Kodak Playsport Video Camera

[haven]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2363771,00.asp

PC Magazine has named the Kodak Playsport an Editors Choice in
the category of inexpensive video camera. The Playsport costs $150.

One reason the Playsport is worth considering for ExPo use is that
it's waterproof to a depth of 10 feet. That means it's well sealed
against rain, dust and sweat, too. The Playsport is rugged enough
to be mounted to the vehicle's bumper for those point-of-view shots.

The Playsport offers 720p and 1080p modes, and records in MOV
format, which can be uploaded to YouTube without conversion.

 

[fangars]

Looks like a sweet little gizmo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm0Yo6gxG0Y&feature=related

 

[Superu]

Picked up one of these yesterday after weeks of researching "rugged" cameras. I decided that I very rarely drop my cameras and my Olympus E-500 DSLR works great in very cold conditions so all I really wanted was a waterproof camera that I can carry easily and have fun with on hikes and swimming with the family.

A lot of reviews talk about the downsides of this little device. No flash, only 5 MP stills, not great image quality.

For $150, the video quality I've seen so far is terrific and the stills are decent. I took some of my favorite shots in France 6 years ago with a 3.2 MP pocket Pentax Optio, so I'm not going to grouse about noise at high ISO settings in a device like this.

If I need a flash, I'll be using my Olympus anyway. If I want to shoot underwater, I'll be using the Playsport!

Will get some vids up soon.

 

[photoman]

Looks like a sweet little gizmo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm0Yo6gxG0Y&feature=related

Oh man that is choppy and gave me a headache.

Hard to argue with $150 for a waterproof video camera. Depending on which camera a kit you get the Go Pro Camera runs between $125 and $300.
http://www.goprocamera.com/

Has some limitations but also offers unique features non of its competitors have.

 

[haven]

The Kodak Playsport ZX5 HD video recorder is available for $107 from Abe's of Maine, one of those big New York camera discounters.
http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=KDZX5K&id=KDZX5K

The ZX5 is dustproof and waterproof to a depth of 10 feet. Just the ticket for fastening to your bumper for those point-of-view shots of water crossings.

Sometimes a cheap camera that produces OK images is better for the task at hand than an expensive camera that makes great images.

 

[leman]

i had the zx3 thinking it would be a good alternative to the gopro. with the mounting position so low on the camera and it being a "tall" camera all the shots i got were shaky offpavement. i ended up selling it on craigslist a few weeks later. save for a gopro.

 

[rxinhed]

I use my little Kodak extensively for work, both stills and video. Dark pictures are grainy, but daytime pics are fine for most of my documentation. Not good at far or distance shots because of short focal length. Would still recommend for general use, not wedding photos.

 

[Michael Slade]

Stay away from Abe's. Please.

 

[ywen]

hmm the lens on the kodak is significantly longer than the gopro.. I can see the kodak being unusable in many situations..