First off, I completely understand the level of product I was purchasing. I know this isn't a professional camera, and isn't going to produce pictures like one. Important factors for me in buying were mpeg encoding, water resistance, HD at 60 fps. Unfortunately, this is a camera that does one thing well, and a lot of things poorly.
The one thing this camera does well is take video at 30 fps in full light situations. That is all.
As a movie camera. It worked well on all but one setting, the 720p at 60 fps. I would say 1 out of 4 videos I shoot at this setting have serious problems. For about 1 out of 4 videos, playback of the videos suffer from a weird choppy accelerated mode. It is not my computer, or tv, as I have tested them on many devices. This acceleration also throws off the audio sync. Audio and video for one of these videos is at least 1-5 seconds off.
I paired the camera with a brand name 32 gig SD memory card. I thought maybe the card was causing the problems. For the about 6 hours of video I shot,, maybe 50 videos so far, I did have one error that stated it could not record due to memory card write speed. And yes, this may be the problem. However, I have tested the read/write of the SD card on my PC with no problems, and have never had a problem with media keeping up with the source. Its always been the source that's the problem, in my experience. I believe this to be true with this camera as well.
The movies in the other modes was smooth and went as it should.
Picture quality. Great in bright outdoor sun. Falls off quickly at dusk, may as well be a webcam circa 2002 at night. Generally would not use it indoors unless the lighting is very good. As other reviewers have said, low light the camera is just not very good.
As a still camera. Terrible. If you are shooting in anything other than bright sunlight, your picture will probably be blurry. If its even a little dark, the picture quality will also suffer big time. And here's the kicker that really turned me against the camera... in full sunlight, the only situation the camera takes really good pictures, about half the time, when you push the button to take the picture the camera will take 1-6 seconds to auto adjust to the light levels and focus. Its unbelievably annoying to "take" a picture...then wait and wait not knowing when the camera is actually going to TAKE the picture. There were a number of times I took a picture, and then just quit and put the thing away after waiting god knows how long for the camera to actually take the picture.
Lastly, the waterproof quality. I would say it worked well. I didn't have any leaks. However, we used this once in the ocean, salt water. As recommended, we rinsed it immediately after getting out of the water. However, it was too late. The water got into the latch (as it is designed to, that part isn't waterproof). But when the water evaporated, leaving the salt, it completely jammed up the latch mechanism that opens the door to the memory card. I tried a number of ways to clean it and get the latch to work, the only way that worked was to literally take the door apart and clean it to get it to work. Frustrating and annoying.
Overall, if you want a cheap waterproof video camera for a vacation to a sunny place, this should work for you. Stay away from 60 fps, if you bring it in salt water open the doors and rise out the latches immediately as well. If you want good still pictures, bring a separate still camera with you.
If it weren't for the price, I'd give this product 2 stars.
Customers also search
Page 1 of 1Page 1 of 1
Compare with similar items
 | Kodak PlaySport (Zx5) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera - Aqua (2nd Generation) | Kodak PlayTouch Video Camera (Black) | kimire Video Camera Camcorder Digital Camera Recorder Full HD 1080P 15FPS 24MP 3.0 Inch 270 Degree Rotation LCD 16X Digital Zoom Camcorder Camera with 2 Batteries(Black) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | (241) | (236) | (241) | (4916) |
| Price | From $159.99 | $149.99 | $74.98 | $65.99 |
| Sold By | Available from these sellers | good_stuff_ | Mister B Enterprises | Woerni |
| Color | Red | Aqua | Black | Black |
| Screen Size | 2 inches | 2 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches |
| Media Type | SD Card | SD Card | Flash card | SD Card |
| Optical Sensor Technology | CMOS | CMOS | CMOS | CMOS |
| Optical Zoom | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0.01x |
| Video Capture Resolution | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p; FHD 1920x1080(15fps), HD 1280x720(30fps),640x480(30fps) |
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
Videos for this product
0:34
Click to play video
Customer Review: Perfect Camera to Throw in the Beach Bag!
SouthernMama
Videos for related products
2:41
Click to play video
How To Use Your Kodak Playsport
Merchant Video
Videos for related products
0:55
Click to play video
Introducing the Kodak PlaySport
Merchant Video
Videos for related products
0:53
Click to play video
Introducing the Kodak PlayTouch
Merchant Video
Videos for related products
7:15
Click to play video
kimire Video Camera FHD 1080P 15FPS 24MP 16X Digital Zoom
kimire2015
Videos for related products
1:09
Click to play video
Kodak Zi6 Pocket Video Camera Video
Merchant Video
Videos for related products
1:08
Click to play video
Kodak PlayTouch - How To Videos (Section 1-4)
Merchant Video
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Top reviews from other countries
Pezzers
Not very durable product
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 9, 2015Color: RedVerified Purchase
sarahanne
Loved it. one of the best things I bought ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 10, 2016Color: RedVerified Purchase
I D N
I was incredibly disappointed by this product
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 25, 2016Color: RedVerified Purchase
Greggles
Gonna get a go pro though!
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 5, 2014Color: RedVerified Purchase
