View Full Version : Kodak Playsport?
The last time I spent 6 months hiking, all my friends complained (in a friendly way;)) that I didn't share the experience. Apparently 2000+ photos wasn't good enough for them...
So for my 2011 AT thru hike, I am considering doing some sort of weekly video blog for them. While my digital camera does capture video, its getting old and I'm not sure how many miles it has left. Plus, it weighs around 7 oz.
I've been doing some shopping and found the Kodak Playsport. Its waterproof, which seems like a trail worthy feature and most of the reviews i've read are good. I would like to hear from my trusted WB community if anyone has this camera, or has used it, whether or not you would recommend it. Most of the reviews are from people who just used it around the house or in the back yard, so I'm looking for trail-tested reviews.
Also, if you have a different camera you would reccomend, I'd love to hear about it.
Johnny Thunder
10-31-2010, 09:20
i have it. will fill you in tomorrow. bed time.
Wise Old Owl
10-31-2010, 09:32
I don't know anything about the Kodak Playsport. What I have seen on my dad's computer is non-intuitive difficult to use software that comes with most Kodak products... What that means is - You MIGHT be forced to use their propietary software and not be able to use other viewers or editing software without a learning curve. Check on the type of compression and discuss with other people that already have the product. He is a big fan of Kodak and found the pictures and images zipped and unviewable.
Johnny Thunder
10-31-2010, 20:21
The last time I spent 6 months hiking, all my friends complained (in a friendly way;)) that I didn't share the experience. Apparently 2000+ photos wasn't good enough for them...
So for my 2011 AT thru hike, I am considering doing some sort of weekly video blog for them. While my digital camera does capture video, its getting old and I'm not sure how many miles it has left. Plus, it weighs around 7 oz.
I've been doing some shopping and found the Kodak Playsport. Its waterproof, which seems like a trail worthy feature and most of the reviews i've read are good. I would like to hear from my trusted WB community if anyone has this camera, or has used it, whether or not you would recommend it. Most of the reviews are from people who just used it around the house or in the back yard, so I'm looking for trail-tested reviews.
Also, if you have a different camera you would reccomend, I'd love to hear about it.
I'm going to give it to you...and give it to you good since I'm sure this is a question many will have in the future.
Incidentally, my partner and I have a travel blog and use this camera to make videos for our friends/family. You should check out the content to see if you're satisfied with the end-product of this camera model. www.theteamhotcake.com . all the video was shot at the 720P setting. hmmm...if the website is down, we have a facebook group (also the teamhotcake) which has all the same video. with the exception of the video in big east fork (the oldest one set to the avett brothers) and the one on the art loeb, all the videos have been edited in sony vegas pro which is not something you'll be able to do while travelling. the first two were made with the windows 7 video editor (see below).
I've had the camera since June and have used it in the woods, at the beach, at the bar, etc. It works. It's waterproof. It zooms. And it films in HD.
The Camera: I've found that the camera is exactly as it says...it uses SD cards instead of internal memory (that alone would have been the end-all selling point for me). The digital zoom is ok. it does focus on faces as good as any cheap camera can. the camera body is rugged and has stood up to a few drops. i will caution you towards using some sort of case (even made of t-shirt material) just to protect the lens. the camera is waterproof but not scratch proof. the camera charges through usb which is cool since you don't have to carry an extra charger.
The HD video capture is good. I think that the digital aspects of the camera are far more advanced than the optics...but it's still going to do what you want.
the still picture function is useful in a pinch...it's better than my cell phone (we get fancy cell phones in korea) but not by much. it probably won't replace your point-and-shoot if you're the kind of person who takes thousands of photos in a summer.
Things to consider: You'll probably want to buy an extra set of batteries...ebay is typically a good source for batteries that fell off the back of a chinese truck (if you know what i mean).
when changing elevation drastically you probably need to "pop" the air pressure in the camera. we noticed that when we charged the camera at sea level, closed it, and then used it at 4 thousand feet the diaphragm that protects the microphone malfunctioned and sounded scratchy and broken. we fixed this by momentarily opening one of the port hatches which created equal pressure inside and outside the camera.
the kodak software is necessary for uploading video from the camera to a computer. for traveling purposes, it's easy since it auto installs on any new machine the camera plugs into. but, other than transfereing video, the app sucks. the video editor is wonky. and it tends to lock up. so you have two problems (both solvable)...1. if at a library that has blocked auto install you're screwed out of transfering content. 2. you'll need another stand-alone video editor if you're into that sort of thing. The editing software that comes with windows 7 media whatever is good enough assuming that you're using someone's home computer and not one of the million xp machines in libraries.
Overall, i like having the camera. it will probably do exactly what you want it to as long as you're realistic in your expectations.
Johnny Thunder
10-31-2010, 20:27
OK...seems the videos are a bit spread out on the site. i'll spare you the searching. our youtube page has it all:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTeamHotcake#p/u
Wow. Thank you Johnny Thunder!
That's exactly everything I wanted to know. The usb charging is one of the features I was looking for, since I already carry a two port usb wall charger for my phone and mp3 player.
Since I know that its difficult to access a reliable computer every week on the AT, I was planning on mailing home the memory cards so my sister can do the video editing/posting on my laptop then sending the cards back to me in mail drops. That's why I liked the idea of external memory on this camera.
Thanks again. I'm definately getting this camera now.
Johnny Thunder
11-01-2010, 00:59
be warned that you may not be able to have your sister access the mailed home memory cards. i know that you NEED to use the kodak software to transfer video from the camera to a computer. and I've locked up my laptop trying to use my internal card reader and windows explorer to access videos (circumventing the camera). I have not tried to access videos with a card reader while running the kodak software since the computer with the card reader recently bit the dust.
I bought one before i went to alaska hiking mainly because we wanted to do some kayaking and i wanted something waterproof. We never made it out on the water but i used it for all video i shot. I must say it takes great HD video! It has an HDMI output that looks awsome on my HD tv. The colors and detail are so sharp it looks fake. The downside is that the zoom is digital so i tend not to use it much so i dont loose the quality. Also it does not shoot well in low light conditions. All in all i think it is an awsome toy for the price.