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Introduction
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01.Product Tour
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02.Colour & Noise Performance
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03.Motion & Sharpness Performance
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04.Low Light Performance
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05.Compression & Media
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06.Manual Controls
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07.Still Features
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08.Handling & Use
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09.Playback & Connectivity
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10.Audio & Other Features
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11.Kodak Zx1 Comparison
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12.JVC Picsio GC-WP10 Comparison
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13.Sony Bloggie Touch Comparison
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14.Conclusion
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15.Specs and Ratings
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16.Comments
Kodak Playsport Zx3
Previous: Part 2
Colour & Noise PerformanceNext: Part 4
Low Light Performance
Motion & Sharpness Performance Summary
1080p video image was very sharp for an ultracompact camcorder. Video had a lot of blur and trailing in our motion test.
Motion (6.45)
The Kodak Playsport can record using a 30p frame rate or 60p frame rate, but to record at 60p you can only capture video at a 1280 x 720 resolution. Kodak recommends using the 720/60p mode for recording sequences with lots of action because it will result in smoother motion, but we found the camcorder's 1080/30p mode to record motion quite smoothly as well. (More on how we test motion.)
| Kodak Playsport | Kodak Zx1 | Picsio GC-WP10 | Sony Bloggie Touch | |
| Frame Rate(s) | 1080/30p, 720/60p, 720/30p | 720/60p, 720/30p | 1080/30p, 720/60p | 1080/30p, 720/60p, 720/30p |
| Artefacting | Artefacting was definitely noticeable, but there was less than what we saw with the Zx1's motion footage. | Lots of artefacting present in all record modes. | Noticeable artefacting, but not a hugely distracting. | Much of our test footage looked crisp, but artefacting was prominent in the water fountain. |
| Smoothness | Motion was quite smooth in all shooting modes. | HD60 mode captures smooth video, but regular HD mode is choppier. | Not the smoothest video, but decent overall. | The 1080/30p setting was very choppy, but the 720/60p mode looked perfectly smooth. |
| Trailing | While the motion video looked smooth, the camcorder produced a lot of blur and trailing when using its 1080/30p mode. | Trailing wasn't much of a problem in our motion test. | Blur and trailing worse than TS20 but better than Playsport. | Trailing and blur wasn't a major problem—similar to what we saw from the Sony MHS-CM5. |
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Frequency Interference |
Prominent color bleeding in RGB pin-wheel during our test. | Some prominent blur and interference in the RGB pin-wheel during our test. | Lines weren't as jagged, but it was still a problem. There was also quite a bit of blocky pixelation in our test video. | Interference was a problem in our test and it was noticeable on both rotating pin-wheels. |
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Slow Motion Mode(s) |
None | None | Time-Lapse Record | None |
The Playsport, along with the Picsio GC-WP10 and the Sony Bloggie Touch offer Full HD recording (1920 x 1080). We found the Playsport to produce smoother video, while the Bloggie had a less artefacting and far less trailing. Trailing was a much bigger problem on the Playsport in its 1080/30p mode than it was with its 720/60p mode. The Playsport did produce a very noticeable rolling shutter effect when we quickly panned the camcorder horizontally, but this is something we've seen from numerous ultracompact models. What we mean by a "rolling shutter" is that the recorded video has a wobble effect whenever you pan quickly.
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Kodak Playsport click here for large HD version |
Kodak Zx1 click here for large HD version |
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Picsio GC-WP10 click here for large HD version |
Sony Bloggie Touch click here for large HD version |
Video Sharpness (10.97)
The Playsport managed to do rather well in our video sharpness test. The camcorder measured a horizontal sharpness of 700 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of 700 lw/ph—both of which are strong improvements over the Kodak Zx1, which topped out with a 1280 x 720 record mode. (More on how we test video sharpness.)
| Video Sharpness Score Comparison |
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Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Kodak Zx1 |
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Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Picsio GC-WP10 |
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Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Sony Bloggie Touch |
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