When you review the sheer number of cameras we do, it's nice when something unique comes along. When it also actually answers a need in the marketplace, it's even better. Kodak's V570 is just such a surprise, from a company that offered up plenty of surprises last year.
At first blush the V570 is just another small, stylish digital camera with a 5.0 megapixel imager. Closer inspection reveals a 2.5 inch LCD screen, a slim, lightweight body, and a retro, almost console-TV design sensibility. It's when you power the camera up and that lens cover slices out of the way that the uniqueness begins to show. No lens comes out--but that's not unusual. Many digital cameras have folded optics where the entire lens is inside the camera body. The surprise is that there are two lenses. The one on top is not just an artistically-placed optical viewfinder, it's another lens. Two folded optics, each with their own 5.0 megapixel sensor. The top lens is wide angle, fixed at 23mm, and the bottom lens is a 39-117mm zoom... [read more]