A good HD pocket camcorder for WDW?

[DisneyDork712]

I'm looking for a pocket camcorder for our upcoming trip to WDW. I am very interested in the Kodak Playtouch. I've read great reviews on the Kodak Zi8, but the Playtouch seems almost too new to find any actual reviews. Does anyone here have one? What do you think of the video quality?

What about the Sony Bloggie Touch? I can't find very many reviews of that one either.

Any other suggestions for a little camcorder for the parks? We'll be there during the Christmas festivities, so decent night-time video would be a plus for the lights and such.

I know I do not want one of the Flip camcorders, just because there is no macro on any of them.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

 

[Minnie824]

I got the Kodak Playsport when it came out in April. I LOVE it! Took it to Disney this summer. It was great, cuz I could just carry it around and video 30 second clips, I recorded rides, just quick little things even cuz its so easy. We took it to the pool one night and got great photos and videos underwater and the kids loved that. It doesn't have a flash, so photos/videos at night are a little dark, but it worked great. Plus, the software is so easy, I just loaded it to the computer then burned it on a dvd and the quality was great. Let me know if you have any specific questions on it! I would definitely buy this one though.

 

[DisneyDork712]

I got the Kodak Playsport when it came out in April. I LOVE it! Took it to Disney this summer. It was great, cuz I could just carry it around and video 30 second clips, I recorded rides, just quick little things even cuz its so easy. We took it to the pool one night and got great photos and videos underwater and the kids loved that. It doesn't have a flash, so photos/videos at night are a little dark, but it worked great. Plus, the software is so easy, I just loaded it to the computer then burned it on a dvd and the quality was great. Let me know if you have any specific questions on it! I would definitely buy this one though.

Thank you so much!

The Playsport is another one that looks really great; I especially like that it is waterproof.

Did you use it on any indoor rides? If so, what did you think of the quality? I'm thinking that little clips of Small World and such would be fun to get! I know it wouldn't be professional quality, but it would be nice to be able to tell what everything is in the videos!

About how many minutes of video could you store on your memory card? I'm trying to figure out which one of those I should get as well. I'm thinking I should be okay with the 8GB, since I'll put everything on the laptop each night anyway.

It sounds like you used yours exactly the same way I have in mind for mine! Just catching short little snippets here and there during the vacation!

 

[beatlesblonde]

DH and I both have the Kodak Playsport. We had a blast recording stuff while at WDW. DH recorded most of Splash and the big drop was awesome cause we didn't have to worry about the camera getting wet. We have 8GB cards in ours which gets us about 1.5 hours of footage (we brought a laptop and dumped them each night). We didn't do much as far as recording attractions (we did Splash, Test Track, and Living with the Land), but we did get the Boo To You Parade.

 

[Minnie824]

We also have 8GB and get about 1.5 hours on it. I taped the whole Splash ride, Expedition Everest (the dark part obviously was black, but the flashing yeti did show up), the entrance to Soarin, BTMRR, some Kali at night, but that was way dark. The inside rides like Small world would turn out fine. OH, and I took it to the water park...recorded all the rides we went on at Blizzard Beach, as well as going down the slide at beach club.

 

[DisneyDork712]

This is great information! Thank you both so much!

What about walking around in the parks and resorts at night? I know there is quite a bit of lighting in most areas.

I did find a video on Youtube of the castle lights last Christmas, and it looked great! Oh, and I found a video of Spectromagic which also looked very nice. Those were with the Zi8, but from what I've heard they take the same quality video.

 

[Minnie824]

Here are a couple of photos that I took with the camera. The photos themselves aren't that exciting, but you can get an idea of the quality...the video is similar in lighting.

1) Dinner inside Kona Cafe at Poly

2) Castle after dinner that same evening

3) Blizzard Beach on the lazy river

4) Beach Club pool at night

 

[DisneyDork712]

Thank you so much! I really appriciate you taking the time to post pictures and answer questions for me!

I think I'm definately going to get a Kodak camcorder. I just need to decide which one!

Thank you again for all your help!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Another vote for PlaySport!!

Took it to WDW this past summer and it was so easy to whip out and record! AND since it is waterproof AND takes stills, it came in very handy during the downpours we had! When we had our good camera safely stowed in it's dry case, I kept the playsport in my pocket and used that to take pictures, even if it was pouring rain! OH and it was excellent for taking on rides!

The only cons are that there is no flash so outside pics come out best and because it's so small, you have to be very careful about holding it steady when recording.

 

[Claudia1]

Another vote for Kodak Playsport. DH loves the waterproofing and it takes great pics for the price.

 

[DisneyDork712]

Thank you all so much!

About how long does your battery stay charged? I'm debating wether or not to get an extra battery.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Thank you all so much!

About how long does your battery stay charged? I'm debating wether or not to get an extra battery.

I actually bought an extra battery but I didn't need it. It was around $30 so I don't regret buying it and will probably bring it on my next trip JUST IN CASE!! But the charge holds pretty well. I just made sure to charge it every other night.