Kodak Playsport Zx3

Still Features (7.1)

The Kodak Playsport has one still image mode that enables the camcorder to capture 5-megapixel still images with a 3072 x 1728 resolution. Despite Kodak touting the 5-megapixel capability of the camcorder, we found the Playsport to take unimpressive photos in our testing (particularly in the case of image sharpness). This poor still image performance probably stems from a combination of the camcorder's sub par lens and processing system, and is less of a deficiency with the 5-megapixel CMOS sensor.

The Kodak Playsport has no other still features other than the ability to actually capture still photos at a single size. You can't take photos while you are recording video, as you must switch the camcorder over to photo mode in order to take still images (in the same menu that allows you to choose between the various video recording options). Still, the fact that the Playsport can capture still images may be a selling point for some, as some ultracompact models like the Flip do not capture still images. All camcorders in this set offer still features, the Sony Bloggie being the only with different modes.

Still Colour (4.25)

The Kodak Playsport did roughly the same in our still color test as the camcorder did in our bright light video color test, which is to say not all that good. The camcorder produced a color error of 8.23 and a saturation level of 83.61% and it showed signs of the same white balance errors that added an orange hue to its recorded video. (More on how we test still color.)

The still photography color error map: the length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.

You can see the orange tint that we're talking about by looking at the comparison images below. Notice that the Kodak Zx1 contained an even stronger orange tint in its captured still image. The Sony Bloggie Touch and the Picsio GC-WP10 produced still images that were much cleaner and had more accurate colours. You can see this by simply looking at the comparison images below.

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

Still Colour Score Comparison		Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Kodak Zx1
		Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Picsio GC-WP10
		Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Sony Bloggie Touch

Still Noise (9.12)

Just as we saw in our video testing, the Kodak Playsport made up for its low color accuracy score with a strong set of numbers in our still noise test. The camcorder averaged 0.52% noise, which is a lot better than all other camcorders do in this test. (More on how we test still noise.)

Still Noise Score Comparison		Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Kodak Zx1
		Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Picsio GC-WP10
		Compare the Kodak Playsport to the Sony Bloggie Touch

Still Sharpness (0.0)

Despite offering a 5-megapixel still image capability, the Kodak Playsport simply bombed in our still sharpness test. The camcorder registered a horizontal sharpness of 479 lw/ph with 31.2% undersharpening and a corresponding vertical sharpness of 472 lw/ph with 27.5% undersharpening. These numbers are comparable to the kind of sharpness you'd get from a decent-to-average cellphone camera, and we're guessing the Playsport's difficulty here is due—at least in part—to the small, low-quality lens that is included on the camcorder. Most ultracompact models with fixed lens systems tend to do very poorly in our still sharpness test, however, so the Kodak Playsport isn't alone with its dismal performance. (More on how we test still sharpness.)

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