Rollei Compactline Pocket: too cheap
12.12.2025
Translation: machine translated
Is a camera for less than 30 francs or euros any good? Not really. However, two things about this device are surprisingly good.
«16X Powerful Zoom» is written on the front of the device. However, zooming is only digital, the lens has a fixed focal length. This is the biggest problem with this camera: zooming in reduces the resolution.
This is made worse by the fact that the images are not particularly sharp even without zoom. As soon as you zoom in a lot with the device, you can hardly recognise anything in the picture.
This is a shame, because the colours of the pictures are really good for a cheap camera. Whether in daylight or artificial light, the camera captures the colour temperature correctly and adjusts the image accordingly. This is not the case with many low-cost cameras, where there are pink, green and blue colour casts one after the other.
Troublesome image transfer
When it comes to image transfer, this camera has the same problem as the Agfaphoto DC8200. No images can be transferred via USB cable, the connection is only used to charge the battery. And as with Agfaphoto, the compartment for the memory card is recessed too far into the housing - I only manage to insert and remove the card with the help of a narrow object.
Unmirrored screen, lousy flash
Although the screen is small, it shows an exceptionally good picture in sunlight. It has a matt surface and is non-reflective. This gives this device an edge over other cameras that cost literally a hundred times more.
The flash is a lowlight in the truest sense of the word. Actually, it's not a flash at all, but a light, and a rather weak one at that. Portraits are blurred even with the «flash switched on».
In a nutshell
Too much does not fit
The matt screen is very usable in sunlight. The colours of the images also look natural under different light sources. However, these plus points are rendered completely irrelevant by serious weaknesses. The zoom is an empty promise, it is no good at all. Even without zoom, the image quality is rather poor. As transferring the images to a computer is extremely laborious, the camera doesn't even get two stars from me. It's worth spending a little more money, for example on a Kodak Pixpro FZ55.
Pro
- super favourable
- Screen does not reflect
- Good colouring (white balance)
Contra
- Poor real resolution
- Digital zoom only
- Images cannot be transferred via USB
- Fiddly SD card slot
- no real flash
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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