Kodak Playsport Zx3

Ease of Use (6.75)

Being an ultracompact camcorder without any manual controls, the Kodak Playsport is definitely easier to use than your average traditional camcorder. Compared to the simplicity of other camcorders, however, there are a few things that make the Playsport a bit difficult to use. First of all, the camcorder has a confusing menu system that features numerous options that don't have any text-based labels. Each menu option is labelled by graphical icon only, which, for some icons is self explanatory, but for others can be very confusing (for example, the LCD glare setting looks like a backlight compensation option).

There's also a second menu on the Playsport that is used only for changing the record mode on the camcorder. This menu is accessed by pressing the d-pad left or right, which we found ourselves doing accidentally quite often (the d-pad buttons are easy to bump). While this menu is easy to understand, just the fact that the menu exists means the Playsport is more confusing than the Kodak Zx1 (which has only one record mode and no still image mode).

The instruction manual that comes with the Playsport isn't awful, but it doesn't provide details about many of the camcorder's settings. We'd like it if the manual would offer more information about things like the underwater setting (what exactly does this menu option do?) and more details about recording bit-rates and specs.

The main menu has some icons that are difficult to decipher.		The shooting menu is where you can select record modes.

Handling (8.35)

Being waterproof up to three metres it should go without saying that the Kodak Playsport is a durable camcorder. The model also feels solid and tough in its compact little body, and we like the way both of the port covers close tightly by locking into place (although they can be tricky to open and close). The front of the Playsport definitely is prone to scratching, but any marks usually aren't too noticeable due to the rubber-like design of the front panel. You can usually wipe away any scratches as long as they aren't too deep.

 

The Playsport is small, but it has a good grip.

The Playsport may not look as stylish as the Sony Bloggie Touch, but it is definitely rugged. Where Kodak really improved things compared to the Zx1, however, is in button design. The dedicated buttons on the back of the Playsport all feel good when you push them and they have large, easy-to-read icons that make sense when you look at them. Unfortunately, the same could simply not be said for the Kodak Zx1.

The front of the camcorder is available in four colours: black, orange, purple, or blue.

We would have liked to see a better overall design on the d-pad with the Playsport. While the start/stop record button does feel good to press, it would have made sense to label it or give it a red color (just to make it more obvious as to what exactly it is for). The d-pad arrows are the weakest buttons on the entire camcorder and we often found ourselves accidentally pressing the wrong direction on the d-pad (e.g. pressing up instead of right).

The Playsport is actually one of the lightest camcorders we've reviewed—even for an ultracompact.

The Playsport has some good ribbed grips on each side of the camcorder that give your fingers something gritty to hold onto—particularly if you're recording underwater. The front of the camcorder is surprisingly smooth, however, and we wish Kodak had put some sort of ridged grip on that side of the camcorder as well. The Playsport can stand on its own, but you must balance it by the tripod mount on its bottom. Any huge shake or bump will likely cause the Playsport to fall over when you're doing this, but it is still better than what we've seen on many ultracompacts, some of which can't stand on their own at all.

Stabilization (0.0)

The Kodak Playsport is equipped with a digital image stabilization system (labelled as EIS—Electronic Image Stabilization—on the camcorder). Despite the fact that the camcorder has this setting, we found the EIS did absolutely nothing to correct the shake in our testing. In fact, the EIS made the image even shakier. Since the Playsport has no optical zoom and it is a very steady camcorder to begin with, our recommendation is to simply avoid using the EIS altogether—it shouldn't really make any difference. (More on how we test stabilization.)

Portability (12.03)

Being an ultracompact camcorder, the Kodak Playsport is primarily designed with portability in mind. The camcorder is a bit taller and wider than the Zx1, but it does come in weighing a few grams less. In fact, the Playsport is one of the lightest ultracompact camcorders we've seen—other than the Sony Bloggie Touch, which only weighs 125 grams. The Playsport's rugged design makes it the perfect ultracompact camcorder to toss in a bag or carry around in a crowded pocket. The fact that the camcorder is waterproof up to three metres also means you don't have to worry about spilling a small amount of liquid on the Playsport when you transport it. Be warned, however, the rubbery portion on front of the Playsport is very prone to scratches, so you may want to keep the camcorder in its own bag if you like your gadgets to look unblemished.

Battery Life (4.4)

The Kodak Playsport is powered by a removable battery pack that can be recharged via USB or by using the wall-plug USB adapter that ships with the camcorder. In our testing, the camcorder recorded 88 minutes of continual video before the fully-charged battery pack became depleted. This is over 30 minutes less than the Kodak Zx1 and about 20 minutes less than the Sony Bloggie Touch were capable of recording, and it is on the low-end when compared to most ultracompact camcorders. (More on how we test battery life.)

Battery Life Comparisons

The built-in battery pack is charged via the USB cable.

LCD & Viewfinder (4.78)

There's no viewfinder on the Kodak Playsport, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. What is fairly unexpected, however, is the fact that the camcorder has a couple of brightness adjustment controls for its 2-inch LCD. In the menu you can both set the LCD brightness (or put brightness on auto) and you can turn on something called the LCD Glare Shield. The Glare Shield is meant to improve LCD view ability in high-glare situations (like outdoors on a bright, sunny day), but we really didn't find it all that effective.

The 2-inch LCD isn't anything special.

While the 2-inch LCD isn't bad, we would have greatly appreciated a larger screen on the back of the Playsport. A portion of the LCD's viewing frame is cropped when you record video as the screen isn't really shaped with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This means a black bar appears on the top and bottom of the screen. Thankfully, Kodak chose to put text and info in these black bars rather than taking up more screen space by putting the text in the 16:9 frame.
 

Kodak Playsport Comparisons
Kodak Zx1	Picsio GC-WP10	Sony Bloggie Touch