Should i wait for kodak zx 5

And finally, there is an underwater mode that Kodak claims compensates for the different light dynamics with underwater shooting. The various shooting filters are fun to mess around with, if not a bit gimmicky, but the various video resolutions are a nice addition, including the smooth-as-silk 60 frames per second mode.

Video, Still, Audio Performance The Burton Edition PlaySport shoots the same video quality as the Zx5, which means that it looks good in decent lighting conditions, and suffers greatly in low or challenging light, complete with image grain as well as detail and color loss. This is the situation with all pocket camcorders, which really have to up their game if they want to compete with the new crop of smartphones that are capable of shooting decent video.

The Burton Edition can also survive bumps too, but the digital image stabilization will warp the picture on significantly bumpy video. Both MediaImpression and the Share Button app are available for Windows and Mac though the latter requires downloading from Kodak's site. Of course, you can always opt to drag and drop content from the device to a computer or simply pop out your SD card and use whatever software you want. The appearance, size, and weight of the camera haven't changed much from its predecessor, the Zx3.

The PlaySport is fractionally bigger and heavier than other minicamcorders, but not in any meaningful way. You'll still have no trouble slipping it into a pants pocket or small handbag and it certainly won't weigh you down.

The body is primarily plastic--but it feels like thick, tough plastic--and the slightly textured back and ribbed sides help you keep a good grip on it even when wet. The PlaySport Zx5 is waterproof to 9. However, this is for a drop onto plywood; just because something is rugged doesn't make it indestructible. The PlaySport is not freezeproof, meaning it likely won't function properly when exposed to subfreezing temperatures.

There are two doors on each side of the device that protect its ports and card slot. Though they lock firmly, an extra latch to prevent accidentally opening them would be appreciated. Unfortunately, there is no swing-out USB arm for directly connecting to a computer so you'll always need a USB cable for charging the device and transferring movies and photos.

The battery isn't user-replaceable and charging takes about 3. That's cheaper than buying one, but still a nuisance and an extra expense. The right door covers an SD card slot there's only 20MB of available internal memory, so you'll need to buy a card for recording. There had been reports that the PlaySport would not work with Class 10 SDHC cards, but a firmware update was released to fix this problem. I tested with both Class 4 and Class 10 cards and both worked fine. There have also been complaints that the device freezes or locks up after several minutes of recording.

Again, I did not experience this in my testing, but the previously mentioned firmware update fixes this issue as well. Changes the minimum focus distance from 10cm 4 inches to 7cm 2. Also, in macro mode, the focus range is just 7 - 17cm 2. Considering the Zx5 already has an automatic mechanism for switching between macro and regular focus, this manual option doesn't do much besides adding 3cm to the minimum focus distance. The PlaySport Zx5 isn't loaded with audio features, but the camera does have a built-in mono microphone and the gain levels on this mic can be set manually.

To set the mic levels you must go into the PlaySport's menu system and select Microphone Gain. There are no external mic inputs on the Zx5 and the camcorder has no microphone jack as well.

The built-in microphone is located on the front of the camcorder, just to the side of the lens. A mono speaker is located on the bottom of the camcorder. The PlaySport Zx5 ships with Kodak Arcsoft media Impression software that allows you to import your photos and videos, organize them how you please, and perform minor edits.

The software really isn't any different than what Kodak put on previous models, so click on the link below to read more. The Arcsoft software is embedded on the camcorder itself no disc required , and you can begin installation by connecting the Zx5 to a computer. The software works with PCs only. For an overview of the software that ships with this and other camcorders, see our article: Video Editing Software For Your Camcorder -Included-Software.

One new feature on the PlaySport Zx5 is the camcorder's "share" button. This allows you to tag clips and photos so they can be quickly uploaded once the Zx5 is connected to a computer. When tagging your media, you can even select what sites you want to upload the content to—Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, etc.

Also cool is the fact that this share feature works with Macs even though Kodak says it doesn't on the website. Just connect the Zx5 to your computer and install a small piece of software called Kodak Share Button application and you are ready to upload. MPEG-4 files are generally compatible with most editing systems, although you may run into some programs where the files will require rendering before they can be viewed Final Cut Express had this problem.

The Zx5 has one Full HD record mode x resolution and two p HD modes one with a 60p frame rate, the other with 30p. There's also a standard definition record mode on the camcorder called WVGA records at an x resolution. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various high definition compression types. There's a tiny bit of internal memory on the Kodak PlaySport Zx5, but it's such a little amount we probably shouldn't even be mentioning it.

