A great camera for the money if a waterproof, compact HD is needed.

I recently purchased the Zx5 and have had a chance to try it out. First off, the camera is easy to pick up and use. I didn't need to look at the manual to figure out the funtions. The video and still photos are sharp and clear when shot with enough lighting. Shooting around sunset or indoors in a poorly lit room will degrade the picture quality somewhat.
I bought this camera to use while swimming in Hawaii later this year, so I thought I'd try it under water. I have a small fish pond off my patio so I stuck my camera up to two feet under the lily pads and shot some video. Beautiful video of the fish swimming by and the undersides of the plants. This wasn't a test of the depth abilities of this camera,(it's rated to about 10')but to see how the video would look in low light underwater situations. I also shot some video on my Roadliner motorcycle to check the video's anti-shake properties. Again the quality was very smooth with surprisingly very little wind noise when pointed straight ahead. Turning the camera 90 degrees does cause a lot of noise as the wind moves across the mic pickup. There is a microphone gain control in the menu that I do need to play with, voices more than 10' away seem to come in a little muted.
There isn't a optical zoom, but at this price point, I didn't expect one. There is a 2X digital zoom that works as well as most, not great due to blowing up the pixels and bluring the image.
Another thing to consider if you want to use this as a replacement for a larger camcorder is that the battery is not changeable by the user. So extended shooting sessions may be interrupted by the low battery icon. This isn't a big deal in my case since it will be used mainly as a surf camera and I'll have a Canon DV camcorder for other video. But due to the small size and light weight, I'm sure the Zx5 will be in a pocket throughout the trip without a care if I'm caught in a downpour while walking about.
A couple of suggestions about extra gear if you buy this camera. Put a screen protector on the view screen. Buy an optional hdmi cable to hook it directly to you tv. This, I believe is availible free from Kodak(you pat freight) if you register your camera. And the optional remote control might be nice to have when viewing your camera through the tv.

The best way to create big productions with a small, convenient camcorder.

I purchased this cam so I could easily capture live bands with good quality and no complicated set-up requirements. Also, I've found that it can be used to capture friends and family without any big "camera stigma" issues. The overall quality is excellent and the ease of use is amazing. I can produce segments that are very good presentations of a variety of events and then immediately upload them to You Tube or Facebook if desired. Otherwise, I can upload them to my laptop and then save them to a hard drive for future reference. There are really so many options that I still don't even know them all. Other great features are how this device fits in your pocket and also has no problem lasting for hours with the long lasting battery life. Simply a low-cost, smart way to produce great videos.

Great little pocket camcorder

I had a PlaySport Zx5, which I liked, although it died after a month. Kodak replaced it, and that one lasted about 14 months, and then died after a lot of use.
I liked it so much, though, that I was going to buy another one. Then I read reviews of the newer Zx5. It appeared to be far superior to the Zx3, AND it was only a little more expensive...on eBay, where I found prices about $60 to $70 less than prices in stores and on line, for a brand new one.
I am very impressed with the Zx5. The screen is much brighter than the older model, it has many more options on the settings menu, and has editing software built right into the camera. I haven't used this one under water yet, but did get very good video in my pool with the older model, and this one comes with a setting for underwater correction.
The seller I bought it from is an authorized dealer, and I easily registered it on line with Kodak.
Great little pocket camcorder for $112.

Awesome Product! Far exceeded my expectations! Great valiue for the money!

Awesome Product! I used this camcorder/camera recntly on my cruise to Alaska and it preformed stellar! Great quality movies & photos! The sound is crystal! Very user friendly. Love the size as it fits in your pocket with room to spare! Added bonus is the waterproof feature. So many great features for such a small cost. The battery life was never a problem as it lasted the day(I charged the battery at night).I have never had a Kodak product in the past as I thought it was a cheaper product that wouldn't produce the quality I was looking for. Boy was I wrong! This camcorder far exceeded my expectations and far surpassed my Nikon and Toshiba camcorder of past! I will definetly purchase Kodak products in the future! Go Kodak! Woo Hoo! Thanks,
Deborah Haney (your newest fan)

Great handy cam!

I purchased this camera because, while we have a super nice digital camera that also does video, it's cumbersome.

This is easy to take to my daughter's swim lessons (great that it's water resistant) and take lessons of fun moments! It is incredibly easy to use and figure out, and has just the right amount of options.

I still haven't read the user manual, but have figured out how to use it just fine.

Picture and sound quality are really good for this style of camera, but don't match the really expensive video cameras.