New Kodak PlaySport is Waterproof, But...

We're fond of the Kodak Zi8 pocket videocamera for reasons we've previously delineated here. At the Consumer Electronics Show, Kodak unveiled its successor, newly christened the PlaySport Zx3.

Its chief improvement seems to be that it is sturdier, more rugged, and ... waterproof. Up to 10-feet deep, anyway. At CES, Kodak displayed its PlaySports inside mini-fishbowls.

However! Undoubtedly because of this underwater capability, the vidcam no longer has a jack for an external microphone -- the one clear advantage Kodak's Zi8 offered over the wildly popular Flip brand. (With only a built-in mic, your audio source has to be right next to the camera, which is often impractical. You can't hear distinctly what someone is saying in a long shot.)

The PlaySport also doesn't have the Zi8's macro/landscape toggle capability, and its 2-inch LCD viewing screen is signficantly smaller. Plus, the flip-out USB dongle, to jack the whole camera directly into your laptop or desktop for downloading, is missing in action.

On a positive note, the retail price is significantly less ($149, compared to $179). And did we mention that it's waterproof? Up to 10-feet deep?

So if you're the sort of videojournalist who does a lot of shooting around wading pools, is nervous about dropping your camera, but doesn't need to conduct intelligible interviews, the PlaySport is for you.

But seriously, what is Kodak thinking? Reacting to criticism that Zi8 was not a very sexy name, they held a product-naming contest on Twitter, randomly selecting 100 entries for a free Zi8 and inviting the grand-prize winner to CES in Vegas. (Disclosure: KobreGuide's editorial director won one of those nifty Zi8s, and is stunned that his entries weren't deemed superior to PlaySport.)

Naming cameras is not the only thing Kodak needs help with -- where did they get the idea that what consumers want is not good clear audio, even at a distance, but rather the ability to store their camera in a fishbowl?

The PlaySport is due out in April. We say: Hang on to your Zi8.

Our Notes on the New Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera

Thanks to the stunning popularity of Pure Digital's pioneering Flip pocket video camera, which famously relegated shooting to one simple button while retaining pretty high quality images (including HD), other camera companies have been jumping into the fray. The most successful at challenging the Flip, so far, has been Kodak, with its new Zi8 model.

One of the chief drawbacks to the Flip is that there's no jack for an external mic, so that you have to hold the camera pretty close to the source of the audio (usually a person speaking), or you won't hear anything. The Zi8 solves that problem -- and improves on the Flip in other notable ways. Even its viewfinding screen area is larger.

The pricetag is $179, but you can easily find it for $149 -- the same range as the Flip, except that you also have to buy memory cards.

We've been playing with our new Zi8 for a few days. Here are some of our preliminary observations.

The Good:

• Amazingly high-quality images in daylight .

• Not bad quality in low light .

• The camera adjusts smoothly to different light levels .

• More sensitive mic than we expected. You can record conversations in a quiet room.

• With SD memory card replacement, you can shoot to your heart’s content. (Flip models hold only one or two hours of video, and then need to be downloaded.)

• Unlike the Flip, it offers image stablization, which can be a real bonus.

• The size of the camera is ideal for carrying it with you at all times -- in your shirt pocket. You won't get scoliosis from lugging around 10 lbs. of video gear.

The Bad:

• No input for headphones, so you never know if the sound you are recording is clean.

• While out in the field, the built-in speakers are not powerful enough to check your audio, even in playback mode.

• You can edit the .mov files in Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express. but you must “render” them first and this can take a lot of processing time. It took us two hours to process ten minutes of video at the highest quality.

• You can shoot very sharp close-up pictures 3 inches away from your subject (in macro mode). You can shoot sharp pictures from 3.3 feet to infinity from your subject. But you have a dead zone" between 3 inches and 3.3 feet, where nothing will be in focus. This means that you cannot shoot most close-ups, such as a person’s face for a reaction shot. ALSO: All mics work best when they are close to the source of the sound (usually someone speaking) -- BUT you can’t get the built-in camera mic in the Zi8 closer than 3.3 feet and shoot at the same time. (NOTE: You can compensate for this dead-zone audio recording disadvantage with the addition of an external mic.)

The Ugly:

• No optical zoom. The sharpness with digital zoom visually falls apart very quickly.

• When you pan in very low light, the image starts to wiggle like Jell-o. This might be an effect you want to experiment with, but not on a standard visual diet.

Though we advise "zooming with your feet," we couldn't help but notice that, when we played with the zoom, it was herky-jerky and not smooth -- and made an audible squeaking noise. We're not sure whether that's a defect with the model, or just our individual camera. (Has anyone else noticed this problem?)

Have you used the new Kodak Zi8? We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, especially as it compares to the Flip.

In short, compared to professional quality gear, these pocket vidcams are toys -- but, boy, are they fun to play with!

