Kodak Playsport Review HD Waterproof Camcorder
May 15th, 2010 | by CameraBang |
Kodak Playsport HD Waterproof Video Camera is one of the choice you have for affordable pocket camcorders. With only $150, you can get your hand on this easy to use camcorder that offer full 1080 HD video capture, with a 5 megapixels still photo capability. Kodak Playsport camcorder can also work underwater up to 10 feet depth, therefore, you can bring this gadget to the beach and record your “sand and water” time without worrying that the water will damage your favorite Kodak HD camcorder.
Design and Features Review
If the “underwater camcorder” thing usually draws bulky bodies gadget in your mind, then you should take a look first at Kodak Playsport that measures only 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.8 inch. The fact that this camcorder only weigh 5 ounce more than Sony Bloggie and Kodak Zi8 (that don’t work underwater) with the same or less dimension really made Playsport earn the most compact camcorder amongst the three. Playsport body design give you a rugged rubbery case that would rest easy in your grip with several color choices (purple, blue, dark charcoal gray).
Playsport camcorder menu controls are very user friendly. You can set it using 4 dedicated buttons and a four way directional pad for navigating your Kodak camcorder. In the right, you’ll find the Power button and the ports, while on the left you’ll find the battery and SD card expandable slot compartment.
Kodak Playsport’s 2-inch LCD screen may seem too small, since many competitor features a 2.4 inch and 3 inch screen. But Playsport camcoder’s screen were quite functional in recording mode where you really really use a 2 inch preview while other camcorder (with 2.4 or 3 inch) might give you only 1.75 inch when you do the recording. However, Playsport playback performance might be not as good as the other competitor like Kodak Zi8 with their 230k dots screen because Playsport LCD screen only have 154k dots resolution. Unfortunately, this Kodak HD pocket camcorder lacks optical zoom and autofocus that you might need to take some distance from your subjects while you do the recording. There are no macro features too like you’ll find in Zi8.
Kodak Playsport Image Quality and Performance Test
Kodak Playsport image sensor use the same 1/2.5 inch CMOS as the Kodak Zi8, therefore image qualities of this two camcorder is not too difference. You can use it to shot still images with good quality if your scene have enough light, Playsport is just an affordable camcorder, therefore we don’t expect it to have superb low light performance or optical stabilization system. When you use this camcorder underwater, I’d recommend you to switch into HD20 mode so that the contrast and saturation will be adjusted.
Playsport HD video recording offers you 720p resolution in 30 or 60 fps and 1080p resolution at 30fps. The videos will be stored in .MOV files that is playable on your computer or uploaded into YouTube or Facebook without any need of conversion. Playsport camcorder doesn’t have any microphone input port so you can only stick to their built-in mono mic that perform quite good in land.
Kodak Playsport uses SDHC card, and you should use Class 4 SDHC card or higher since this one capture HD video. Data connection for this HD camcorder are available via micro-USB. A mini-HDMI port with their cable data included in the box made it easy for you to playback your recordings via HDTV system, and it really save you from those tiny 2 inch preview screen when you feel like to spend longer time watching your videos.
To conclude our Kodak Playsport HD review, it is a solid pocket camcorder, came in affordable price ($150), and have great underwater resistance and waterproof housing. The only reason you want to buy more expensive camcorder like Kodak Zi8 is when you weigh more on macro focus feature or larger screen and didn’t need Playsport underwater feature.
