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New Toy- Kodak Playsport

Discussion in 'Gear and Equipment' started by bakrauf, Mar 2, 2011. | Print Topic

Page 1 of 2

bakrauf

Region:

South

State/Country:

IN

City:

Strasburg

Ride:

Corsa/Goldrush

Name:

Brian

I had a best buy Gift Card that I have had since Christmas and never put it to use. I was out looking for a new camera to take pictures and saw this Kodak Playsport which is on sale for $114.00 so using the gift card i picked it up.

Its supposed to be a nice hand held HD video camera. I will have to make a test video tomorrow to see how it turns out.

Those of you interested in a video camera on the cheap this may just be the ticket.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Kodak+-...170525240&skuId=9770688&st=playsort&cp=1&lp=1

bakrauf, Mar 2, 2011

#1
Rocketmantn Rider

Region:

East

State/Country:

TN

City:

Knoxville

Ride:

Strada, Corsa

Name:

Jon

Let us know how it works out.

Rocketmantn, Mar 2, 2011

#2
bakrauf

Region:

South

State/Country:

IN

City:

Strasburg

Ride:

Corsa/Goldrush

Name:

Brian

I will be doing a group ride tommorrow so I plan on testing it out. I think you can load it up directly to U-Tube. I will have to remember the cotton ball over the mic thing to cut down on wind noise.

bakrauf, Mar 2, 2011

#3
bakrauf

Region:

South

State/Country:

IN

City:

Strasburg

Ride:

Corsa/Goldrush

Name:

Brian

I did not get to do the group ride but I took the camera out today and messed around with it. Its pretty easy to use just hit the button and it starts recording.

I taped a small cotton ball over the mic using Painters Tape. This tape is easy to remove and wont cause any damage. You could still hear me talking but it did cut out a lot of wind noise.

Things I like- Its small-Works great wasy to use-Cheap-The software that comes with it is decent. I spliced all my pauses into one big movie. Its waterproof!

Dislikes- You HAVE to buy a memory card for it. If you don't then you will record about 8 seconds of video- I bought a class 10 8 gig card that will record in HD or 2 hours. I think this is also the max of the rechargeable batteries.

The brake cables are annoying but I will be using this on the new Rex and they should not be an issue. I also hear a lot of hard breathing..lol

I think its a great video camera at a great price

bakrauf, Mar 4, 2011

#4
Rocketmantn Rider

Region:

East

State/Country:

TN

City:

Knoxville

Ride:

Strada, Corsa

Name:

Jon

I thought the video quality was great.

Rocketmantn, Mar 4, 2011

#5
myerscw

Region:

SouthWest

State/Country:

CA

City:

Downey

Ride:

Jetstream III

Name:

Curtis

I agree with Jon, the video quality seemed quite good. The audio was also quite good when you consider all the wind that was going by the mike. You did good Brian!

myerscw, Mar 5, 2011

#6
A.D. #1 Custodian

Region:

SouthEast

State/Country:

TN

City:

Athens

Ride:

Reynolds T-Bone

Name:

AD

Brian,
The BestBuy link is no longer any good. Was it the Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera that you bought? If so, it's got very good reviews on Amazon.com

Also, how did you have it mounted?(I saw 7mins into the video) It worked very well! So does the video camera peek over the top of the GPS mount for a forward view? GREAT JOB, by the way.

A.D., Apr 3, 2011

#7
bakrauf

Region:

South

State/Country:

IN

City:

Strasburg

Ride:

Corsa/Goldrush

Name:

Brian

No its the Kodak Play Sport- Water proof camera

bakrauf, Apr 3, 2011

#8
Rocketmantn Rider

Region:

East

State/Country:

TN

City:

Knoxville

Ride:

Strada, Corsa

Name:

Jon

I think this is it.

Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera

Click here.

Rocketmantn, Apr 3, 2011

#9
A.D. #1 Custodian

Region:

SouthEast

State/Country:

TN

City:

Athens

Ride:

Reynolds T-Bone

Name:

AD

I think you're right Jon. It has a LOT of great reviews on amazon.com too! For the price, that's a lot of bang-for-the-buck.

A.D., Apr 3, 2011

#10
megatherian

Region:

SouthWest

State/Country:

ID

City:

Boise

Ride:

On a break.

Name:

Dan

Nice find, I like that video. The part that gets me is how smooth it seems. Almost like it has image stabilization.

megatherian, Apr 4, 2011

#11
bakrauf

Region:

South

State/Country:

IN

City:

Strasburg

Ride:

Corsa/Goldrush

Name:

Brian

Rocketmantn said: ↑

I think this is it.

Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera

Click here.
Click to expand...

yup thats it! It has image stabilization and is waterproof up to 10 feet. I don't think you can beat the price.

bakrauf, Apr 4, 2011

#12
A.D. #1 Custodian

Region:

SouthEast

State/Country:

TN

City:

Athens

Ride:

Reynolds T-Bone

Name:

AD

The "Hindsight 30" is a "tiny rear-view camera linked to a handlebar-mounted 3.5-inch LCD video screen. The Hindsight 30 is aimed at racing cyclists who want to monitor other competitors and commuter cyclists who need to keep an eye on motorists." Website is here: http://www.cerevellum.com/hindsight.php

Fatal flaw? It doesn't record.
Click to expand...

After reading this story on bikeportland (about a professional cyclist whose GPS unit proved that the woman who hit him was lying about the incident) a couple of conversations came up (both in that thread and in some emails) about a "biker's black box" - i.e. a unit with a rolling persistent memory, a couple of cameras, and basic accelerometer and movement detection. Something a biker could strap to their bike/helmet, and it would keep a rolling 5 minute memory of video (front and back) and movement data. If there's a sudden jarring or crash, the unit goes into "save it all" mode and all that data can be downloaded for later.

Some people already do this kind of thing with helmet-cams (check youtube for "daily bike commute" videos) but so far nobody has put a specialty device together. Considering half of the components (accelerometer, camera, memory, communications) are already found in every cellphone in the world, it probably won't be too long before something pops up.
Click to expand...

source stolenbicycleregistry blog

Geez, for the price of this video camera and it's ability to record in HiDef, seems like a good way to have a record of your ride in case anything ever goes wrong. While it can't face both directions, seems like it could capture a license plate of any offenders.

A.D., Apr 4, 2011

#13
altozwei

Region:

North

State/Country:

TX

City:

Oak Cliff

Ride:

Catrike

Name:

Patti

Did you purchase the Zx5 or the Zx3? I'm looking at the Zx5 myself and am really impressed with the features for the price.

altozwei, Apr 4, 2011

#14
A.D. #1 Custodian

Region:

SouthEast

State/Country:

TN

City:

Athens

Ride:

Reynolds T-Bone

Name:

AD

Kodak PlaySport (Zx5) Review

The Kodak PlaySport Zx3 (the older model) was a pretty good camcorder (better than most in this category), so I was thrilled when I found out there was a new model coming out. However, Kodak made some changes that I was really disappointed about:

SENSOR SIZE:
When it comes to video quality one of the most important things to look at is the size of the sensor. The (new) Zx5 has a 1/3.2 sensor which is smaller than the (old) Zx3 with a 1/2.5 sensor. Basically, bigger is better when it comes to sensor size. Smaller sensors result in more "noise" which will affect the image quality. This is especially a problem in low-light situations. (I think the video quality is good in bright light situations, but it is a bit grainy in low light.)
Now I don't expect too much from a $179 camcorder, but the older model which came out at $149 (and is now even cheaper), has a bigger sensor (with the same CMOS type and 5 MP size). What's up with that? Newer models are supposed to get better, not worse!

BATTERY:
The other significant change is that the Zx5 has an integrated battery. Yes, that means it's non-removable. Which means that you can no longer keep spare batteries for "just in case"... and you know the battery always runs out at the worst possible moment. And, even worse, if the battery malfunctions/dies the camera is useless and you have to send it to Kodak for them to replace the battery ($$). And besides, what's the point of making a camera that is capable of recording up to TEN hours (on a 32GB card) when a single battery charge can't last even close to that?

If you can get past those two BIG negatives then you might want to read about the GOOD changes:

----Macro mode has been added. (7 - 17 cm). This is a really great feature.
----Focus range: Zx5 is ~4 inches to Infinity, while the older Zx3 is ~39 inches to infinity.
----camera is now shockproof. (Good for those of us who drop things. I am guilty of that.)
----Special "Cool Capture Effects" added. This is really great for all you creative types.
----sharing videos online is a bit easier with this model. ("3-step sharing")
----records in MP4 format. The older model recorded in the MOV format. MP4 format is easier to work with in most video editing software.

The other positives about this camera (but these are not new features):
----Waterproof (up to 10 feet)... but being able to record in macro under water is new.
----Image stabilization is pretty good for a pocket camera.
----Face detection ability
----Can record up to 10 hours if you get a 32 GB card
----Small and comfortable to hold on to.
Click to expand...

source amazon.com customer review

A.D., Apr 4, 2011

#15

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