I have produced a mini review of this camera which you read at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/compentry/ NEWS FLASH ! 15/04/2005 - x530 recalled - according to Polaroid's digital support department the x530 has been recalled due to "image quality problems" and should not have been available for sale in the first place - existing purchases should be reinturned to the retailer for a refund - the product has been withdrawn from all retailers. This news has now been confirmed by www.imaging-resource.com, though they were told the recall was due to a "firmware issue". In light of this news any samples posted in this gallery must be regarded as not being representative of the final production model, whenever it appears.
Thanks to TOM LEE for drawing my attention to this.
The X530 only ever uses the minimum or maximum aperture value available at the particular zoom length being used. It does not use intermediate values.
At full wide the aperture will always be either f2.6 or f7.6.
At full zoom the aperture will always be either f3.5 or f11.
At other zoom positions the aperture will always be either fX or fY, where X is between 2.6 and 3.5, and Y is between 7.6 and 11.
The aperture values of f2.6 and f3.5 are the values for the largest aperture available at full wide angle and full zoom respectively.
The smallest aperture values available (this is from my own testing) are f7.6 and f11 at full wide angle and full zoom respectively.
So at full wide angle the aperture range is f2.6 to f7.6.
At full zoom the aperture range is f3.5 to f11.
The maximum shutter speed seems to be 1/1000 second.
The camera will rarely use small apertures (large numbers)in 'Auto' mode, presumably preferring a faster shutter speed to prevent shake.
'Portrait' and 'Sport' scene mode will usually give large apertures, as this makes sense in those modes.
'Macro' scene mode will try to give a small aperture when possible, though it is unpredictable.
'Landscape' scene mode will usually give a small aperture, if there is enough light.
Please note, however, that there are serious restrictions on focusing distances depending on the scene mode selected.
You can get round this by using manual focus, which has no restrictions at all, but it is fiddly.
When you half-press the shutter, the aperture and shutter speed are displayed on the screen.
Please note that this information is my experience of the original, recalled version of the X530. I can neither canfirm nor deny that this is correct for the officially released version.
TOM LEE
27-Jun-2006 01:10
Nice photographs. Can anyone tell me, how was the listed F stop settings were determined ? The Polaroid X530 has a non constant aperture of f2.6 to approx f3.5. How were the photos taken with an aperture setting of f9+. I thought the X530 did hot have a variable aperture, but was fixed at 2.6 to 3.5, depending on the setting of the focal length of the lens. Where can I see it read out f9.3, for example.
Any help would be appreciated.