Polaroid X530 4.5MP Digital Camera with 3x Zoom

Polaroid X530 4.5MP Digital Camera with 3x Zoom
Manufacturer: Polaroid
Product Type: Photography

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Polaroid x530 is the world's first point-and-shoot digital camera to incorporate the revolutionary high fidelity Foveon X3 direct image sensor. This new image sensor technology allows the Polaroid X530 to produce sharp 8 x 10-inch prints with the rich color fidelity of 35mm film and without the color artifacts found in many digital cameras today. The Polaroid x530 is targeted to consumers who seek a full-featured point-and-shoot digital camera that delivers outstanding 8 x 10-inch photographs.The full featured Polaroid x530 comes equipped with a 4.5 megapixel high resolution Foveon X3 direct image sensor, 3X optical zoom and a large 2" color TFT LCD display for image preview, on camera editing and play back. In addition to capturing still images, the Polaroid x530 captures high resolution VGA video clips at 30 frames per second at a TV quality 640 x 480 resolution. Designed with enthusiasts in mind, the x530 allows images to be converted to standard JPG file format or maintained and edited in the proprietary X3F RAW format.

Average customer rating:

Buyer beware, Polaroid does not warrant this camera.
Coulda been a contender, but still an interesting novelty w/ Foveon sensor
A Really Nice Camera
Past its shelf life
For the Price and Technology, it's not that bad!

Polaroid X530 4.5MP Digital Camera with 3x Zoom

Manufacturer: Polaroid
ProductGroup: Photography
Binding: Electronics

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Product Features:

4.5-megapixel Foveon sensor captures enough detail for up to 2,432-by-1,842-pixel photos
3x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom
2-inch LCD screen and high-quality MJPEG AVI movie recording
Stores photos on SD and MMC memory cards; 32 MB SD card included
Transfers photos via USB; compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems; rechargeable lithium-ion battery

ASIN: B000B640M2

Product Description

Polaroid x530 is the world's first point-and-shoot digital camera to incorporate the revolutionary high fidelity Foveon X3 direct image sensor. This new image sensor technology allows the Polaroid X530 to produce sharp 8 x 10-inch prints with the rich color fidelity of 35mm film and without the color artifacts found in many digital cameras today. The Polaroid x530 is targeted to consumers who seek a full-featured point-and-shoot digital camera that delivers outstanding 8 x 10-inch photographs.The full featured Polaroid x530 comes equipped with a 4.5 megapixel high resolution Foveon X3 direct image sensor, 3X optical zoom and a large 2" color TFT LCD display for image preview, on camera editing and play back. In addition to capturing still images, the Polaroid x530 captures high resolution VGA video clips at 30 frames per second at a TV quality 640 x 480 resolution. Designed with enthusiasts in mind, the x530 allows images to be converted to standard JPG file format or maintained and edited in the proprietary X3F RAW format.

Customer Reviews:

Buyer beware, Polaroid does not warrant this camera........2007-03-30

I bought this camera in Dec. In Jan. the autofocus and autofocus assist lamp stopped working and the camera would not shut off properly. After calling Polaroid and sending it in for repair per their instructions, I found out that the warranty has a "replace at their discretion with a comparable item" clause. They called me, claimed they don't have the parts to fix them any more because they are discontinued, and wanted to replace the X530 with an extremely lesser Polaroid, the A520, which retails less than $100--by their judgement "comparable" because "it's 5MP". Don't consider the facts that the X530 has a Foveon imager, a great Ricoh 3x lens with macro focusing down to 1 cm, a rechargable lithium ion battery with charging cord, a 32MB SD card, autofocus assist lamp, etc. etc. etc. which the "comparable" model does not. I had a huge hassle over it, and they finally replaced it "just this one time" with a "demo" camera that they claimed had been "checked by three technicians" and a warning cast in stone that if anything goes wrong with the replacement camera, it will be replaced with another (much cheaper) model. Then, insult to injury, when the used replacement camera arrived, it had no manual, the autofocus assist light aims 45 degrees to the side of the lens and so is useless, the battery they included is bad and my options are to trade it in on a crummy point and shoot or pay to fix it myself. I'm no lawyer, but I would think Polaroid is slipping over into class action suit territory here. The image quality of the Foveon sensor is breath taking, but buy at absolutely your own risk.

Coulda been a contender, but still an interesting novelty w/ Foveon sensor.......2007-01-18

John Buckingham's review sums up the camera pretty well for 2007. The camera is practically unusable in this day and age due to VERY slow focusing, slow shot-to-shot times, and horrible ISO 200/400 performance. Movie mode is very poor, compared to the VGA 30FPS MPEG4 video most compacts can do now. The camera is light but chunky, and definitely NOT pocketable.