The camcorder is loaded with 20MB of free space, which is good for storing a few seconds of video or a handful of photos it's the same amount of memory the first Kodak Playsport, the Zx3, came with. Instead of wasting your time with this internal memory, you should insert a memory card into the Zx5 as soon as you open the camcorder.

If you buy SDHC cards online you can get them for fairly cheap. For video recording, you're best off with a class 6 or higher card, but we've used lower-class cards without problem as well. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types. Kodak keeps the still image features simple on the PlaySport Zx5.

There is only one photo size option on the camcorder, so when you switch over to photo mode you don't have to take the extra step of choosing an image resolution.

All photos are captured as x images, which is a aspect ratio and a 5. Since you can only take photos when the Playsport is in photo mode, you cannot capture still images while recording video. The Kodak PlaySport Zx5 doesn't technically have a fixed lens, but its autofocus mechanism can only switch between macro and regular focus modes.

So, when you bring the camcorder closer to 10cm from a subject, the PlaySport Zx5 should automatically switch to macro focus mode. The macro mode has a focus range of 7 - 17cm, while the regular focus mode goes from 10cm to infinity. Additionally, the lens has no optical zoom. We also noticed the camcorder having a major problem properly focusing on an entire image.

The left side of the frame was repeatedly out of focus in our testing, while the right looked crisp and clear. We assume this problem has more to do with an atuofocus error rather than a lens or sensor issue, but it could be a combination.

Since the PlaySport is a waterproof camcorder, Kodak went to great lengths to protect the ports and terminals of the device. The cover locks into place tightly and has a protective, rubberized seal that does a good job keeping water away from these fragile terminals. Cables that work with these ports are not proprietary, but they are a bit more difficult to find than the more-common mini HDMI and USB cables.

The micro USB port is not just used to connect the PlaySport to a computer—it is also used for charging the device. The PlaySport will charge when connected to a computer, but Kodak also supplies a handy wall-plug adapter for charging as well. The large end of the USB cable is inserted into this adapter, which can then plug into any regular wall outlet for charging purposes. You'll notice another port covering on the right side of the PlaySport that conceals the camcorder's memory card slot.

This shouldn't be much of a problem, though, as the video clips created by the Zx5 aren't that large a few 16GB SDHC cards should be fine for most people.

Find out how the performed in our battery life test. Most of these should be self explanatory, but the '70s Film mode is a bit of a stretch. It mutes the colors and adds a bit of graininess to the image, but that's all. Turning this feature on adds an orange hue to your video, which may help you capture underwater images better.

We weren't always crazy about this "correction" feature, however, and we thought certain underwater images looked fine without it. To be clear, you do not have to turn this on to record video underwater—the PlaySport is always waterproof up to 3 meters. This isn't a feature most people will ever use, but it makes it possible for Kodak to develop one version of the Zx5 for both the US and European markets.

In fact, prior to Kodak releasing a model number for the Zx5, the new camcorder was simply referred to as the "new PlaySport" or the second-generation PlaySport. With this in mind, it should come to no surprise that the Zx5 has nearly the same features, design, and performance as its predecessor. Instead of initiating sweeping updates or changes, Kodak kept things the way they were on the first PlaySport—simple. In our performance testing, we found very little that separated the Zx5 from the Zx3.

There were some changes, though, when we looked closely. The Zx5's autofocus system, which allows the camcorder to shift between regular and macro focus automatically, appeared to cause some problems with the camcorder.

In our testing, the camcorder consistently produced an out of focus image on the left side of the frame, while the right maintained a sharp, crisp image. The results are still good for a camcorder in this class, however, comparing well to similarly priced Flip models. Low-light performance is decent, too. Although the Zx5 is still essentially a pocket Internet model, the constraints of waterproofing have prevented the usual addition of a full-sized USB plug.

So you will need to bring the cable with you to connect the camcorder to a computer. When you do, there are two apps available. The uploads then proceed automatically when you connect the camcorder to your computer. This provides facilities to trim your clips; add a voice-over, pictures and music; grab stills from video, and then upload to your favourite sharing site.

Both apps, as with so many pocket Internet camcorders, are PC only, with no Mac support. You can trim the in and out points of clips, and grab a still frame as a separate photo. The Kodak Playsport Zx3 was already great value for a waterproof pocket Internet camcorder. Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

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