Kodak Playsport Zx3 First Impressions Camcorder Review

Manual Controls Summary
• The camcorder has some interesting controls and settings—like digital image stabilization, NTSC/PAL switch, and backlight compensation—but it doesn't have any basic manual controls. • Focus, shutter speed, gain, aperture, and white balance all cannot be adjusted manually on the camcorder.
	Compression & Media	(Page 4 of 11)	Still Features

Auto Mode

On the floor at CES we weren't really able to determine how well the Playsport's automatic controls functioned. We do know the camcorder has fixed focus, so autofocus problems shouldn't be an issue. We also know the camcorder has a backlight compensation function that can be turned on and off in the camcorder's menu. The Playsport Zx3 also has a face tracking setting, but we couldn't really get it to work in our limited time with the camcorder. We'll have to play around with that feature more when we bring the Zx3 into our labs for an official test.

Auto white balance has been a problem with the previous Kodak camcorders that have come through our labs (the Zx1 and Zi6). In our bright light testing, those previous models couldn't white balance properly with our halogen bulbs. We're anxious to see if Kodak has resolved this issue for the Zx3.

Low Light Modes
The Playsport didn't appear to have any low light modes when we checked out the camcorder at CES.

Scene Modes
There are no scene modes on the Kodak Playsport.

Zoom

To zoom with the Kodak Zx3 you press up and down on the camcorder's d-pad. Keep in mind you'll be controlling a digital zoom when you do this, as the camcorder has no optical zoom.

The controls on the Zx3 are a bit more complex than what most ultracompacts offer.

When you zoom with the Playsport a large bar display shows up on the right side of the screen. Unfortunately, this display doesn't list any numeric zoom lengths—it is  just a graphical display.
 

Zoom Ratio

The Playsport Zx3 doesn't have an optical zoom, but you can use a digital zoom with the camcorder. Kodak doesn't list how long the digital zoom is, nor did the camcorder display a zoom ratio when we used it, so we don't know how much digital zoom is provided on the Zx3. It seemed like it was about a 5x - 10x digital zoom.

Focus

The focus is fixed on the Kodak Zx3, so there isn't an autofocus mechanism on the camcorder. According to Kodak, the camcorder has a focal range of 1.0m to infinity. Underwater, this focal range is 1.33m to infinity.

Exposure

The only manual exposure control on the camcorder is a feature that turns backlight compensation on and off.
 

Aperture

The aperture is fixed at f/2.8 on the Playsport. So, not only is the aperture not manual adjustable, but it is also not adjusted automatically by the camcorder (it always stays at f/2.8).
 

Shutter Speed

We didn't see any manual shutter speed controls on the Zx3. There also wasn't a menu option for turning an auto slow shutter on or off.

White Balance

There aren't any manual white balance settings or white balance presets on the Kodak Zx3.

Gain

The camcorder doesn't have manual gain control either.

Color & Image Controls

The Playsport Zx3 doesn't have any real color or image controls, but it does have a few odd digital effects like negative and solarize. Strangely, you cycle through these effects by pressing the camcorder button on the back of the Zx3. We hope this odd selection system was a result of us using prototype models of the Zx3 at CES because it was very confusing. Hopefully Kodak will make more sense of these features before the camcorder is actually released.

Other Manual Controls

There aren't many manual controls on the Zx3, but the camcorder has more features than most ultracompact models on the market (and it has a lot more features than the Flip camcorders). In the menu system for the Zx3 you'll find a number of options, some of which are listed in the table below.