Kodak Playsport (Zx5) Review

Like I've said in my preview post, this little bugger can do it all.  I took it on my most recent mission with the G.I. Joe Search and Rescue team and it did fantastic work.  It went through mud, rain, got hit by rocks and trees, came down the side of a mountainside, and it's still working just as great as the day I'd gotten it.

There are some pros and cons, I guess.  But it does exactly what I want it to.  I'm not expecting professional grade photos from this device; that's what my DSLR is for.  Before purchasing, I knew full well that it had would have some setbacks (no flash and such).

Pros:  (starred [**] items were my main focus for purchase)

• **shockproof
• **waterproof (up to 3 meters)
• dust proof
• takes SD cards
• has a tripod mount
• ** turns on and is ready to shoot within a second
• ** extremely long battery life
• On a full charge, the battery lasted me throughout a 3-day camping trip and then some.  I took plenty of photos and videos, using up my entire 4GB SD card.  The battery lasted more than the card!
• This time around, the last I'd charged my camera was a month ago, the first week of October.  Here it is now, a month later, and without charging it prior to the mission and using it throughout the weekend, still has like a 90% charge on it.
• With these specs and such a long battery life, I'd recommend it as an emergency car camera.  You never know what can happen on the road so it's best to keep a quality camera nearby that won't die on you.  Just make sure to charge it every couple of months.  Film cameras work just as well in that situation, but the film can go bad.
• ** uses an almost "universal" charging tip; same one used for my phone, NDSL, etc.  So I don't need to carry around different chargers unless I want to charge all of my devices at once.
• ** price!  ($130.00 shipped a couple of months back)
• Now you can easily find it for about $80.00 shipped or less if you can hold out for a deal to come up.  I've seen it plenty of times at 1SaleADay.
• ** compact
• menu is easy to navigate w/ minimal buttons

Cons:  (Mostly things I knew fully before purchasing but can cope with)

• no flash
• pictures can come out a little grainy depending on the lighting (but at 5MP, they're still good for 4x6" prints)
• I wish the macro setting was quicker to navigate to.  I've been leaving it on auto focus, but when I want that macro setting, it just takes too long to get to so I don't use it at all.

It's got a couple of other options that I don't bother using.  The video setting is great, though I don't use it too often.  I know it's "meant" to be used as an outdoor camcorder or the like, but eh.  My other option at the time was the Fuji XPS since it's also waterproof and shockproof (and comes with flash!) but I wasn't in the market for something with so many options.  I just wanted something almost like a toy camera (point and shoot but turns on and off in a second), but with a name that backs it up and for it to function in the environment I need it to.

All in all, I definitely think it's worth it for the price.  If you're in the market for something similar but do not need the durability of the PlaySport, the Zx8 I believe, has the same exact specifications.