Strengths: Great screen , nice compact model , great pic quality

Weaknesses: HD Video - highly disappointing

Summary: Nice pic quality but the video feature is highly disappointing , expensive accessories which are needed to use all the features of the camera. Overall a improvement in Kodak quality. Battery life a little short than comparable models.

Strengths: Huge rear screen on a Small camera

Weaknesses: Had to replace another model that died prematurely.

Summary: I Had the V570 and the camera died after 13 months.. I owned all the docking stations and printers and accessories and this camera took the same ones. I hate to admit I'm get older and my eyesights not getting better and appliances are getting smaller. This has a larger rear screen. It's easy to use like my last one was. I'm leaving for Germany in a few days for 2 weeks and hope this performs like my last one did so well.

Strengths: HD Videos with Stereo sound. 12MP Pictures. Nice 3.1" LCD screen. Small, sleak, portable design. Very affordable price.

Weaknesses: Biggest weakness: Over-compressed picture files. Annoying camera adapter necessary to connect to PC or TV.

Summary: I have been looking for a good camera/camcorder combo for a while now. I've looked at Aiptek, which were affordable, but lacked Stereo sound and image stabilization. Sanyo Xacti were nicer, but much more expensive and photo quality was questionable. Then I came across the Kodak line of cameras that also had HD video recordings. Of the 4-5 cameras Kodak made that also recorded in HD, the V1253 was the only model that also recorded Stereo audio. Pros: -Very nice HD 30fps MPEG-4 video with 2 options of quality (high and low quality). High quality records a little over 8 minutes/GB and low quality records about 16 minutes/GB. -Stereo audio recordings. -Up to 12 MP pictures. The 10.7 MP photo option comes in a 2:3 size ratio which is perfect for 4x6 photos. -Nice large 3.1" LCD screen with good resolution (230K). -AF Assist lamp for low light. -Face detection. -Good quality Schneider-Kreuznach lens. Cons: -The files are very compressed for the resolution of the photos and there is no way to change the compression ratio. For example, an average 6MP photo on this camera is about 0.85MB (smaller than files from my previous 3MP Canon camera) and average 9MP photos are 1.43MB (based on my experience so far). -The camera requires a tiny adapter to be able to connect it to a computer or a TV. It would stink if you lose the adapter. -The only way to get the full benefit of the widescreen LCD is to take 9MP "HD" photos, but remember, there is no way to print "HD" photos. They must be resized later anyway. All other photo settings leave you with "black bars" on the edges of the LCD screen. -The camera doesn't come with any wall charger. You can only charge the camera by connecting it to your USB computer port or to a USB wall charger (around $10). -The tripod mount is right next to the insertion point for the adapter, so you cannot use the adapter and a tripod at the same time. Luckily, the camera has an AC Power Adapter slot on the side, but you'd have to pay another $30 for a Kodak AC wall adapter. -I've had a problem with the HD high quality video recording mode a couple of times in which the recording started messing up after a few minutes of recording. Part of the problem could be that I am using cheap SD cards that I did not format on the camera. I'm hoping faster SDHC cards will prevent this from happening. -You can hear a slight buzzing during video recordings if you use the zoom (from the zoom motor). -The 950 mAh lithium battery only lasts for about 130 shots. -The camera only has 32MB of onboard memory. For the price and the bundle of features this camera has, I can overlook the few negatives. It still takes great photos and videos in a small package. I would definitely buy this camera again if I would do it over again.

Strengths: High resolution, big LCD, HD video

Weaknesses: No image stabilization, weak mic.

Summary: First of all, this is an excellent camera for the money. No way you can touch another 12MP CCD (i.e. without interpolation) at this price point. Shoots HD 720p video which comes out crystal clear. Indoors the focus lock is not great on photos - camera has a little trouble focusing the subject, which tends to cause blurry pictures. Outdoors, focus is perfectly clear. Overall, not as good as DSLR cameras, but excellent quality for a pocket 12MP/HD video cam.