and contrast and tonal range are almost always as perfect as we could hope.
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Panoramic mode is easy to use
and works beautifully.
(Click images for larger views.) |
The in-camera panoramic stitch mode is also extremely easy, and it produces exquisite results. The only down side to this feature is that it severely limits your other photographic options--the two or three images that make up the panoramas are taken at 3.2-megapixel resolution, and the flash won't fire while you're in panoramic mode. However, we found the resolution to be sufficient in the end, and reserving panoramic use for well-lit scenarios did not prove such a hardship. (Make sure to check out other customers' photos, taken in a range of lighting situations, via the link above.)
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Some of our favorite photos taken with the V570.
(Click images for larger views.) |
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Finally, the camera's video function performs admirably. A friend used his V570 to film a football team taking the field, and both image and sound were top notch. And the large, bright 2.5-inch LCD does its duty well as a photo and video viewer. Separate buttons allow you to zoom in on sections of a photo and navigate within one picture or all the pictures on your card. (Photos can also be viewed in a multi-up mode, which displays nine at a time, or in a slideshow that can be shown on the screen or on your television.)
This is not to say that the camera doesn't have a few imperfections. It must be docked for charging the battery or downloading images. In photos, bright lights are occasionally surrounded by a purple fringe. The power and scene mode buttons are on the small side, and there's no way to prevent the camera from displaying just-taken images for five seconds after the shot (though you can take another photo immediately by pressing the shutter-release button twice).
These are small gripes about an otherwise stellar camera, though. We've found the V570 to be the best combination of unique features, impressive styling, and overall user-friendliness of any cameras currently available, and we cannot recommend it enough.--Sarah Sternau
Pros
- Wide-angle lens produces beautiful photos
- Color reproduction is amazing
- In-camera panoramic stitch works wonderfully
Cons
- 5-second post-capture review can't be turned off
- Occasional purple fringe; limited settings options in panoramic mode
- Requires docking station for charging the battery or downloading images