However, now that prices have dropped significantly, this is still an intriguing project camera for those who want to experiment with a Foveon sensor. The camera comes with the same processing software that comes with the Sigma DSLR's (rebranded for Polaroid), and working with RAW images is a joy. The 'Fill Light' feature is in particular very noteworthy. The main negative is that shooting in RAW format slows down the camera even more (we're talking maybe 6-7 seconds between shots, I didn't time it.)

Also, the image quality of the camera is quite good (within the aforementioned constraints.) You can lock the camera at ISO 100 (too bad you need to set it again if you power off the camera). Colors and resolution are excellent, and 8 x 10 prints look very good- really! The colors seem very full and stand out, without seeming overly-saturated. I think the Foveon sensor acquits itself very well in this regard.

Finally, macro performance is excellent, with a focusing distance of under 1 inch. Images can be very sharp and have excellent detail.

This might be a great second camera for you to play with, and you will probably be surprised by the quality of many of your images. But don't buy this expecting it to be your everyday camera, it's far too slow and limited for that.

If anything, this camera shows the promise of the Foveon sensor in a compact digicam, if low light performance can be improved. In fact, Sigma is releasing the DP1 compact with a 28mm fixed lense in 2007, and I will definitely look out for that one. That camera may deliver all the strengths of the x530 without the weaknesses.

A Really Nice Camera.......2007-01-16

For the money, I don't think you can beat it. The foveon chip provides excellent color, even under low light. The capability to save in RAW format and the included image software gives you a lot for your money.

Past its shelf life.......2007-01-10

Even for the most forgiving photogeek, this camera just doesn't deliver. The thing to note about the Polaroid X530 is that it was first due for release in 2004. What might have been a cutting edge point & shoot camera then - at least from an imaging standpoint - has been surpassed completely by many cameras in the current crop of standard chip models (most notably the A series by Canon). To paraphase an old saying, when the x530 is good (x530 RAW mode, plenty of daylight, ISO 100 only), the images are very, very good, but when they are bad (nearly any other shooting condition), they are horrid. Even at 100 ISO and under bright sunlight, the x530 chip creates visable noise in shadow areas. Shoot at 200 ISO and noise levels are unacceptable; at 400 ISO, you might as well break out the crayons and play connect the dots on your images.

The shooting limitations might be forgivable if the over-hyped Foveon chip were encased in a responsive camera with manual controls and fast shooting performance. Such is definitely not the case. Focus is slow and quite problematic in Macro and Landscape modes; metering is iffy no matter which of the three choices is picked; there are no shutter priority or aperture priority modes; in Auto, the camera always chooses the shallowest aperture imaginable; the flash automatically engages for portrait mode; the camera resets everything after each shutdown; the battery drains much more quickly than expected; LCD quality verges on looking like needlepoint; the buffer can take an eternity to clear...on and on. Lens quality appears to be adequate, and the camera does have a nice, large handgrip which somehow only reinforces how much empty space there seems to be in the x530's chunky black body.

The Polariod x530 is little more than an interesting novelty, one which seems like it might be fun to have as a toy - especially at current "fire sale" prices. After using one for a week, the novelty already has worn off. Save your pennies and put them toward something more worthy and up-to-date, like the excellent Canon PowerShot A630, or a number of other fine cameras listed on Amazon.com. You'll be glad you did.

For the Price and Technology, it's not that bad!.......2007-01-09

If and when you do buy this camera, first read and re-read the manual. Download the manual fro the internet. A quick start guide is included. Let your first set of pictures be your test. Once you learn how to use both the ArcSoft and the Polaroid Photo Lab software, you will never take a bad picture again. At the price that it has come down to, this camera is a steal. One thing about this camera; though it lacks a real manual override, you have to mentally be the manual control. You have to continually think "what type of light am I shooting in," "Should the ISO be at 400 instead of 200," etc.. You have to become the brain for the camera. Only then can superior reults be achievable. Daylight settings are outstanding. It's shooting at night is when you have to be it's brain. The technology is worth the price alone. Camera's that use the same technology cost almost$2000.00. Working with the Foveon X3 Fill Light scene technology, the x530 is the perfect camera for the novice or experienced pro, looking for point and shoot technology with excellent performance. The video film clips work decently. The only draw back may be the battery. To remedy this problem, buy another with charger. It can also expand to a 1G card. The camera is a little noisey and a little slow. You also have to realize that this camera has been out since 2004, with no real improvements to it. The current technology has caught up and probably surpassed it. If you would like to see photos taken with this camera, go to your seach button and punch in "Photos taken with Polaroid x530 Digital Camera. I still love this camera.

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