We predict that the next step in making high-quality video accessible to the masses will be the creation of an affordable lavalier mic. They currently cost hundreds of dollars and up, making them prohibitive for the hobbyist and home-video crowd. But with more working VJs using pocket camcorders, supply-and-demand will drive down the price of pro-quality mics that clip to your necktie or lapel, and they will become standard issue, immensely improving the audio quality of interviews.

3 Missing Elements of Most Videojournalism

This mini-interview (below) was recently shot by Marcia Chandra with her Flip videocamera in Perpignan, France at Visa Pour L'Image, the annual gathering of photojournalists, picture agencies and magazine editors that we recently attended.

Videojournalism was represented for the first time this year, if minimally. Lots of media organizations seemed to recognize that this was the future, and they all yearned to get there, but they weren't yet quite sure how -- or hadn't yet rationalized allocating the necessary resources of money and manpower.

Marcia wanted a two-minute interview. We said that professors are more accustomed to talking in 50-minute bursts... but that we would try and limit our comments for her. So we talked for less than ninety seconds. She said we could talk about anything, so we spontaneously tried to address the three main problems with most of the videojournalism that we see everyday, while we're searching for gems to showcase on KobreGuide.



By the way, the visual aesthetes among you will no doubt notice how deftly the background complements the shirt. Coincidence?

New iPod Nano: World's Smallest Camcorder

The new iPod Nano is out and, yep, it's really got a videocamera crammed into its 3.6 x 1.5 x 0.2 inch little body -- sharing space with a mike, speaker, FM radio, voice recorder, pedometer... and, oh yeah, music player.

As the illustrious New York Times tech columnist David Pogue reports:

Yes, on the back of the new Nano, there’s a tiny lens and a microphone the size of a pinhole. If this isn’t the smallest camcorder in the world, I don’t know what is.

The video quality turns out to be exactly like the iPhone’s: nowhere near as good as a camcorder’s video, but better than a typical cellphone’s. You can see some sample footage on Apple’s demo page. Keep in mind, of course, that (a) Apple’s samples are all shot in bright sunlight, and (b) they appear on Apple’s page smaller than they really are, which makes them look sharper.

You can record for 8 or 16 hours on this little thing. There are 15 video effects you can add for fun (Black and White, X-Ray, Thermal, Security Cam, Cyborg, and so on). You ache for an image stabilizer—this wisp of metal truly isn’t an ideal shape for holding steady. In fact, filming with it feels awkward in general, at least at first.

The sound is crisp but mono; the video is only standard definition. The Nano does not shoot still photos; Apple says that kind of sensor wouldn’t fit in a case this small.

I want to whine about these things, I really do. But you know what? You’ve got video in a machine that can hide between two fingers, for Pete’s sake. There’s something to be said about having a video recorder in a gadget that’s so small, you always have it with you. What good is hi-def if you didn’t have the camcorder when the moment arose?

Also, don’t be surprised if this thing triggers a whole social wave of spy-filming. It’s totally easy to conceal.

Implications for videojournalists? Flip vidcams, and its burgeoning one-button copycats, are still better quality for on-the-fly HD shooting (if you don't need audio), and none of these hobbyist toys comes close to emulating professional gear. But anybody who bets against them soon becoming serious tools for journalists forgets that it was only 5 minutes ago that Final Cut made its way from Hollywood studios to laptops.

Teaching Video to Elementary School Teachers

It's never too late -- or too early -- to learn videojournalism.

This video by Anthony Gettig shows Robb Montgomery (pictured) teaching elementary schoolteachers the basics of videojournalism... so that they can pass along the skills to their fourth-graders!

Gettig reports:

Using Flip cameras, Mac laptops, and Final Cut Express, they learned the basics of video production. It was great to see every teacher in the training not only demonstrate their learning by producing short films, but share the ways they can use it in their classrooms. As a K-12 Technologist and new media producer myself, I am genuinely excited to see video journalism reach into classrooms.

Montgomery reports:

One of my Camp Video Journalism Orlando students, Anthony Gettig, produced this short video report.

Anthony and the school’s principal have been promoting multimedia as a way to document the progress they were making with their magnet school program - primarily through the individual achievements of students and teachers.

Last week I was invited to teach more teachers from this Magnet School. When their classes begin in a couple weeks they will be making films for their lesson themes and also of their student projects. Using the video form to document and enhance student self-esteem in the learning process. Brilliant approach.

Students will be taught how to use the video cameras, produce podcasts, write shows and make media matter for their peers and their community.

Gettig recently launched a lunchtime video club where students learn the fundamentals of filmmaking. It is so popular that he is able to use the club membership to enforce discipline and recognize achievement in other areas.

This magnet school in Kalamazoo is serving one of the poorest urban neighborhoods and video expertise is but one tool that the faculty will be using as part of their long-term game plan to transform their community. And they are already beginning to see how powerful visual storytelling can be in supporting that effort.