The Playsport ZX-3 is Kodak's newest flip digital video camcorder. The amazing feature of the Kodak Playsport is it shoots in 1080p as well as being fully waterproof. You can use the Playsport in any type of wet environment from a pool, rain or the ocean. The Playsport by Kodak utilizes a rubber out coating as well as textured plastics that makes it simple to grip in wet conditions.
The camcorder is similar to the Kodak Zi8 camcorder. The only real difference is that the Kodak PlaySport Zx3 is waterproof and does not have an external microphone jack like the Kodak Zi8.
The Playsport has a nice sized LCD screen, record/play button, four way dial and a live view button. . On on side there are an mini-HDMI connection, USB out and an AV jack which is just below the power button. Locking watertight covers protect all the jacks. There is a SD slot as well as a bay for the lithium ion rechargeable camcorder battery.
The Playsport camcorder is light a fits nicely in your hand. The ZX3 measures 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.8 inches and weighs 5.1 ounces with both the SD card and battery. The camcorder comes in a choice of black, purple or blue colors.
The Kodak Zx3 utilizes four recording modes. They are: 1080p at 30 fps, 720p at 60 fps, 720p at 30 fps and WVGA. You can also take 5 megapixel still photographs with the camcorder. It uses a 1/2.5 inch CMOS sensor.
The display is two inches which is the same size as the Flip video camcorders. The Kodak camcorders display is anti-glare fore viewing in direct sunlight and it also has a brightness setting.The feature is called a glare shield and it is controlled from the back of the Zx3.
The PlaySport is waterproof up to a depth of 9.8 feet (3 meters) in water.Be careful in water because the Kodak camcorder does not float. Even though the rubberized coating makes the camcorder appear shockproof it is not. Small falls will probably not hurt the camcorder. The rubberized coating help protect the outside of the camcorder from nicks and dents.
Taking video with the PlaySport is very easy. There is nothing to adjust. The camcorder sets everything for you making this a true point and shoot camcorder. The quality of the video is very impressive and compares to the Flip video camcorders. The recorded video was sharp with accurate color rendition and contrast was excellent. Like competing pocket camcorders, low light was not as good as daytime filming. But for the size of the camcorder low light video is still usable.
The included battery gave 90 to 100 minutes of recording and playing time on the best quality recording mode. The Flip camcorder battery lasts longer. A nice feature that was not found in the original Flip video camcorders was image stabilization. Kodak has had it from the start and Flip is just introducing image stabilization. This feature prevents the image from appearing jittery.
The Kodak PlaySport Zx3 shoots H.264 video compression in MOV file format. Still images are in JPG format. The Kodak PlaySport comes with built in Arcsoft Media Impressions software. This is only for Windows computers. To use on a MAC you need to use iMovie or any other of your favorite MAC software. The included Windows software lets you access and organize videos and photos, trim your video, correct colors, apply video effects and upload to video sharing sites. There is also a feature to splice videos together with transitions. Also you can add voice narration or music to your videos.
Since the Kodak Zx3 has such a low purchase price, it is an excellent video camcorder.The camcorder records beautiful HD quality videos as well as having a very nice image stabilization system. Use the camcorder in any type of wet environment. The Kodak Zx3 video camcorder is the only pocket camcorder that is waterproof.
