Kodak EasyShare V803 8 Megapixel Compact Camera - Silver Essence

Good camera for the price.

Strengths: Compact size, nice lcd screen, easy to use

Weakness: Weak flash, records zoom sounds during video

The camera is easy to use, fits in a pocket, and has great features like panorama and burst. The camera works great with the kodak dock, making it super simple to download the pictures to your computer and recharge the camera. It's extremely hard to take pictures in direct sunlight, as there is no viewfinder and the lcd screen washes in the sun. While recording video, if you zoom in and out, it...
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The camera is easy to use, fits in a pocket, and has great features like panorama and burst. The camera works great with the kodak dock, making it super simple to download the pictures to your computer and recharge the camera. It's extremely hard to take pictures in direct sunlight, as there is no viewfinder and the lcd screen washes in the sun. While recording video, if you zoom in and out, it makes an annoying sound that is also recorded with your video. I have a more expensive camera that works great, but can't be taken anywhere without a bulky camera bag, this camera is super compact and takes good pictures for its price.

By mytime - Feb 26, 2008

Average camera

Strengths: Relatively low cost, 8 mega pixel, many shooting mode, 8 choices of colors

Weakness: Slippery/round-corner design, thick cover, lower flash power, hard to connect the AV cable, average photo quality and LCD resolution, washed-out LCD screen in bright light, slow machine

I spent one month researching digital cameras before making the purchase. Finally, I narrowed down to Sony Cybershot W55/W80 or Kodak V803. I went with Kodak V803 because it is cheaper and it has many good comments from Amazon.com and Newegg.com. They averaged 4.5 to 5 stars. However, I didn't read the expert review at Pricegrabber.com. That turns out to be a mistake. Really, I am not sure why...
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I spent one month researching digital cameras before making the purchase. Finally, I narrowed down to Sony Cybershot W55/W80 or Kodak V803. I went with Kodak V803 because it is cheaper and it has many good comments from Amazon.com and Newegg.com. They averaged 4.5 to 5 stars.

However, I didn't read the expert review at Pricegrabber.com. That turns out to be a mistake. Really, I am not sure why others rate it 5 stars citing good quality and many real estate agents recommend it, this camera should not be more than 3.5 stars as far as quality is concerned. I will give a 2.5 stars because I would not buy it again knowing what I know now.

The round corner design makes it very slippery when taking photos. Relatively large thickness also make my hands tired carrying it. This is a very feminine camera. The flash light and microphone are placed in a location that I frequently partially/completely covering them. The flash light is not powerful enough to take good photos indoor. You only see the front objects brightly flashed with a dark background. The photos are grainy and blue-ish.

In daylight, the LCD screen sometimes washed away with a dark screen. The LCD screen also makes the fine objects like hair look grainy, but they may look ok on a computer monitor. In addition, this camera is a little slower to start up and focus. I have small fingers, but I am still annoyed and tired by pushing all those small and hard-to-press buttons. Also be prepared to buy a card reader because the AV connection cable is also difficult to connect/disconnect (I didn't know that the connection was covered at the top corner in the beginning and it took me a minute to find out). I've never installed the Kodak software, but it is very slow to transfer the photos to my USB 1.0 connection.

The Perfect Touch functions only makes my photos brighter but I don't find it look better on the LCD screen. I tried all the shooting modes indoor/outdoor, and it occassionally makes good photos. Basically, I found about 4 out of about 40 photos were acceptable. The battery power seems to take about 200 8 mega pixel photos. The video is very grainy; however, I like it being able to zoom in and out during taking video. On the other hand, zooming sound is also recorded which makes me avoid using it.

Overall, this camera is definitely an average camera. Very practical if you are looking for a low cost, more-feminine camera with 8 mega pixel; however, compared to a Sony camera (which I bought one also), the extra $50-80 is definitely worth it for the quality in the long run. I would also recommend any customer starts reading the expert review in Pricegrabber.com, they are to-the-point most of the time in my experience. I felt dumb buying this camera after researching for a month.

By alexcwu - Jul 24, 2007

cheap and nice camera

Strengths: cheap and nice

Weakness: design

I would say the design is a little bit ugly, just like the old time machine. But for the price and performance , what can I say? A little suggestion, when you choose memory card, remember to get high speed card, otherwise the image will make you crazy, I believe this is because of the slow reading and writing speed.

By wxhuabin - May 8, 2008

Great Kodak product.

Strengths: Price, handling, set-up.

Weakness: None I can think of.

Bought this as a gift for my son's senior trip to Europe for spring break - better than a disposable, but not a professional camera. Good value especially when you comparison shop. I bought him two additional batteries as I anticipated the need with taking multiple pictures. He was gone 10 days, took several hundred pictures, and said he recharged the original battery once so there apparently...
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Bought this as a gift for my son's senior trip to Europe for spring break - better than a disposable, but not a professional camera. Good value especially when you comparison shop. I bought him two additional batteries as I anticipated the need with taking multiple pictures. He was gone 10 days, took several hundred pictures, and said he recharged the original battery once so there apparently isn't the battery drain I anticipated. His pictures are all clear and bright and don't seem to have any of the quality issues indicated in one of the other posts I read. Even the pictures taken in damp, rainy London have clear and crisp colors except for the fact that you can tell the weather was obviously dismal - which can't be changed! Unfortunately transporting in a camera case packed in between clothing was not a match for the baggage handlers and the LCD was crushed. The memory card and pictures remained intact and thanks to our Accidental Damage Insurance my plans are to replace.

By eadill - Apr 30, 2008

DON'T BUY THIS CAMERA

Strengths: NONE

Weakness: VERY DELICATE

VERY DELICATE - CANNOT DROP IT!!!! My camera was 5 days old - took it to a wedding and had in my purse - the purse accidentatily slid from the table and fell about 3 feet to a carpeted floor. Afterwards, the camera took 3 pictures and stopped working. Kodak will not repair or replace the camera. I have had other digital cameras that I have dropped onto concrete from at least 5 feet and have...
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VERY DELICATE - CANNOT DROP IT!!!! My camera was 5 days old - took it to a wedding and had in my purse - the purse accidentatily slid from the table and fell about 3 feet to a carpeted floor. Afterwards, the camera took 3 pictures and stopped working. Kodak will not repair or replace the camera. I have had other digital cameras that I have dropped onto concrete from at least 5 feet and have worked for years! There is not a dent or mark on the camera from the fall - kodak told me the camera was very sensitve" - does not say thiso nt he box. I am out $200 and will NEVER buy a kodak product again!

By anonymous; - Dec 3, 2007