Competitor to the GoPro

I would say the freestyle compares somewhere between the hd hero and the hd hero 2 feature wise.  If you can get it for free, i would give it a go.  If i had to pay over $240 for it i would get the Gopro HD Hero 2. 

Good point Craig. I don't think I'd take a risk and pay over 240 for something that potentially it's on par with the gopro. However with my points at work I'd be getting it for free. Can't think of a better way to test a new product and post an in depth review complete with pics and video. If it pans out, great! Means we found a cheaper alternative to the gopro. If not, no loss to me. I craigslist it and save up for a gopro.


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I would say the freestyle compares somewhere between the hd hero and the hd hero 2 feature wise.  If you can get it for free, i would give it a go.  If i had to pay over $240 for it i would get the Gopro HD Hero 2. 

Good point Craig. I don't think I'd take a risk and pay over 240 for something that potentially it's on par with the gopro. However with my points at work I'd be getting it for free. Can't think of a better way to test a new product and post an in depth review complete with pics and video. If it pans out, great! Means we found a cheaper alternative to the gopro. If not, no loss to me. I craigslist it and save up for a gopro.


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The 3x digital zoom intrigues me.  I can't  wait to see how it works for you.  The zoom feature is what i loved about my kodak playsport.

Another possibility:

http://www.midlandradio.com/Action_Cameras_XTC.EBK/XTC300VP4

saw this at the Sportsman show a couple of months back.

I would imagine that a digital zoom would be just as that with digital still photography.  You will get the same distortion as if you zoom in later with photo editing software.   Can one perform similar zooming in of the image with video editing software?  If so,  I would think one would always want to film footage in the natural focal length of the lens to get more in frame....
 if that makes sense     

I would imagine that a digital zoom would be just as that with digital still photography.  You will get the same distortion as if you zoom in later with photo editing software.   Can one perform similar zooming in of the image with video editing software?  If so,  I would think one would always want to film footage in the natural focal length of the lens to get more in frame....
 if that makes sense 

Depends.  The field of view can affect the focus.  Here's an example, say you have an object in the foreground that the autofocus keys in on.  If that object was out of the field of view such that the focus was elsewhere, you'd get an entirely different image.

-Allen

Do any of the auction cams on the market utilize auto focus ?

I have a play sport zx3 button edition. The remote works great. Built in LCD. Waterproof to 3 meters shockproof to 1 meter. I love mine. Have taken it to the pool with my son and works awesome. Bought mine off eBay for 60 bucks.

Pike is the video quality of your zx3 comparable to the gopro?


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I had a Zx3 and the video is great.  Rawkfish shoots a lot of his videos with it and so does Coosbayakker.  The GoPro has a wider angle lens and has no zoom capability.  However, you can shoot more frames per second so you can easily pull sharp stills from the video.  I have mine set to 720 at 60 fps.  It makes for good slo-mo shots.  I think the Zx3 only shoots at 30 fps.  However, if you want a camera that shoots good 5 mp photos, captures the exif data (necessary for Kayak Wars) and takes great video, the Zx3 is a great choice.  The video software it comes with works fairly well, too.  I bought the GoPro because I like the wider angle view and I use it primarily for video.  I carry a different camera for still shots.

There is a fish eye lens for the Playsports. 

Do any of the auction cams on the market utilize auto focus ?

Most are fixed focus.  Some of the newer ones (like the Playsport ZX5) feature and autofocus mechanism.

-Allen

Actually the zx3 has 4 different settings for video:

wvga
HD720p
HD720p 60fps
HD1080p

The main issues with the playsport is no wide angle lens and the remote doesn't turn the unit on..lame! but for the price i dig it. I even snagged a spare one when groupon had them for 69 bucks.

No experience with these but have heard they work well.
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/list/Accessories/Lenses/Lenses/parentCategoryID.28888400/categoryID.53280200

Actually the zx3 has 4 different settings for video:

wvga
HD720p
HD720p 60fps
HD1080p

The main issues with the playsport is no wide angle lens and the remote doesn't turn the unit on..lame! but for the price i dig it. I even snagged a spare one when groupon had them for 69 bucks.

I had forgotten it had those settings.  It has been several months since I heard the horrible "ploop" sound and last saw mine.  I like how easy the Playsport is to switch between camera functions compared to the GoPro.

There is a fish eye lens for the Playsports. 

No experience with these but have heard they work well.
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/list/Accessories/Lenses/Lenses/parentCategoryID.28888400/categoryID.53280200

Hmm, thats way cool! Wide angle too! that solves one of the issues. Now if the remote would just turn the darn thing on....Oh yea, the remote only works when pointed at one side of the camera and not the other..